Simple Asian Meals: Irresistibly Satisfying and Healthy Dishes for the Busy Cook [Hardcover]

Nina Simonds (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 3, 2012

Once considered exotic, the flavors of Asia are now as close as the international aisle of every supermarket. Using only commonly available ingredients, award-winning cookbook author and Asian-food guru Nina Simonds creates easy, soothing, healthful meals that are masterpieces of simplicity.

In Simple Asian Meals, Simonds presents over 100 recipes for accessible Chinese, Japanese, Thai,
and Vietnamese specialties—packed with fresh, seasonal ingredients and health-giving benefits from
immune support to ease of digestion to cholesterol reduction. Almost all her dishes require only one pot to prepare, and to make meal preparation asmanageable as possible, she also provides freezing and storing techniques, recipe variations for convenience and personal taste, and lists of basic staples readers should always keep on hand.

Colorful, comprehensive, and informed by Simonds’s own culinary travels and memorable moments
in Asia, Simple Asian Meals is every home chef’s guide to creating exquisitely flavored Asian cuisine
quickly and effortlessly.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Much has changed in the 30 years that award-winning author Nina Simonds has been writing about Asian cooking.  These days, it’s no longer a complicated endeavor to prepare Asian dishes at home, thanks to easy-to-find ingredients.  Simonds’ new cookbook makes it even easier.  She offers streamlined recipes for appealing casseroles, stir fries, noodle dishes, soups and stews from China, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam—meals that are do-able even on weeknights.  Clever shortcuts are the name of the game.  Cook your meals in a single pot as often as possible.  After every recipe, Simonds gives variations and informative notes about the healthful properties of the ingredients used.  Her recipes are user-friendly, quick and delicious.  Your takeout menus are about to get dusty."

-- Kimberly Masibay,  Fine Cooking Magazine

"In the latest batch of cookbook releases, we found our soul mate in Nina Simonds’ "Simple Asian Meals: Irresistibly Satisfying and Healthy Dishes for the Busy Cook." With 10 cookbooks under her belt, and authentic expertise in Asian culture, Simonds has the chops to provide handy shortcuts for creating a healthful, weeknight meal. Her recipes for dishes like Golden Scallion-Ginger Scallops, Grilled Miso Tuna, or easy but pretty Spice Orange Fennel Slaw tease out the Asian flavors we love. Simonds is generous with tips on variations that work. No flavored tofu on hand? Swap it for chicken or pork; or trade crunchy, sweet, shredded carrots for crispy snow peas. Plus we like the Chinese medicinal tips she tucks in at the end of recipes. Who knew spinach can help hydrate the body and quench thirst?"

-- Claire Leschin-Hoar San Diego Tribune

"Simple Asian Meals has recipes for Hearty Soup Pots, Stir Fry Suppers, Main Dish Salads, Sumptuous Vegetarian Fare,  Irresistible Sweets and more.  And true to its subtitle – "Irresistibly Satisfying and Healthy Dishes for the Busy Cook" — these are not intricate recipes you have to labor over all day.  Rather, Nina has pared the ingredient lists down to their essentials and even encourages you to take advantage of short cuts like pre-cut butternut squash or packaged fresh green beans.  Delicious, healthful Asian meals that are totally do-able on a weeknight – hooray!"

-- Bettina Siegel- The Lunch Tray.com

About the Author

Nina Simonds is one of the country’s foremost authorities on Chinese cuisine and a bestselling author of 10 books on Chinese food and culture. She was a contributing editor at Gourmet, and her Web site, SpicesofLife.com, is now featured regularly in the food section of the Daily Beast. She lives in Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books; 1 edition (January 3, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1605293229
• ISBN-13: 978-1605293226
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 0.8 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #212,282 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nina Simonds is one of the country's leading authorities on Asian cooking and is an award-winning journalist. She is the author of 11 books on Chinese cuisine and culture, including the best-selling Asian Noodles and A Spoonful of Ginger, which won both the IACP and the James Beard Foundation Book Award for health. Simonds' last book Spices of Life: Simple and Delicious Recipes for Great Health was selected by Cooking Light Magazine as their #1 choice for the best "Healthy" cookbook published in the last 25 years. She has won three James Beard awards. Her website with innovative video blogs (www.spicesoflife.com) was launched in February of 2007 and is featured regularly on The Daily Beast. Her articles have appeared at GourmetLive.com, Epicurious.com, and in the "Off Duty" section of The Wall Street Journal.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Modern, healthy Asian- a great book for the home chef January 7, 2012

By roygbiv

Format:Hardcover

Have you ever left an Asian restaurant and thought, "I wonder what was in that delicious sauce?" Now I know. This cookbook has the answer to that question, along with terrific recipes and beautiful photographs of the finished dishes. Each of the eight recipes I've tried so far turned out perfectly, and all got rave reviews from my family. The required ingredients are easy to find in the supermarket, and the recipes are written with health in mind- they're heavy on vegetables and light on oils and fats. Directions are clearly written, and the recipes are 100% doable for the home chef. My favorite so far is "Crisp Fish Fillets with Sweet and Sour Glaze", which reminds me of the whole, deep-fried fish served in Chinese restaurants- but this one is light and healthy. I'm making the "Seared Ginger-Balsamic Salmon with Hot and Sour Slaw" tonight, and I look forward to trying every recipe in this wonderful book.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed January 27, 2012

By Susan W. Shepard

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have loved all of Nina Simonds books ( after all what could be bad with a broccoli recipe that has a 14 year old boy coming back for thirds). Alas, so far the three recipes I have made have not turned out very well. Keeping my fingers crossed that other outcomes will be better.

If anyone tries the spicy pork tenderloin recipe, reduce the required 3/4 cup hoisin sauce to 1/2 or maybe even 1/4 as it masks all of the other flavors.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Asian Recipes March 9, 2012

By George Erdosh

Format:Hardcover

Simple Asian Meals is a beautifully illustrated cookbook with full-page professional photos showing the results of many recipes. Nina Simonds spent many years in Asia and having had Chinese surrogate family, was immersed in every aspect of Asian cooking. The recipes are excellent and she emphasizes healthy, preferably organic, ingredients with little or no additives. Under most recipes a sidebar outlines the health benefits of ingredients (mostly according to Chinese herbalists and yin and yang). A good seven-page introduction helps you stock your pantry with Asian ingredients and gives you hints for running an efficient kitchen. Each chapter is introduced by a one- or two-page text describing the foods of that chapter, interspersed with personal stories. The recipes are mainly Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese but food styles are also borrowed from Western cuisines. Good head notes precede each recipe. Though the recipes are good, some ambiguity slipped in occasionally. The last chapter of sweets includes mainly simple, fruit-based preparations since Asians are not accustomed to rich Western-style pastries. Unfortunately, recipe layout could've been improved. Many recipes are continued on overleaf pages for the inconvenience of the cook. Index is well cross-referenced and excellent. (As appears in Sacramento/San Francisco Book Review.)