Asian Grilling: 85 Satay, Kebabs, Skewers and Other Asian-Inspired Recipes for Your Barbecue [Hardcover]

Su-Mei Yu (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 4, 2002

Now you can bring the authentic tastes and techniques of Asian grilling right into your own home. Su-Mei Yu, renowned Thai chef, teacher, restaurateur, and award-winning author of Cracking the Coconut, shows you just how easy it is to grill in her new book, Asian Grilling.

Su-Mei captures the splendor and diversity of Asia's cuisines -- Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Indian, Burmese, Laotian, and Cambodian -- in this superb collection of 85 recipes. With Su-Mei's guidance and clearly written recipes, you'll be able to cook some of the world's most delicious grilled foods, including Indian Chicken Tandoori, Vietnamese-Style Grilled Beef in Lettuce, and Thai Grilled Pork Strips.

Asian Grilling begins with some of the better-known Asian dishes such as Chicken Yakitori, Pork Satay, and Lamb Kebabs. Su-Mei then takes you through her own treasured recipes for Salt-Grilled Yellowtail Tuna from Japan, Vietnamese Grilled Shrimp on Sugarcane Stalks, Bulgogi (Korean Barbecued Beef), and so much more. Along with these dishes, you'll find recipes for zesty dipping sauces and flavorful relishes to enhance every bite.

In the "Wrapped and Grilled" and "Grilled and Wrapped" chapters, you'll learn how each cuisine uses leaves and casings to make grilling pouches. When these pouches are opened at the table, they fill the room with a unique and savory perfume. The large green leaves of the banana plant are used to wrap everything from Malaysian Spicy Fish Cakes to Chinese-style grilled chicken. In true fusion style, Su-Mei encases a warm filling of grilled vegetables and cheese in a tortilla to make one of her favorite recipes, Thai Quesadillas. Even the ubiquitous lettuce leaf makes a great wrapper for curried lamb, grilled shrimp, and more.

Grilled vegetables and salads, main course rice and noodle dishes, and even grilled fruit desserts round out this collection. There are also detailed instructions for preparing the grill and making spice pastes and essential tips on shopping for and preparing Asian ingredients. Stunning color photographs illustrate how the dishes look.

Turn your kitchen into an Asian barbecue. It's easy with Asian Grilling by Su-Mei Yu.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In her award-winning Cracking the Coconut, Su-Mei Yu offered one of the best introductions to "cooking Thai" we have. Her Asian Grilling moves beyond Thailand to include the mouthwatering satays, kebabs, skewers, and other tempting grilled dishes from that country plus Vietnam, Korea, India, Burma, Laos, and Cambodia. With Su-Mei's help, and an outdoor grill, this intensely flavored food is easy to prepare; readers should waste no time in trying any of her 85 recipes, including super versions of more "familiar" fare, like Mongolian-Chinese-Style Lamb Kebabs, as well as "newer" recipes such as Garlic-and-Pepper Shrimp and Kumquats, spicy Myanmar-Style Grilled Duck, and Grilled Scallops with Pineapple-Chile Glaze in Endive.

After providing key technical info (for authentic taste, Su-Mei champions use of the traditional mortar and pestle, though she also endorses the blender with a few procedural adjustments), she then offers her skewer repertoire, which can be matched with zesty dipping sauces and flavorful relishes like Tomato and Chile Sambal or Indonesian Peanut Sauce. Companion chapters, "Wrapped and Grilled" and "Grilled and Wrapped," present alternative versions of traditional case-cooking in dishes like Grilled Marinated Catfish in Banana Leaves and Korean-Style Grilled Beef in Lettuce. Equally tempting are recipes for grilled salads like the feasible-to-fix-after-work Thai-Style Grilled Eggplant Salad; noodle and rice dishes, including Soba Noodles with Grilled Vegetables and Sesame-Ginger Dressing; and grilled desserts, such as Grilled Mangoes with Ginger Syrup. With a separate section on making the required spice blends and pastes, tips on shopping, and color photos throughout, the book opens grilling vistas to those of us inclined to simply throw some hamburger on the barbie again, for want of a better way. The dishes are also just plain fun to prepare. --Arthur Boehm

From Publishers Weekly

Yu, owner of the restaurant Saffron in San Diego, Calif., here presents sophisticated grilled entrees and salads from Thailand, Malaysia, Korea, Vietnam and elsewhere. Cooks used to combining spices, a process more thoroughly explained in Yu's first book, Cracking the Coconut, will benefit from meals flavored by, for example, dry roasted white peppercorns and cumin seeds. In Savory Mushrooms in Banana Leaves, there are no fewer than 17 ingredients; however, most of them are for the spice paste. Making things easier, several marinades for example the coriander-and-lemongrass-infused Nonya-Style Chicken or Pork Satay can sit overnight. Meat and fish entrees meant for entertaining, such as Salt-Grilled Yellowtail Tuna and Grilled Duck, Pineapple and Bitter Greens Salad are balanced by quick vegetarian recipes, such as Indonesian-Style Grilled Vegetables with Peanut Dressing and Grilled Vegetables in Rice Paper. Grilled Curried Lamb Wrapped in Radicchio and Garlic-and-Pepper Shrimp and Kumquats are standouts. Those who want to add special condiments to simply grilled food will appreciate the sauces chapter (there is also a short chapter on grilling fruits). Overall, Asian-food lovers will appreciate Yu's undiluted approach and creative exuberance.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks; First Edition edition (June 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0066211190
• ISBN-13: 978-0066211190
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 8.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #241,577 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

It has been seven years since I started researching and writing The Elements of Life. It came about because of my curiosity about why even the simplest of Thai dishes is layered with bold, vibrant and complex tastes, flavors and aromas. I was to discover that the innumerable seasonal and natural ingredients used by Thai cooks are chosen not only for the end result of splendid fare, but also reflect a deliberate intent to create healthful and irresistible medicine. Food, as traditional Thai cooks would say, is medicine.
The book, The Elements of Life mirrored my latest quest as a Thai cook, author and amateur food historian. My first book, Cracking the Coconut, Classic Thai Home Cooking was written to record traditional Thai home recipes and techniques. It was followed by Asian Grilling, a book of fun and easy recipes with Asian flavors. The Elements of Life explains the concepts and natural philosophy that underlie Thai cooking and the Thai way of life. It is a culmination of my personal journey to study this ancient teaching. Knowing my home element is like having a personal compass. It has guided me to live in full partnership with nature as I cook and care for myself, my family and friends, and the customers of my restaurant. It is also the foundation on which a cooking academy, Prem Center Organic Cooking Academy was founded by myself and my dear friend, M.L.Tri Devakul. The school is located in Mae Rim, northern Thailand where guests and students can learn firsthand how to apply this philosophy by harvesting, cooking and eating seasonal produce from our organic farm.
I hope you will join hands with me in preserving nature's ways, and in turn cooking and eating nature's gifts and being rewarded with good health and contented life.
Please visit my blog: http://www.sumeiyu-thailiving.blogspot.com/ and my restaurant's web site: http://www.saffronsandiego.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mouth-watering recipes from South East Asia, August 13, 2002

By 

C. Wallis Davenport "joyous2" (New York State) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Asian Grilling: 85 Satay, Kebabs, Skewers and Other Asian-Inspired Recipes for Your Barbecue (Hardcover)

This book is different from many Asian cookbooks in that its primary focus is on grilling techniques as they apply to Asian foods. The result is a scrumptious wealth of recipes which are truly a delight to prepare and eat. The only reason I didn't give the review 5 stars is that I found that many of the recipes were a little more time-consuming than I prefer, taking 45 minutes minimum to prepare. However, the result is food that is truly authentic Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Laotian, and so on. This book really delivers on the flavors of South East Asia. Most recipes call for ingredients which can be found in any grocery store, but there will be times you'll have to make a trip to your neighborhood Asian mart to discover the delight of cooking with real banana leaves, palm sugar or some of the more unusual ingredients. I would say that if you love cooking, especially on the grill, and enjoy flavorful food, you'll really get a lot out of this book.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delicious results, July 4, 2006

By 

SMB3 "SMB3" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Asian Grilling: 85 Satay, Kebabs, Skewers and Other Asian-Inspired Recipes for Your Barbecue (Hardcover)

My wife and I have been visiting Thai and Vietnamese restaurants for years. I have bought several other cookbooks with little success; The recipes looked good on paper but didn't measure up. I found this book easy to follow. The ingredients were easy to find and the results were great. I would recommend this book to someone who has as least cooked some Asian food.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for grilling & sauces, August 22, 2006

By 

LMarie (Motown, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Asian Grilling: 85 Satay, Kebabs, Skewers and Other Asian-Inspired Recipes for Your Barbecue (Hardcover)

This is a nice cookbook for those interested in Asian food. There are many recipes for marinades and sauces, as well as grilled salads, noodles and flatbreads, even Thai quesadillas. Su-Mei Yu, a native of Thailand, does a nice job of explaining methods for grilling and for proper satay. There are recipes from most countries in southeast Asia, Japan, Korea and China. The recipes appear to be rather authentic and easy to follow. There are many good pictures of the food, and she suggests multiple ways to serve particular dishes (for example, with different sauces or sides).

While this isn't my very favorite Asian cookbook, it is one I refer to often. I'm glad it's in my library. Those who love to grill and/or make Asian food will likely find it to be very useful.