Asian Cook [Spiral-bound]

Terry Tan (Author), Michael Paul (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2003

The success and longevity of TV shows like Yan Can Cook and Iron Chef as well as the recent explosion of Asian restaurants across the U.S. attests to the Western fascination with Asian food and cooking. This encyclopedic guide to the tools and tableware indigenous to Asia also covers key cooking methods and 80 delicious recipes from China, Japan, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Korea, and Laos. Four-page gatefolds illustrate over 100 pieces of essential equipment, and clear, step-by-step photographs guide readers through more than 20 cooking techniques. Spiral-bound with wipe-clean plastic covers for easy use in the kitchen, there are also 300 color photos included in this definitive guide.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Terry Tan is a food writer, chef and cookery teacher. He is from Singapore of Chinese / Thai and Indonesian extraction. He is the author of several books on Asian and Oriental cooking which include The Complete Asian Cookbook, Oriental Cooking and The Manya Cookbook. He has taught at Ken Lo's Kitchen, Cordon Bleu and Prue Leith on Asian cookery plus guest appearances at food shows. He is culinary consultant to Singapore Airlines; he does food development for Amoy Foods as well as lecture on Asian and Oriental Cookery. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 144 pages
• Publisher: Laurel Glen Publishing (March 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157145862X
• ISBN-13: 978-1571458629
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,416,311 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE REAL MYSTERIES BEHIND AUTHENTIC ASIAN CUISINE, May 28, 2003

By 

Gina McAdam (London, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Asian Cook (Spiral-bound)

It's not usual to devour a cookbook from cover to cover in one sitting, but so thoroughly engaging - and lovely to look at -- is Terry Tan's `Asian Cook' that I read all 144 pages at once before dashing into my kitchen to check what I needed to make nonya-style pork curry. Nonya cooking, so Tan has taught me, is distinctly Southeast Asian, an exotic blend of ethnic Chinese and Singaporean, Indonesia and Malaysian practices and ingredients. Now I know too that there are seven principal types of cooking styles in Japan (from `yakimono' which means grilled to `itememono' meaning sautéed or pan-fried). And that religion has impacted more on the various cuisines of the Indian Sub-Continent than geography.

Indeed, to refer to `Asian Cook' as a cookbook is to do Tan a grave injustice. This is a lavish but functional compendium of the `tools and techniques' beloved of cooks of Asian cuisine, be they food writers for the San Francisco Chronicle or top Indian chefs in London. I suspect that if Tan had his way, the kitchenware department would be situated right next to jewellery.

Tan's authority stems from his experience and expertise as a cookery teacher and food historian. He gives us wonderful descriptions of what makes an Asian cook - the historical background and geographical origins that in turn determine the utensils, implements, ingredients (whether fish, fowl or offal) and spices used. Artfully photographed pots, woks, tandoors, cooking tools, accessories and tableware are accompanied by simple but illuminating points and pointers. For example, did you know that for some Asians, knives are considered `too barbaric to be used at the table' and that they are in any case superfluous, given that `all ingredients are cut into bite-size pieces during preparation'?

Asian Cook offers a wide-range of easy to follow, relatively inexpensive recipes for the discerning palate, with dishes from yang zhou fried rice to roast chicken madurai masala to bamboo leaf dumplings. But they are here to provide a colourful backdrop - and final flourish -- to the tools and techniques that made them. Tan tells us that Asian chefs have `always been at the cutting edge when it comes to presentation skills'. I was particularly intrigued by how one produces an `edible basket' with the right molds (which, surprisingly, are two perforated ladles shaped to fit one inside the other). A prawns in yam basket should go down very nicely at my next supper party. This book is a treasure, if not a secret weapon.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WHEN A SPOON IS NOT A SPOON, March 10, 2004

By 

Margaret Martindale "Marty Martindale" (LARGO, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Asian Cook (Spiral-bound)

ASIAN COOK
BY
Terry Tan
Photography by: Michael Paul
This beautiful book is not so much an Asian cookbook,
it is rather:
"A book on Asian cooking tools," acknowledges the author."

The graphics are exciting!

With recipes by:
Ming Tsai
Roy Yamaguchi
Nina Simonds
Sri Owens
David Thompson
This is a food book worthy of a prominent position on any coffee table, not hidden in a kitchen. Its beautiful double-parchment cover, rich pages, exquisite photography of brilliant foods and beautifully displayed kitchen implements is a delight to page through. Some centerfolds also grace the format.
The book is also a careful delineation of the foods and implements used throughout Asia. The author goes into great detail about how to use each tool correctly. He groups the implements into these divisions and gives an historical overview:
China
Japan and Korea
India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
Indonesia, including Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Kampuchea

Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia
A myriad of Asian kitchen tools are made from materials ranging from aluminum to wood:
Clevers and woks, cooking pots and bamboo steamers
Reed pastry brushes
Tableware
Chopsticks
Rice cookers, pots and pans
Serving dishes and lacquerware
Tea and sake sets
Spice, herbs and coconut processors
Bread-making implements
Molds and presses
Tiffins and serving items
Grinding implements
Cutters and molds
Scalers and shredders

Coconut wooden tools
Natural basketware
Street hawker tools
Edible basket tools
Tools for cakes and snacks
Besides a comprehensive index, the book has a page containing tool retailers, importers, markets and wholesalers.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cannot believe, February 14, 2009

By 

Luciana De Lima "Luciana" (Netherlands Antilles) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Asian Cook (Spiral-bound)

Great tips about every item on asian cook and amazing photos & print quality, cover, etc. Couldn't believe that a book like this costed so little. Very impressed.