Asian Books - Page 2

Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking

Fuchsia Dunlop

Amazon Price: $19.80 List Price: $30.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: W. W. Norton & Company Amazon Marketplace: 37 new & used starting at $13.29

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 32 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A Must Own 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

The Good:
- Authentic recipes (lots of them). Most of the dishes taste pretty good. The first dish I made was Gong Bao Ji Ding and it was delicious.
- Very nicely written. Instructions were clear and easy to follow. Lots of great info and details about the ingredients and cooking method. The author also provides an interesting background for each dish. You can tell Dunlop is passionate about Sichuanese food.
- Great organization (separated by Noodles, Appetizers, Meat, Fish, etc.)
- No MSG

The Bad:
- Lacks pictures. The pictures were great but I wish there were more. I had to use google to compare my results.

Conclusion:
Overall a great book and easily recommended. Despite the lack of pictures, I still have to rate it 5 stars because of the delicious recipes.

Editorial Review:

The Chinese call the province of Sichuan in southwest China "the land of plenty" and "the place for flavor." Although it is mostly known in the West for its hot-and-spicy dishes, the Chinese love Sichuan food for its inventive use of seasonings and its many styles of preparation. Fuchsia Dunlop immersed herself in Sichuanese cooking and culture for two years, gathering from regional chefs and home cooks a full range of recipes from soups to desserts. She provides glossaries of Sichuan's ingredients and cooking methods, and Chinese characters for and definitions of the twenty-three flavors at the heart of the Sichuanese culinary canon. Equally valuable for novices and experts, Land of Plenty teaches everything from how to wield a cleaver to how to make delicious Kung Pao chicken, offering a unique user-friendly introduction to one of China's richest cuisines. 16 pages of color photographs.

Madhur Jaffrey Indian Cooking

Madhur Jaffrey

Amazon Price: $28.00 List Price: $29.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Barron's Educational Series Amazon Marketplace: 49 new & used starting at $10.74

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 67 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Chef magazine called this book’s author “the best-known ambassador of Indian food in the United States” . . . and the Boston Herald referred to her as “the renowned author and actress [who] teaches home cooks about the sophistication and infinite diversity of Indian fare.” The New York Times described her simply and succinctly as “the Indian cuisine authority.” For many years a best-selling cookbook, Madhur Jaffrey’s seminal title on Indian cuisine now has been totally revised, redesigned, enlarged, and enhanced with 70 brand-new full-color photos. With chapters on meat, poultry, fish, and vegetables, as well as pulses, relishes, chutneys, and pickles, the author guides her readers through the delicious and colorful range of Indian food. More than 100 detailed recipes direct home chefs through step-by-step preparation of well-known classics like Tandoori-style Chicken and Naan Bread, as well as more unusual dishes including Salmon Steamed with Mustard Seeds and Tomato and Drunken Orange Slices. Ms. Jaffrey also presents comprehensive background information on spices and seasonings, kitchen equipment, authentic preparation techniques, and suggested menus. Taste-tempting color photos show prepared dishes.

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food

Jennifer 8 Lee

Amazon Price: $16.49 List Price: $24.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Twelve Amazon Marketplace: 65 new & used starting at $10.97

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 52 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

An insightful and fun read 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Jennifer Lee's "The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food" is a delightful read that provides an interesting perspective of American Chinese food. The author covers the origins of Chinese food in the American society, and how it has evolved. She also touched on various aspects of Chinese restaurants in the U.S. - from Chinese delivery guys to the origin of fortune cookies.

This was a insightful read as Lee was very comprehensive in her research. She covered topics such as the origin of General Tso's chicken, the myth of chop suey, and the company that started the soya sauce packets that came with any order of Chinese food. These quirky topics make this book such a fun and delightful read. What was even more important was that she was able to show how Chinese restaurants and food have become a part of the American culture. In addition, her writing was clear and conversational, interjecting facts with personal anecdotes. Highly recommended.

Editorial Review:

If you think McDonald's is the most ubiquitous restaurant experience in America, consider that there are more Chinese restaurants in America than McDonalds, Burger Kings, and Wendys combined. New York Times reporter and Chinese-American (or American-born Chinese). In her search, Jennifer 8 Lee traces the history of Chinese-American experience through the lens of the food. In a compelling blend of sociology and history, Jenny Lee exposes the indentured servitude Chinese restaurants expect from illegal immigrant chefs, investigates the relationship between Jews and Chinese food, and weaves a personal narrative about her own relationship with Chinese food. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles speaks to the immigrant experience as a whole, and the way it has shaped our country.

Bento Boxes: Japanese Meals on the Go

Naomi Kijima

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Japan Publications Trading Amazon Marketplace: 36 new & used starting at $7.42

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 42 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

recipe book, not directions 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This little book is stuffed full of recipes that make good bento boxes. It is ,however, intended for a Japanese audience and assumes a certain level of familiarity with basic Japanese food preparation. Don't let that scare you off, though, this is a great book!

If you are not familiar with basic Japanese food and ingredients, i suggest you also buy "the Asian Grocery Store demystified" or "a dictionary of Japanese food" or some other basic guide to Japanese cooking to go with this book. Most of the ingredients listed can be found in any large Asian supermarket, or failing that can be substituted with items found in typical American Supermarkets, if you are willing to take a small amount of time to figure out what the ingredient is meant to be doing in the recipe. (is it for taste? texture?) Part of this will depend on where you live, of course, but here in Philadelphia i had no problem finding all the ingredients.

what this book offers is a LOAD of Japanese and Japanese style recipes that are meant to be packed for lunch or dinner. Many of them can be prepared ahead, and all of them are ideal candidates for the bento box or picnic lunch! Most other Japanese recipe books are full of wonderful foods, but with no guarantee that they will be able to survive packing and toting around.

jammed with recipes, its a bargain for anyone looking to make healthy meals on the go.

Editorial Review:

This book offers an elegant way to enjoy delicious, healthy food on the run. Includes more than 40 main dish recipes and step-by-step illustrations.

Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Travels in the Other China

Jeffrey Alford, Naomi Duguid

Amazon Price: $26.40 List Price: $40.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Artisan Amazon Marketplace: 67 new & used starting at $18.39

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

A bold and eye-opening new cookbook with magnificent photos and unforgettable stories.

In the West, when we think about food in China, what usually comes to mind are the signature dishes of Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai. But beyond the urbanized eastern third of China lie the high open spaces and sacred places of Tibet, the Silk Road oases of Xinjiang, the steppelands of Inner Mongolia, and the steeply terraced hills of Yunnan and Guizhou. The peoples who live in these regions are culturally distinct, with their own history and their own unique culinary traditions. In Beyond the Great Wall, the inimitable duo of Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid—who first met as young travelers in Tibet—bring home the enticing flavors of this other China.

For more than twenty-five years, both separately and together, Duguid and Alford have journeyed all over the outlying regions of China, sampling local home cooking and street food, making friends and taking lustrous photographs. Beyond the Great Wall shares the experience in a rich mosaic of recipes—from Central Asian cumin-scented kebabs and flatbreads to Tibetan stews and Mongolian hot pots—photos, and stories. A must-have for every food lover, and an inspiration for cooks and armchair travelers alike.

The Big Book of Wok: 365 Fast, Fresh and Delicious Recipes (Big Book Of...)

Nicola Graimes

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Duncan Baird Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $5.33

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Wok 101 5 out of 5 stars.
19 of 19 people found this review helpful.

Very easy to understand and a variety of recipies. I bought one for one son and this one is for the other. If you want to make your Wok cooking sucessful, start with this book and you won't be disappointed. Binding makes it perfect for laying on the countertop (pages stay open)and easy to read your favorites, or maybe a "new" one to try. Lots of them to choose from.

Editorial Review:

The wok is easily the most versatile cooking vessel ever invented. Its one-pan approach saves time and trouble—and makes clean-up simpler, too. But what gives woks their worldwide popularity is the unbeatable food they produce—as these 365 luscious dishes so richly prove. Wok-steamed fish delivers more taste, and wok-fried vegetables preserve more of their nutritional value than other methods. Better still, each of these tempting curries, stir-fries, and soups can be prepared in minutes. The lavishly illustrated recipes include green vegetable curry and spiced noodles, mussels in tomato broth, Hoisin duck with pancakes, and sesame and tahini spinach, and represent a range of great cuisines from Chinese and Indian to Thai, Vietnamese, and Japanese.

Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art

Shizuo Tsuji, Yoshiki Tsuji

Amazon Price: $29.70 List Price: $45.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Kodansha International Amazon Marketplace: 43 new & used starting at $25.49

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 39 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

When it was first published, Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art changed the way the culinary world viewed Japanese cooking, moving it from obscure ethnic food to haute cuisine.

Twenty-five years later, much has changed. Japanese food is a favorite of diners around the world. Not only is sushi as much a part of the Western culinary scene as burgers, bagels, and burritos, but some Japanese chefs have become household names. Japanese flavors, ingredients, and textures have been fused into dishes from a wide variety of other cuisines. What hasn't changed over the years, however, are the foundations of Japanese cooking. When he originally wrote Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art, Shizuo Tsuji, a scholar who trained under famous European chefs, was so careful and precise in his descriptions of the cuisine and its vital philosophies, and so thoughtful in his choice of dishes and recipes, that his words--and the dishes they help produce--are as fresh today as when they were first written.
The 25th Anniversary edition celebrates Tsuji's classic work. Building on M.F.K.Fisher's eloquent introduction, the volume now includes a thought-provoking new Foreword by Gourmet Editor-in-Chief Ruth Reichl and a new preface by the author's son and Tsuji Culinary Institute Director Yoshiki Tsuji. Beautifully illustrated with eight pages of new color photos and over 500 drawings, and containing 230 traditional recipes as well as detailed explanations of ingredients, kitchen utensils, techniques and cultural aspects of Japanese cuisine, this edition continues the Tsuji legacy of bringing the Japanese kitchen within the reach of Western cooks.

Izakaya: The Japanese Pub Cookbook

Mark Robinson

Amazon Price: $16.50 List Price: $25.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Kodansha International Amazon Marketplace: 40 new & used starting at $15.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Japanese pubs, called izakaya, are attracting growing attention in Japan and overseas. As a matter of fact, a recent article in The New York Times claimed that the izakaya is starting to shove the sushi bar off its pedestal. While Japan has many guidebooks and cookbooks, this is the first publication in English to delve into every aspect of a unique and vital cornerstone of Japanese food culture.
A venue for socializing and an increasingly innovative culinary influence, the izakaya serves mouth-watering and inexpensive small-plate cooking, along with free-flowing drinks. Readers of this essential book will be guided through the different styles of establishments and recipes that make izakaya such relaxing and appealing destinations. At the same time, they will learn to cook many delicious standards and specialties, and discover how to design a meal as the evening progresses.
Eight Tokyo pubs are introduced, ranging from those that serve the traditional Japanese comfort foods such as yakitori (barbequed chicken), to those offering highly innovative creations. Some of them have long histories; some are more recent players on the scene. All are quite familiar to the author, who has chosen them for the variety they represent: from the most venerated downtown pub to the new-style standing bar with French-influenced menu. Mark Robinson includes knowledgeable text on the social and cultural etiquette of visiting izakaya, so the book can used as a guide to entering the potentially daunting world of the pub. Besides the 60 detailed recipes, he also offers descriptions of Japanese ingredients and spices, a guide to the wide varieties of sake and other alcoholic drinks that are served, how-to advice on menu ordering, and much more.
For the home chef, the hungry gourmet, the food professional, this is more than a cookbook. It is a unique peek at an important and exciting dining and cultural phenomenon.

Harumi's Japanese Cooking: More than 75 Authentic and Contemporary Recipes from Japan's Most PopularCooking Expert

Harumi Kurihara

Amazon Price: $18.45 List Price: $27.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: HP Trade Amazon Marketplace: 63 new & used starting at $9.20

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Pleasure to Read and Enjoy 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I enjoy reviewing and using Harumi's Japanese Cooking Cookbook. Since I have a family who enjoy Japanese cooking, it is a wonderful opportunity to be able to purchase a lasting memory that I can enjoy over and over in my home. Recipes from another country is so thrilling to experience and enjoy. Thank you for providing me with this source.

Editorial Review:

Cooking expert and lifestyle guru Harumi Kurihara has won over the hearts of Japanese home cooks with her simple, delicious recipes. After selling millions of copies of her cookbooks, magazines, and housewares in her home country, this charismatic former housewife now shares her award-winning kitchen secrets with Americans for the first time.

These elegant, effortless recipes reflect Harumi's down-to-earth approach to Japanese cooking. Simply written and featuring everyday ingredients, recipes include Pan-Fried Noodles with Pork and Bok Choy, Warm Eggplant Salad, Japanese Pepper Steak, Seafood Miso Soup, and Harumi's popular Carrot and Tuna Salad, along with a chapter on simple ways to make delectable sushi at home.

Demystifying Japanese cooking and celebrating freshness, seasonality, and simplicity, this delightful book introduces Americans to one of the food world's brightest stars, and invites us to cook with her, one gracious dish at a time.

Discovering Korean Cuisine: Recipes from the Best Korean Restaurants in Los Angeles

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Dream Character, Inc. Amazon Marketplace: 35 new & used starting at $12.39

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

A step-by-step guide to re-creating healthy, delicious, Korean-style dinners, this book unlocks the mysteries behind these delicacies in an approachable, illuminating manner. Featuring contributions from 12 of Los Angeles’ most prominent Korean restaurants, this cookbook includes recipes ranging from mainstays such as kimchi, bulgogi (marinated beef), mu-saengchae (spicy Korean radish), and bossam (boiled pork) to specialty dishes such as jjim-dak (vegetable chicken stew), hobak-juk (squash porridge), and jjam-bong (spicy noodle soup with seafood). Besides the typical listing of ingredients and instructions, each recipe contains a progression of photographs illustrating various stages of preparation along with the completed dish. A handy introductory section visually identifies common ingredients and details how to complete the basics—cleaning, peeling, dicing, slicing, shredding, and preparing broths and rice. Those inspired to visit the restaurants themselves will find contact information and a map of their locations in the back of the book.