Terrific Pacific Cookbook [Paperback]

Anya von Bremzen (Author), John Welchman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 1995

The Pacific is the Mediterranean of the 1990s. Its where the new ideas in food are coming from. Its hot, light, fresh, exotic, and energetic. Its Thai, Vietnamese, Australian, Malaysian and Indonesian. Its Chinese-influenced, Indian-influenced, Japanese-influenced. Now Anya von Bremzen and John Welchman, award-winning authors of Please to the Table, present the terrific pacific in over over 260 glorious recipes and dozens of essays on spices, markets, pantries, techniques, and cultural traditions. Terrific Pacific is for people who've come to love the citrusy flavors of lemon grass and kaffir limes; who want to use more chilies, ginger, cilantro, spice rubs, and pastes; who are curious about curries. Visiting four-star chefs in Australia and roadside vendors in Penang, tea houses in Singapores old Chinatown and home cooks in Vietnam--wherever the culinary melting pot bubbles--the authors offer a spectacular marriage of flavors. And in an age of great treats, terrific pacific desserts stand out for being both simple and exotic. Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club's HomeStyle Books, and the Better Homes & Gardens Family Book Service.
52,000 copies in print.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The intricately spiced, multilayered flavors of the Pacific seduce the palate in the 300-plus recipes here. The authors (Please to the Table), who investigated ingredients and techniques on travels to Australia, Thailand, Malasia, Japan, Singapore and other outposts now culinarily "in," deliver the goods on this newly popular cuisine in meticulously adapted recipes. However, three caveats for the home cook: considerable time and patience are required to capture such taste complexities as Griddle Breads with Curried Lamb; many dishes include fat-loading deep-frying; and, although substitutions are frequently suggested, such aromatics as lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and galangal are essential to many dishes. Those issues aside, this compendium, with many recipes that are not beyond the novice, offers an intensive course in this bold fusion fare and should prove to be a definitive volume. Broiled Bluefish with Caramelized Lemons blends seafood, citrus and herbs irresistibly; Pork Chops with a Mushroom Saute and Arugula Pesto is a rich, three-way marriage of flavors. HomeStyle main selection.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Coming from the authors of Please to the Table (LJ 12/90), a widely praised Russian cookbook, this ambitious book on the foods of the Pacific Rim is somewhat of a surprise. Von Bremzen describes how a trip to Australia first piqued their interest in fusion, or East-West, cuisine and led to this latest collaboration. Many of the cookbooks on Pacific Rim cooking present only one viewpoint, that of a creative and/or trend-conscious chef experimenting with Asian and Western flavor combinations. Terrific Pacific instead provides dozens of recipes from home cooks and chefs, street-food vendors, food writers, and others the authors encountered in their travels throughout Australia and New Zealand, Southeast Asia and Japan, and, finally, California. The text is always readable, and the recipes, though some are more authentic than others, amazingly diverse. For most collections.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (January 5, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563051729
• ISBN-13: 978-1563051722
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #496,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best, September 24, 2003

By 

Thomas E. Tweedel (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Terrific Pacific Cookbook (Hardcover)

I've been through a lot of Asian Cookbooks but this is one that I keep comming back to for new and orginal reciepes.

Asian Fusion is the Theme, particularly Southest Asia. Thai, Indonesia, Phillipines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Fusion Recepies from Australia and New Zenland dot the pages as well as receipies that are had to classify other than really good. They blend ingredients and techniques for some awesome dishes.

The book is more or less organized by theme and ingredient, finger foods, poultry, deserts, salads, soups etc.
In addition to the organization of the book the receipies are organized in a reasonable fashion as well. To many cook books haphazardly organize the steps and ingredients so that you miss something or do it out of sequence (oh, I was supposed to boil this first).

This is not a book for beginners though. The reciepies here are generally moderate to very complex and are generally not the sort of thing you throw together at the last minute. Not to say they don't have some quick and easy ones but the theme is more towards those with gormet inclinations and farmiliarity with Asian cooking already.

One downside to the book is they assume you have access to an incredible variety of ethnic ingredients. In Austin we have Asian Markets and Central Market (an awesome store that specializes in gormet ingredients) but from time to time I find myself unable to locate something needed for some dishes. I've learned some substitutions. Also some of the reciepies can run up your food bill a bit. They are best left for those yearly special occasions.

Still its an EXCELLENT cookbook. Every time I get bored I go back to it and find something new and interesting. Its just loaded with great stuff. Buy it, you won't regret.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary recipes that are a delight to the palate., September 17, 1999

By 

[e-mail] or Patty Judson (Juneau, Alaska) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Terrific Pacific Cookbook (Paperback)

Full of unusual but consistently reliable recipes. This cookbook is now owned by many of my friends and my extended family. We get together and have Terrific Pacific potlucks several times a year. Although the recipes are sometimes complicated, their flavors are memorable. This cookbook makes a wonderful gift for the electic, experienced chef.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great Pan-Asian book for home cooks, April 10, 2003

By 

Jennifer Barger (Falls Church, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Terrific Pacific Cookbook (Paperback)

I'm a cookbook junkie, and I have dozens of books I just look at and never actually cook from. This isn't one of them. It's stained and dog-eared, from trying exotic but not terribly difficult recipes like Pot Roast with Asian flavors, stir-fried spinach and a terrific pineapple upside-down cafe with rummy, coconutty whipped cream. A great way to cook Asian without resorting to fattening, take-out-style recipes. The small sections about markets in Southeast Asia and such are also good...they make you want to try this food in person!