Asian Soups, Stews, & Curries [Hardcover]

Alexandra Greeley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 23, 1998

As food lovers know, soups, stews, and curries are among the most popular and delicious foods of Asia. Asian Soups, Stews, and Curries brings 200 such dishes from the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, India, and Korea to eager American eaters. Collected from family cooks, street vendors, and restaurant chefs during the author's extensive travels, the recipes are complemented by evocative anecdotes.

The recipes include favorites like noodle soups, dumplings, and more. For beginners, Asian Soups, Stews, and Curries includes a glossary of terms, sidebars on cooking techniques, and notes on unique Eastern ingredients. This exciting collection will be a must for anyone who loves the bold flavors, abundant health benefits, and easy preparation of Asian food. Alexadra (Sandy) Greeley has lived in Hong Kong where she was a writer and editor of the South China Morning Post. She currently lives in Virginia and is a freelance writer for such publications as the Washington Post and Washington magazine. She returns to Asia frequently for research and pleasure.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

While Asian Soups, Stews, and Curries is dedicated to what are simply called "one pot" dishes, there is nothing simple about the vast range of foods the book covers, including recipes from the subcontinent through China to Southeast Asia. Author Alexandra Greeley has drawn on her personal experiences and travels in Asia, and put together one of the most comprehensive collections available. Her goal was to collect as many representative dishes as possible and present them in a user-friendly way for western chefs and kitchens--no small task, considering the trying conditions and variety of languages she encountered.

The book is divided by primary ingredients--chicken, beef, seafood, and vegetables--and includes regional recipes for each. Cooks new to the cuisine will be surprised to find that Asian dishes are quickly cooked with lively flavors and bear little resemblance, if any, to slow-cooked, stock-based western soups and stews. Greeley also does a tremendous job in debunking western conceptions about curries, and demonstrates them as a staple of Asian cuisine with infinite variations--including, and probably starring the incredible Lamb in Saffron, Apricot, Coconut, and Poppy Seed Curry. In the essays that accompany each chapter, Greeley takes great care to provide a cultural foundation for the food she is presenting, and strives to reduce the intimidation factor faced by chefs in unfamiliar territory. Asian Soups, Stews, and Curries is a great introduction for the novice Asian chef, and for those with more experience, Greeley provides a treasure trove of great recipes. --Mark O. Howerton

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Betty Crocker; 1 edition (February 23, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028612698
• ISBN-13: 978-0028612690
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #602,073 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb recipes, excellent anecdotes, and exciting results, July 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Asian Soups, Stews, & Curries (Hardcover)

I have used over 20 recipes from Greeley's book and have not been disappointed in any one of them. I have given two dinner parties (each with about 12 people) and used only recipes from this book.Results were outstanding. Every guest asked for recipes, or decided to buy their own copy of the book. My husband's particular favourite is the Yellow chicken curry.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of good information here, August 3, 2000

By 

Katie Mann (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Asian Soups, Stews, & Curries (Hardcover)

What I really liked about this book is all the information. The author covers a lot of Asian countries, and she writes about the differences in styles and common ingredients between them. She also discusses the ingredients - what they are, what the flavors are, and including a discussion of the many types of rice. The recipes are nicely organized, and easy to follow. I've used a few of the recipes, and one is now a favorite.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soups from nearly every Asian land--unusual and delicious, February 1, 2003

By 

Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Asian Soups, Stews, & Curries (Hardcover)

We love soups. They reheat well after a long day at the office and they are soothing to the throat, very filling but lighter fare. It suits us for an evening meal when we really don't want something heavy but do want something hot. Since we've traveled extensively in Asia and love the cuisine, this book was one we just had to try. I am glad to report that "Asian Soups, Stews and Curries" is a wonderful book for the Asian cuisine lover.

The first recipe we tried was Kalbi Tang, Korean Short Rib Soup. This is a famous Korean dish, almost as famous as Bulgogi and Kimchee. The instructions were interesting; in order to achieve the beautiful clear broth in which the meat and onions float, you must soak the ribs overnight, or boil them and discard that water to remove the scum (which is the albumin and meat bits that coagulate when you boil meat.) I followed this direction, and the other stipulation to remove ALL visible fat from the ribs. After then making the stock and refrigerating the soup overnight to remove the rest of the fat, I made the ginger, sesame and soy sauce-based seasoning that flavors the soup. Wow! What a taste--rich, yet with a clear, flavorful broth. This was an enormous hit at our house.

After watching my husband practically stick his whole head into the Korean soup pot, I decided there must be more good stuff in here. The next one we want to try is Cambodian Fish Soup with Pineapple and Tomatoes--pineapple is surprisingly good in curry type clear soups.

Just about everything is in here from Japanese Chanko-nabe (Sumo Wrestler's fatten-up stew) to Mulligatawny. There are quite a few lentil based curries (nice, we love lentils), noodle soups, meat soups, fish, vegetable and rice soups and stews. This is a fascinating book and one with some very nice and unusual recipes, good for light evening one-pot meals or fancy entertaining or pot-luck. This is fast becoming one of my favorite cookbooks.