Customer Reviews

Southeast Asian Flavors: Adventures in Cooking the Foods of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia & Singapore

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Chef Robert Danhi's passion for Asian cuisine and culture is obvious in this first rate book. More than just a cookbook, the reader learns about the culinary identity of Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia, and how to build authentic flavor combinations. His section on the Asian pantry is the best product identification I have seen to date on these authentic ingredients. The book is beautifully illustrated so the reader can visualize not only the ingredient, but what the finished dish should look like. Danhi inserts frequent educational blurbs about "How and Why" to explain the science and art behind the cooking, which is tremendously helpful to the reader. His unbiased assesment of monosodium glutamate is provocative, as well as the more general idea of glutamates and umami flavor. This book is a work of art, and a must for anyone interested in Asian cuisine.

Southeast Asian Flavors has been the best cook book I've ever bought. I am from Thailand and the different recipes from Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand are simply the best out there. I have looked and tried many different cook books for any of these cuisines and I have found that they are always missing an ingredient or technique that would make the dish authentic. When you go through the entire book, you realized the passion and time it took to put everything together. The photographs are amazing and will make you want to make everything you see. Thank you Chef Robert Danhi...now we just have to wait for the next cook book.

I received this book from another chef and have enjoyed reading it throughly. The research and background that Chef Danhi povides in very easy to understand terminology & techniques makes this a go to book for cooking southeast asian cuisine. An immediate favorite.

This book is a great reference for all people intetested in any kind of cooking. The photography is fabulous and the "how and why" sidebars are very educational and helpful. Robert takes a technique driven approach to Asian cooking; that is, rather than include lots of recipes (which he does as well), he includes hundreds of technique tips to explain how to cook as opposed to what to cook.

This book is a must for every cookbook shelf.

I was fortunate in my life to travel to Singapore and taste many of the dishes provided in this book. The sad thing is that for years I wondered how to recreate many of these dishes in my American kitchen with ingredients available to me in the US. The author takes a methodical approach like a culinary school teacher to guide the reader through the steps, being careful to include the KEY nuances that truly identify the dish as "authentic." I am glad to have Southeast Asian Flavors as THE END ALL GO-TO cookbook and reference for recreating authentic Southeast Asian meals at home. I can't express enough how grateful I am that I finally have answers to questions like, "how do you open up and get the meat out of a coconut,. . . how do you pick out a green papaya or mango, . . . is all fish sauce created equal, . . .what identifies Malaysian cuisine as being different from Thai and Vietnamese, . . . etc.?" Great job! Now if the authr could only write a book on how to unravel the cuisines of the Middle East my inquisitive cuilinary mind would be fully content!

A fascinating book on many levels. It is more a "read" than most cookbooks and yet it is a complete cookbook, full of recipes. As others have noted, the insertion of the "Why?" into the recipes is very helpful for something as exotic to most of us as Southeast Asian cooking. And, knowing "Why?" makes the recipes that much easier to create than simply being told what to do; you can build on that newfound knowledge for the next recipe you tackle.
A very well thought out, organized book -- and with beautiful pictures too. A very beautiful book from a very multi-talented person!

I'm not oft one to write reviews, but this book is deserving of every bit of praise others have given it. For me, it shames every other cookbook I've bought/read/perused in the last decade. Brilliant crystal clear writing, context, a bit of travelogue and more than a little textbook (in a good way), it begs the reader to delve into food they'd never considered making themselves. Already, I'm plotting my way through the cookbook, and am impressed with the recipes clarity and flavors.

The one problem? It's made me question buying any other cookbooks.

A beautiful blend of cookbook and textbook, Southeast Asian Flavors is a great primer for all things SE Asian.

From explanations of ingredients and local techniques to the authentic recipes themselves, you really cannot go wrong with this book. I was privileged enough to receive this book as a gift 6 months before my own foray into SE Asia and I must admit that it was more than helpful.

Chef Danhi's Southeast Asian Flavors spends little time on our cookbook shelf. It spends it's time in between the coffee table and the kitchen counter. I'm both sad and happy that my signed copy is full of food stains while the remainder of my cookbooks sits perfectly clean on the shelf. Chef Danhi's passion for culture, food and teaching others just shines through and brings the dishes to life. You can almost smell and hear the sounds of the cooking food coming off the page. I am not a chef or hardly a good cook. This book has inspired me and made cooking an enjoyable experience. I love the recipe for "Red Chili Sambal". The flavors taste nothing like the pre-made jars and it tastes good on almost everything. Chef has also unraveled the secrets of Bun Thit Nuong. This is my go-to dish at many restaurants and now I have been able to successfully make it at home. My other favorite is his Prawn Mee. This is not something I would have ever attempted without Robert's book. His recipes, storytelling and the amazing photographs also make the book the absolute perfect birthday, wedding or housewarming gift. ** Great job Chef! **

This is a wonderful book for the novice cook as well as the professional. Details on ingredients are well described to take the mystery out of cooking with a Southeast Asian flare. The photographs are wonderful and the recipes are easy to follow. I have a wide assortment of cookbooks and this is the first one that actually has me reading the script from cover to cover. I usually read through the recipes only but not with this book -- the photographs and cooking aspects have captured my attention to read it in it's entirety. Money well spent!