Customer Reviews

Hot Sour Salty Sweet: A Culinary Journey Through Southeast Asia

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am, admittedly, a coockbook hoarder. I have them everywhere -- even in the drawers of my nightstand and tucked under the bed. I read them cover-to-cover like other people read novels.

Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet is, without a doubt, the best cookbook I have ever read. It is part travel novel, part anthropology lesson, and -- in large part -- a primer for westerners in Southeast Asian cuisine.

Easy to read, straightforward in instruction, its' only flaw is that -- in rare instances -- recipes may include items not available in even a metropolitan Asian market. (I have been to all of the Asian markets in Little Chinatown in Chicago and have yet to find coriander root!) But the ingredients are largely available at most Asian markets and even some larger supermarkets, and substitutions are often recommended.

The grilled chicken with hot and sweet dipping sauce has become a family favorite. The dipping sauce was so flavorful, so simple yet so complex in flavor -- I was surprised that I had made something so delicious.

Buy the book -- you won't be sorry!

You won't be able to decide whether to run to your kitchen or to the airport. This book has stunning photos, engaging essays and scrumptious recipes. At this price it's a bargain!!

If you love flavour, you have to have this book. Thai food introduced many of us to that culinary balance of hot, sour, salty and sweet, which gives this book its name. Alford and Duguid reveal the similarities and differences in the cuisines of neighbouring worlds along the Mekong.

I've been fortunate to help test for the authors, and this collection is my favourite so far. Many of the recipes are now in my daily repetoire, to the delight of family and guests. Choose a spice paste or sauce to transport a simple meal into another realm. That's not to say it's all complex; recipes such as Yunnan greens, or Dali Cauliflower satisfy with a few well chosen ingredients, simply prepared. I had to resist the urge to jazz it up, and was glad to have followed the recipe and learned something new.

This is the most compelling cookbook I have ever had in the more than 50 years I've been cooking (and eating). Usually I skim cookbooks, just picking out the best sounding recipes. But, in this book, I read (and salivated over) every word. Upon finishing, I immediately ordered another copy to be sent to one of my brothers and his wife who also love to travel and cook. All of the recipes I've tried so far have been fabulous.

I bought this cookbook after reading many wonderful reviews. I was not disappointed. This book is beautiful from start to finish. It took me while to pick out a recipe to cook because everything looks and sounds so incredible. I have now cooked several dishes and everything has been great and fairly simple to make. One of my favorites so far is the dish, "Our Favorite Noodles with Greens and Gravy." Find a good oriental grocery store, buy the book and impress your family and friends.

I usually pick my cookbooks by number of recipes and quality of instruction. It is seldom I buy a cookbook that has lots of pictures and non-recipe discourse. However, this is probably one of the best cookbooks I have purchased in the last 2 years. It has clear, concise recipes from my favorite region for food - practically fool-proof (my husband even made the bok choi successfully!).
And adding to the food quality is the need to curl up with this cookbook as if it were a novel - wonderful descriptions of a facinating part of the world, and expressive and intriguing pictures to fire the imagination. I only regret that I have to get it dirty - I'll have to buy a 2nd copy for my coffee table!
A must have for anyone who loves to have fun with food!

Wonderful combination of travelogue and cookbook.

Incidentally as a note to one of the other reviewers, the coriander plant is known as cilantro in the US. Coriander root is simply the root part of cilantro or coriander - just buy cilantro with the roots left on.

[ Follow up]
A lot of Seattle area supermarkets have moved towards more prepack preparation of fresh herbs such as trimming roots and cutting herbs to fit in prepack containers. So it is getting harder to find plants like coriander with roots left on - still the smaller asian markets should have these in stock even if the larger asian supermarkets such as Uwajimaya are starting to follow other major US chains in preparing herbs

If you have curiosity and interest in Asian foods, (and have gotten this far with your curiosity and interests!) you will be very pleased by your reading of "Hot Sour Salty Sweet". It starts out with geography...the flow of the Mekong River from China, as it touches on Burma and Thailand, and goes right through Laos, Cambodia and South Vietnam.

As the river meanders, then builds up force, the authors' tale grows stronger and richer as well. As you learn about the complex network of varied peoples, (yet quite different in culture and tastes) who are spread across this riverbed, be it the Han, Hmong, Bai, Karen, or Khmer and Cham, you are introduced by the nuances of geography, recipes and tribal descriptions to the people, and to the unique foods and diets enjoyed with each region's local spices and traditions. One group may never use pork, another uses fish sauce instead of salt, water buffalo is the preferred meat in some regions, coconuts do not grow in the North and stronger spices tend ot be used there, with coconut milk and seafood more commonly used as the river heads south towards the Mekong delta.

Ever wonder why some Chinese or Thai restaurants taste "different" from each other, even in the USA or whatever country you may be sampling such cuisine? Well, this book may at times educate you (just a little bit) to the ethnic origin of the person as they cook the food with their own special touches added. Ask the cook at your restaurant about their culinary background, to learn more!

The recipes can be transformed from printed page into tasty food with a visit to a local Asian grocery store, if available, visiting "Whole Foods" or "Fresh Market" type specialty grocery stores in larger cities, or via internet shopping to find a mail order source. The ingredients are not really expensive, and a regular person can make some common sense substitutions, to have a quite tasty meal.

I freeze the white bases of lemongrass stalks cut to size, and separately freeze some herbs in thier individual ice cube trays, and they are quite tasty when melted down. Do not use dried lemongrass, as it lacks the right taste! So, having uncommon ingredients handy isn't such a problem, especially when you may not cook more than one or two Asian meals within a few month period.

The recipe instructions are simple and thorough; these are not complex and delicate French sauces to be carefully created over hours... however, the complexity of tastes and textures of some Asian dishes can be no less complex than French, Indian or other cuisines.

Having a wok and gas stove/range is helpful for some recipes, however I've done quite well with a skillet on an electric/ceramic top stove. If you really want to "cook with gas", get the "Big Kahuna Burner"...it's exactly the firepower used throughout Asia, and the price is right on Amazon! (I've reviewed it on Amazon, and have no bias or connection to it other than it's "the real thing"!)

The special bonus in the book is the inclusion of beautiful colorful photos of the varied peoples in the area served by the Mekong, as they harvest food, prepare and eat it, or go about their business.

This makes me want to go back and see, taste and savor more of Asia!

this book is truly a work of art and love... Whoever these people are you can tell that they truly enjoyed making this book, or living the life experinces that they recount in this book. the pictures are beautiful and help greatly to tell the story of the recipes and experiences..... now..... All this could be the case and the recipes could be $hit... and it would make a beautiful coffee table coaster... but they're not... these recipes are good, from the five or six that i've tried, well written and precise. A solid introduction to south east asian flavours and ingredients with nice, acessible home-style dishes.

This is without a doubt the best cookbook I have read. Few cookbooks out there are as readable and interesting as this one and even fewer can come close in terms of the photography. This is as much a look into the food anthropology of the region as it is a cookbook. I lived in Chicago when I got this book and then moved to Hawaii, so for the most part I have had minimal challenges in rounding up authentic asian ingredients. Unless you live in a large city this could be a challenge, but the results from the easy-to-follow recipes speak for themselves. This cookbook is a confidence builder - because these are for the most part home-style recipes, they are somewhat forgiving and the exotic smells that fill your kitchen will impress your guests long before the flavorful, aromatic and colorful dishes are brought to table. Anyone who enjoys the aromas of Asian Food in general and foods of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam (among others) in specific will love this cookbook for it's clarity, simplicity, and authenticity. Anyone who has visited or spent time in this region will love it for it's photography and storytelling. This book is a winner as a cookbook and as a love letter to the people and places it describes.