Lemongrass and Ginger Cookbook: Vibrant Asian Recipes [Hardcover]

Leemei Tan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 3, 2012

Rich in aromatic spices, herbs, and flavourings, Asian food explodes deliciously in your mouth. Now, thanks to Leemei Tan, home cooks can easily master the art of preparing this delectable cuisine. She explains how to make perfect sushi, creamy curries, spicy stir-fries, and crisp tempura, and work with noodles, kaffir lime leaves, or wasabi. From Korean Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup and Japanese Pork Dumplings to Thai Green Papaya Salad and Indian Aubergine Curry, these imaginative recipes will inspire and delight, whether you have in mind a quick weekday meal or a feast for friends and family. 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Leemei Tan is a recipe writer, food stylist and photographer. Born in Malaysia, she lives in London and travels extensively, sharing both her recipes and travel experiences in her popular and well-known food blog mycookinghut.com which has been attracting a lot of visitors from all around the world.  

She has been interviewed by the New York Times and was featured in Grazia magazine as one of the best female food bloggers in the world. She has had recipes published in a few UK food magazines and contributes to several publications, including Flavours magazine in Southeast Asia.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Duncan Baird (April 3, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781848990135
• ISBN-13: 978-1848990135
• ASIN: 1848990138
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #289,213 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Leemei is a freelance recipe writer, food stylist and photographer. Born in Malaysia, she is now based in London and travels extensively.

She has been authoring her food blog My Cooking Hut http://mycookinghut.com since 2007, with the aim of documenting her childhood recipes and the dishes that have inspired her throughout her years of travelling. She has been awarded as one of the best female food bloggers in the world.

Good food has always been important to her. She is passionate about making it, writing about it, photographing it, and of course eating it!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A book worth owning March 18, 2012

By Greg F. Sinicrope

Format:Hardcover

I own lots of Asian and Indian cookbooks and "Lemongrass and Ginger" has quickly become one of my favorites. I say this because lots of cookbooks have recipes and photos that look great, but when you make the dishes, they are mediocre. Not so with Leemei's cookbook. She's really done her homework and has tested her recipes thoroughly for the home cook. Her focus is on authentic dishes, and this is admirable since authentic recipes have stood the test of time and deserve respect. Take, for example, her sour fish curry, a Sri Lankan dish. She uses the ingredients found in that region and the result is tremendous. The dish is balanced and has just the right level of heat and sweet-sour flavor. I used a little cinnamon in my version. The sauce over rice will blow you away.
Yes, this book is not another version of fast meals with three ingredients, thank God. On the contrary, here we have real respect for cuisines and the traditions and people who created the recipes over time. Who would want anything less?
One other recipe I love is Leemei's version of Cha Ca La Vong. I don't see this recipe in many Vietnamese cookbooks, so it's great Leemei includes it. You make a spice paste for the fish and the result is delicious -- not overpowering but just right. And the combination of noodles, spicy fish, basil, dill, chives, chopped peanuts, all with a sweet-sour-spicy sauce of nuoc cham makes for a great combination of textures and flavors.
So the book really delivers. Great job, Leemei!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars It's easier than you think! April 14, 2012

By cupcake TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

This is the first cookbook review I've done, and I hope it will not be the last.

I love Asian food. Ginger is one of those things that I just love, but yet I rarely cook with it. My family, you see, is Exhibit A in the case for picky eaters. But I've learned that I can get some food by them if I'm not quite honest about its ingredients.

Let's begin by talking about the recipes. Leemei Tan presents food from Japan & Korea, China, Philippines & Indonesia, Malaysia & Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia & Vietnam, and India & Sri Lanka. As I looked through her offerings, I thought I would start with something I knew my family would eat: chicken teriyaki. If you've like me and think teriyaki is something you buy bottled, then you must try Tan's recipe. It's homemade! From scratch! And it's easy! Even better, it tastes really, really good. Not only can you find the ingredients in most supermarkets - if they've got it in my one horse town, they'll have it in yours - but Tan extends the meal from just chicken to chicken with rice and spinach. Yummalicious.

Next, I tried Bibimbap, only because it features a fried egg on it. I can sell anything to my husband and three screaming kids if it has a fried egg on it. This is a bowl with beef, rice, mushroom, carrot sticks, spinach and bean sprouts, with that egg on top. And it tastes really good. The prep work takes a bit - you will be chopping for more than a few minutes - but it's worth it. The soy sauce taste doesn't take away from the beef and veggies.

I figured I should go for a dessert, and the Sri Lankan Crispy Pancakes looked interesting. I struggled with this one, only because the pancake is similar to a crepe in terms of how much of the stuff you put in the pan. But the batter has yeast in it and it not as runny as crepe batter is. You put some coconut and sugar on the pancakes to make them sweet, or you can use an fried egg. I haven't tried the fried egg version yet, but I will. I might also try some semisweet chocolate chips on the pancakes, just because I'm curious if I can add chocolate to the mix.

The photos are clean and clear, and the recipes are approachable. If you need a sauce, Tan provides the recipe. There are not hundreds of recipes, either, which I liked, because it made it easier to determine which ones I wanted to try first.

If you think that Asian cooking is intimidating, you need to re-think that notion. Leemei Tan's Lemongrass and Ginger delivers recipes that you can prepare and, even better, taste good.

The only reason this gets 4 stars instead of 5 is that most of the recipes will not go over well with my picky eating family. Everything I tried, though, earns 5 stars.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully Prepared, just as nice as the food! May 11, 2012

By Dr. Stuart Gitlow TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Vibrant Asian Recipes brings together a series of recipes from multiple parts of Asia, so rather than getting the typical recipes-one-can-make-in-a-wok, we have an assortment of genuine recipes from Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and India (among others). Well illustrated and clearly described recipes led to exciting and interesting meals. If you have a typical western pantry, you'll spend considerable time rounding up the necessary ingredients initially, but once you've got the rice wine, oyster sauce, and various soy sauce types in stock, things will more more easily. This is one of the cookbooks I keep in the kitchen now.