Customer Reviews

Asian Flavors: Unlock Culinary Secrets with Spices, Sauces and Other Exotic Ingredients

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

All cooking traditions have a distinct flavor, something that instantly places that dish within a geographical region. In the case of Southeast Asia, these regional flavors are as famous as they are delicious. Asian food has become increasingly popular in the US, although much of it in an "Americanized" version.

"Asian Flavors" looks at the special sauces and spices that make Southeast Asian cooking unique, and offers several regional dishes for each flavor. The chapters are "Ginger & Galangal," "Chili," "Fresh Lime & Lime Leaves," "Soy," "Rice Wine & Rice Vinegar," "Coconut," "Lemon Grass," "Fish Sauces," "Sesame," and "Asian Herbs & Leaves." All of the ingredients are fairly easy to acquire, and any decent supermarket should supply the majority of them. A specialist Asian deli might be required for a few of the more obscure spices such as Trassi or Szechuan Pepper, but 95% should be readily available.

The dishes are all fantastic, and different from other Asian cookbooks I own. "Salmon Marinated in Gingered Tea," "Crab and Vegetable Tempura with Teriyaki Dip," "Crisp-fried Squid Rings with Lime & Chili Sauce," "Spicy Barbecued Tuna" and "Seared Chili Scallops" are all dishes I have tried and loved. The book is heavy on seafood, as befits an Asian diet, but there are still vegetarian, beef, chicken, pork and duck dishes to satisfy everyone.

The preparation is fairly simple, and a beginning cook should be able to do everything. There is quite a bit of prep work, including several 4+ hour marination times, on some of the dishes, but many can be put together in 10-30 minutes. Only a few dishes call for a Food Processor, which I don't own.

I am looking forward to experimenting with and enjoying more dishes from "Asian Flavors." A great addition to my cookbook library.

Asian Flavors: Unlock Culinary Secrets With Spices, Sauces, And Other Exotic Ingredients is cookbook filled with 120 delicious recipes from China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Korea, and Indonesia. Each sumptuous dish makes use of distinctive culinary spices and ingredients to promote flavors rarely experienced in the West, and full-color photography illustrates the majority of the dishes in all their gustatory appeal. Simple instructions readily accessible to chefs of all experience levels make Asian Flavors a superb introduction to a wide sampling of Eastern ingredients and techniques.

I got this on sale for about 5 bucks. The book is well-written and very well organized. The photographs are great. Can't speak to the recipes 'cause I've got a broken heelbone and can't stand up long enough to cook for awhile. So why only give 4 stars? I reserve 5 stars on cookbooks for books which have a photograph of each and every recipe - this only has photos of maybe half the recipes. I will put Ms Sweetser right up there with Jaden Hair.

IF YOU LOVED ASIAN DELICIOUS YOU MUST BUY THIS BOOK,
REGARDS
THAI CHEF