79 of 85 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Serves a purpose, but not the best, March 26, 2002
This review is from: The Asian Grocery Store Demystified (Take It with You Guides) (Paperback)
Unfortunately I was not as enraptured with this book as most of the other reviewers. I don't feel it would be terribly useful for a beginning Asian cook.
I also found some inaccurate or less familiar descriptions; for instance many recipes call for "thick soy," which in this book is called "dark soy, or superior soy" but a novice wouldn't know those distinctions.
Additionally the book only gives one or maybe two names for the same thing; if you're cooking something from another culture confusion may reign! For instance in this book belacan (spelled blacan in most other Asian cookbooks I own), which is a common Asian ingredient, is the only word used for dried shrimp paste -- it's also known as trasi (Indonesia), kapi (Thailand) and mam tom (Vietnam). In the grocery store I have bought a wonderful paste that is packaged only under the name "trasi." Using this book, who would know?
Among its weaknesses I find the dearth a pictures a detriment. Many shoppers (like me) are quite visual and look for colors or bottle shapes. It would be more helpful to have photos of some ingredients; for instance showing the difference between bean thread noodles and rice sticks, or what a jackfruit looks like.
I found the index difficult to use. Something might be referenced in the text but not found in the index. Drives me nuts.
However, there are some strengths to this book. It's a convenient size to bring to the store and gives a nice overview. It's also helpful for the novice to have brand recommendations, but I can safesly say, having shopped for ingredients in Minnesota and California (and in Australia), that not all the same brands are imported to everywhere and that what she recommends may not be in your market.
If you really want to get serious about Asian ingredients I suggest you check out three books: "Chinese Cooking, Step by Step techniques" by Yan Kit Martin (Random House). This book has photos and Chinese characters for many different ingredients. You can easily take it to the market. Charmaine Solomon's "The Complete Asian Cookbook" (Lansdowne) has a good glossary of ingredients in the back of the cookbook, but it's a big book to heft around (I think the new edition is paperback though). Lastly, if you can find it, "Charmaine Solomon's Encyclopedia of Asian Food" (William Heinemann Australia) is well worth seeking out. It's the best of the bunch. Loads of ingredients listed alphabetically, pictures, a great index, some good recipes -- this weighty book has it all. Worth lugging to the market if you need help.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Like seeing the tree in its leaf, December 31, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Asian Grocery Store Demystified (Take It with You Guides) (Paperback)
Asian food tastes good, that part is not so mysterious. As a lifelong lover of the gifts of the Oriental cornucopia, and as an occasional, bewildered visitor to Oriental markets, I have found a trustworthy guide to calm my fears and open my eyes to the logical patterns extent in Asian groceriesÉ. Sort of like seeing the tree in the structure of its leaf. BladholmÕs handy, compact guide is jam packed with a veritable taxonomy of Asian foodstuffs. After several trips, guidebook in tow, I now know my way around the numerous varieties of noodles, rice, veggies, spices, condiments, and sweets. My taste buds require fire and ice, and the yin yang organization of a typical Asian grocery that Bladholm so clearly and deftly describes, complete with charming, lovingly done, little word sketches drawn from her extensive Asian travels, as well as her uncannily accurate, line drawings helps to make a trip to the Asian grocery store as easy as apple pie and ice cream, just substitute the apples with pomegranates and the pie with soy bean paste confections that boggle the palette as well as the eye. Hers is a great book, it does what it title claims. It is a totally demystifying experience!
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nice compendium explaining some of the more esoteric foods, July 9, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Asian Grocery Store Demystified (Take It with You Guides) (Paperback)
The author does a great job of shedding some light on some of the lesser known cuisines of Asia--such as Korea and Cambodia. That is not to say that the more familiar cuisines of China and Japan are not covered. She explains many of the more esoteric ingredients and herbs of those countries as well. A really useful book for both the beginner, interested in expanding their culinary horizons, and the more advanced who don't have the ability to read asian languages--I've cooked Asian foods for many years, and still find myself stumped with trying to figure out what the heck to do with an ingredient. I usually ask someone, but I now have a resource to turn to, to supplement my information. Also, a plus is the size of the book--it will neatly fit into one's back pocket or purse. Well done!
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