Customer Reviews

Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am a long time fan of JGV cook books. Simple to Spectacular is my favorite cookbook ever, and I use it quite a lot - especially when I am looking for that wow factor.
JGV's new book is more Asian than fusion. Although it uses some western ingredients, such as creme fraiche and butter, the recipes are essentially Asian.
Also, unlike Simple to Spectacular, these are clearly restaurant recipes, and no effort was made to simplify them and adjust them to home cooking.
Many of the recipes are labor intensive - loads of pots and pans are used, and many steps. They are still very attractive and make me want to get in the kitchen and star cooking.
There are a few simple recipes - I tried the egg and tomato soup and it is definitely going to become part of my everyday repertuar.
Last comment: although Asian cuisine should be healthy, many of the recipes in this book contain loads of butter and/or sugar.

Summary: a good book for people who really like cooking, to be used for special occasion meals.

The recipes I've made from this cookbook have been, thus far, exquisite, consistently offering a delicious array of textures, layered and complex flavor combinations, and beautiful presentations. I'll also add that the few dishes I've made so far have both the look, and, more importantly, the taste, of something I would happily pay top dollar for at a restaurant.

Last night I made shrimp cakes with a peanut/mint sauce as a starter, which was satisfying and scrumptious. As an entree, I served up the roasted curried codfish with artichokes, snap peas and a tamarind/chile/garlic sauce, which was simply one of the best seafood dishes I've ever prepared at home (and I've cooked things from many great cookbooks, including dishes by Eric Ripert, Thomas Keller, Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, etc.).

This cookbook has a great layout, wonderful pictures, and, most importantly, is sure to greatly expand the average foodie's palate and kitchen technique, opening the doors to a world of Eastern flavoring and ingredients. I've cooked three recipes and I've already learned so much! The only issue? Almost every recipe features very rare ingredients, ranging from the obnoxious-to-acquire to the impossible-to-acquire. It's very important to learn how and what to substitute, otherwise I can see this cookbook becoming merely a dust-collecting frustration for many at-home cooks, especially if you live in the suburbs and really only have one supermarket in town (luckily I live in NYC, where you can find almost anything on this earth as long as you're willing to search around town).

If you're a Jean Georges fan and appreciate his mastery of flavor, you're sure to love this approach to Asian cooking (this book seems to me to be a fusion of many countries, primarily Vietnam, but also Korea, China, and Thailand). The way you experience his recipes, some at once moist, succulent, crunchy, tangy, sugary and then spicy, are a total treat, and will get you excited to be in the kitchen. If you're serious about cooking and serious about challenging recipes that will really pay off for your guests, then this is a fantastic cookbook.

This latest book from the beloved chef is a real treat. Jean Georges goes back to his roots and creates dishes after dishes inspired by asian home cooking and street food. Each recipe of course has the classic Jean-Georges's touch and level of sophistication, illustrated with beautiful pictures of his travels across Asia. Needless to say, this is a strong addition to any cookbook collection.

If you are familiar with his restaurants Spice market, 66 and Vong you will recognize a lot of his signature dishes. I was so excited to find recipes for Mushrooms Spring rolls with Galangal emulsion and Ovaltine Kulfi with caramelized banana i both had at Spice Market. I already managed to try the Braised pork belly with shallots recipe, the results were smashing! I cannot describe how good it was without getting into the whole metaphysical meaning of life discussion but you get my point..!

I picked up my copy at the book release's party where Jean-Georges himself was chatting and providing the food. I talk about it in my blog.

Hope this helps!

This is another cookbook that I read like all the others, from cover to cover. I loved each and every page! The story of how Jean-Georges came to fall in love with Asian cuisine is wonderful and adventurous. The photographs are beautiful; full of color and very telling about life in Asia from a food-lover's view.

The recipes are fabulous; full of color themselves and complex in flavor without being difficult to reproduce. The directions for each were clear and easy to follow.

I made Chicken Samosas with Cilantro-Yogurt Dip, and I'd recommend this recipe very highly. The deep and spicy flavors of the samosas combined with the brightness of the yogurt dip was a perfect marriage and, like Jean-Georges, I would insist that the samosas be dipped before each and every bite. The samosas certainly stand alone, but the dip pulls them up to a whole new, and delicious, level.

The truest test was my 3 year-old son, who couldn't stop eating them! Yes, they are spicy, and he knew it-asking for a drink after each bite-but he had no restraint whatsoever, and I must agree with him on this!

I look forward to making many more of the recipes within the pages of Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges and urge you to get a copy of your own.

I worked in one of Jean-Georges' restaurants for a year and have made several of the recipes in this book dozens of times. Certainly most of them have been simplified for home cooks, but I can assure you that the spirit of the recipes is the same.

What is remarkable about JGV, as a French chef, he is very limited in his use of cream and butter. He uses a lot of soy- and vegetable-based sauces. Some purists will say these aren't true Asian dishes, and they'd be right. This is "fusion," much as I hate that word. But JGV's food is straightforward and delicious. He doesn't try to go over the top, to make things complicated just because he can. He doesn't try to be whimsical or to blow your mind. He just wants to create great food that you will remember.

Certainly some of the recipes here are ambitious and include a lot of obscure ingredients, but if there's an Asian market near you, there isn't anything you can't find there.

The book itself is beautiful, the photography is fantastic. And a bargain, for what it is.

Rarely do I read a cookbook and want to make every single recipe. This was the case with Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges. From this book I have made the Pork Vindaloo. As soon as the marinade went onto the meat I knew it would be a winner. It smelled so good! The coconut sticky rice was the perfect accompaniment. I have also made the black pepper crab dumplings. They were surprisingly easy to make, and the sweet flavor of the crab was really accentuated by the mint, black pepper and ponzu sauce. The chicken buns were delicious. The dough was tender and the light, flavorful chicken and mushroom filling was a nice deviation from traditional heavier fillings. The mussels with lemongrass, thai basil, chile and coconut milk were the best mussels I have ever had. The only thing they were lacking was a squeeze of lime juice. Every recipe I have made from this book has turned out perfectly. I can't wait to try the rest. If you like asian flavors and the cooking process and you don't mind straying from what is traditional, buy this book. You won't be disappointed.

I just love this book. I am working my way through it and am enjoying the smells, flavors, and textures of these imaginative dishes on the way. It has become my favorite "go to" cookbook. This is the closest I have come to finding a cookbook that allows the amateur chef to produce a restaurant level meal in the home with reasonable time and effort. The list of resources at the back of the book has been helpful in tracking down ingredients.

This is an extraordinary cookbook. I have this one and also "Cooking at Home with a Four Star Chef" and I like this one much better. His combination of flavors is truly extraordinary. Some of the ingredients are not things you might have in your pantry (go to your local Asian Grocery and get them) but once you have them you can cook most of the receipes. I have never made anything from this book that was not superb. Some of the recipes (but not all) are complex and time consuming but the effort is truly worth it. You will not be disappointed.

Although the recipes do require a variety of unusual asian ingredients, if you happen to live near an asian supermarket or even small asian grocery, you should be able to find most of them (and pretty cheap!). The recipes I've tried so far have been very straightforward (it's not hard to pan-fry fish), but the results have been INCREDIBLE. The man knows something about how to put ordinary ingredient into extraordinary combinations.

I am just blown away by this book. I haven't even bought it yet, just borrowed it from the library, and sad to say, the pages are getting a little splattered. For such esoteric ingredients and rather advanced techniques, this cookbook is amazingly user friendly. Each recipe has that "wow" factor that makes you want to try it right away. As I thumb through, I keep envisioning dinner party after dinner party--there are a lot of special occasion recipes here. But there are also every day treasures. Check out the steamed cod with caramelized onion, ginger and scallions ([...]). So easy, so good. Just finished frying up a batch of eggrolls with shrimp and chicken--I had planned on freezing them, except I keep eating them!