Synopses & Reviews
A guide to preparing gourmet dishes using the ingredients that make Asian cooking so special.
Asian Flavors takes a new and exciting approach to exploring the many different cuisines of the Far East. The book identifies the main flavors used throughout the region-ginger, chiles, lemon grass, coconut, sesame, lime, soy and herbs-and offers some 120 authentic recipes that can be prepared easily at home.
A melting pot of cultures and eating habits, Asia's cuisines reflect the diversity of its people and many foreign influences over the centuries: the French and Chinese in Vietnam, the British in Myanmar and Malaysia, the Dutch in Indonesia and the Spanish in the Philippines. The blending of new ingredients and cooking styles with each country's
indigenous foods created the exhilarating culinary fusion we enjoy today.
Organized by ingredient, the book looks at the flavors that define Asian cuisine, offering fascinating facts and clear instructions on how to prepare and use them in recipes. Complete with a detailed, illustrated glossary, information on selecting and keeping fresh vegetables and ingredients, substitutes for hard-to-find ingredients and techniques, Asian Flavors celebrates some of the world's most delicious and satisfying food.
Review
"Asian Flavors, a new cookbook by British food writer Wendy Sweetser, offers an excellent excuse for a trip to an Asian food store. The book is chock-full of beguiling photographs and recipes ... it's an attractive source for good ideas for supper." -The Houston Chronicle
"The range of delicious, quickly prepared dishes and beautiful full-color photographs make this an attractive gift or addition to a culinary library." -Publishers Weekly
"What to do, exactly, with those gnarled roots of ginger, the pungent, briny fish sauce, and trembling blocks of tofu, so maligned for their alleged lack of flavor? Here, at this point of bewilderment, Asian Flavors identifies its mission: to guide ordinary folks without fear through the aromatic jungle of fermented soy products, galangal, rice wine, and lime leaves-until they have safely reached a well-laid and colorful table... For readers who wish to explore the spectrum of Asian Flavors in their own kitchens, this worthy volume will bolster courage-and serve as a grown-up introduction to the world of possibilities beyond chop suey." -ForeWord Magazine
"Asian Flavors by Wendy Sweetser triumphs with an innovative concept and execution. Arranged by exotic ingredients such as ginger and galangal, chilli, lemon grass, lime and lime leaves, and coconut, this absolutely fascinating book gives a series of intriguing recipes from all over Asia." -Pages Magazine
"A superb introduction to a wide sampling of Eastern ingredients and techniques." -Midwest Book Review
Synopsis
Ginger Fresh Lime and Leaves
Soy Sauce and Soya Bean Sauces Coconut Chiles
About the Author
WENDY SWEETSER specializes in food and travel writing and is food editor of
OK! and
The London Magazine. She spent several years working with a leading Asian food company developing recipes and new products. Sweetser first discovered Asian food on her travels to the Far East 25 years ago, getting to know local cuisines by touring markets- marveling at the exotic ingredients rarely seen in those days in Western stores-and by dining with local people in their homes.