The Exotic Kitchens of Indonesia: Recipes from the Outer Islands [Paperback]

Copeland Marks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 24, 1993

Copeland Marks is the 'Marco Polo' of the food world--always bringing us wonderful exotica.--Gael Greene

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Marks's previous works include books on the cuisines of Burma, India, and Guatemala; here he explores the cooking of the islands of the Indonesian archipelago. Coconut milk, chilies, ginger root, lemon grass, rice, and fish are key ingredients; Indonesian cooks like their food spicy and hot. Marks provides an excellent glossary of ingredients, including availability and possible substitutions; most of his recipes could be easily duplicated in an American kitchen without threatening their authenticity. Asian cuisines and hot and spicy foods are popular now; Marks's delicious recipes will tempt many cooks. This is highly recommended.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 314 pages
• Publisher: M.Evans & Company (October 24, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871317370
• ISBN-13: 978-0871317377
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,994,525 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A prolific pioneer, November 15, 2011

By 

marsaluna (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Exotic Kitchens of Indonesia: Recipes from the Outer Islands (Paperback)

Honestly! Copeland Marks was a prolific pioneer in writing about "exotic" cuisines. In the 1980s and early 1990s I treasured his books about Guatemalan, Burman and Indonesian cooking (cuisines that, few, if any, other writers were covering at that time). Marks was widely traveled and wrote intelligent accounts of the the food he found. The reason he used substitutions in his recipes was, I'm sure, because many ingredients (pandanus leaves, for instance) simply were not available in the US when he wrote his cookbooks. Marks performed a valuable service documenting and introducing US cooks to exotic cusines. It's not fair to hold him to standards of "authenticity" that would have been impossible to achieve at the time he wrote.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor Example of Authentic Cooking, January 11, 2011

By 

demari18 (Fort Worth, TX) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Exotic Kitchens of Indonesia: Recipes From the Outer Islands (Hardcover)

Like in his book The Korean of the Morning: Classic Recipes from the Land of the Morning Calm, Copeland Marks presents recipes with inauthentic substitutions. For example, he feels vanilla extract and green food coloring are a perfectly suitable substitute for pandan extract. They are not. Perhaps the author is unaware that the internet and the explosion in interest in cooking have given most people access to lots of these 'exotic' ingredients, either by purchasing online or in specialty food stores. Plus, most medium to large cities have at least one asian grocery store which will supply one nicely with (nearly) everything needed to produce a broad range of cuisines.

In addition to lacking authenticity, the book does not adequately cover cooking techniques, cultural influences on food, ingredients or eating habits of the people of Indonesia.

Overall this book was inadequate and not worthwile. I welcome all suggestions for alternative sources!