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asian cuisine
also see THAI AND CHINESE to explore more of these marvellous flavours.
to see what we have been reading in the last two months click here
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KOTO
A culinary journey through Vietnam
Tracey Lister and Andreas Pohl
Photography Michael Fountoulakis
Published by Hardie Grant Books, deluxe paperback $45.00
This book isn’t just a culinary journey through Vietnam, but the story of a brilliant philanthropic idea that has helped thousand of Vietnamese street kids to get out of poverty and into decent hospitality positions throughout Vietnam. Jimmy Pham, the founder of Koto is celebrated for his initiative and it is one that is now being followed in other countries. Andreas Pohl helped raise/funded some of the money at the start of the foundation’s life and Michael Fountoulakis came into the group by staging an exhibition to raise funds for Koto.
In many ways it is a pity that the quality of the printing doesn’t to more justice to Fountoulakis’ images which are lovely but the recipes are succinctly written and all of the ingredients readily available. The simplicity of some of the dishes mean they can be taken into daily cooking by virtue of the taste they deliver for the small amount of time they take to cook. There are also great ideas for canapés and whilst I am wary of wildly reviewing Vietnamese cookbooks because my knowledge is limited and I have never been to Vietnam, the authors of this book have expert knowledge and we are sure have not deviated from the truth of their old and modern cuisine.
Even if you don’t cook buy this book, buy several copies and give them to friends who do cook and support Koto for the brilliant job it does. AO
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Secrets of the Red Lantern
Stories and Vietnamese recipes from the heart
Pauline Nguyen, with recipes by Luke Nguyen and Mark Jensen
Published by Murdoch, H/B $59.95
Firstly it is important to admit that my knowledge of Vietnamese food, having never traveled in Vietnam is in the main book learned and by frequenting the tiny restaurants and eating places in the vicinity of Hansen Road. Forgetting all that Secrets of the Red Lantern is one of the most captivating books, exquisitely designed by Sarah Odgers and brilliant recipe photographs by Alan Benson, it is embellished with the most wonderful memorabilia in the way of family photographs.
For the quality of the publication, that mercifully doesn’t stop at the cover but continues through to the last page with glorious pale tinted backgrounds the price is miniscule. Poignant and passionate text, lickable food photographs, fascinating recipes that pay no quarter to substitution that might better suit sensitive Western tastes. This book is another memoir of a restaurant family in Australia. It is the story of migration and represents the very best parts of Australian society that celebrates all its immigrants. It is a book that will be celebrated by all travelers to the East, with reminders of simple things like squid flattened on the hot pavement drying in the sun.
We need to celebrate that publishers this year seem to be taking a risk with some exquisite publications that are as beautiful for their design as they are for their recipes. Secrets of the Red Lantern is a really wonderful book. |
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Asian Dumplings
Mastering Gyõza, Spring Rolls, Samosas and More
Andrea Nguyen
Photography by Penn de Los Santos
Published by ten Speed Press, H/B $43.95
Despite the fact that I really don’t like books that give recipes in cups and teaspoons because it’s such a bloody nuisance if you want to make a couple of hundred this is a really good book. Of Course we will be carefully weighing everything and converting the recipes to a much more usable form, but…!
Nguyen has assembles a very comprehensive list of recipes covering dumplings with excellent small diagrams showing how to roll and particular shapes of classic dumplings. This is a great book for the home cook, but every chef who has to write canapé menus should also own one. AO
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much more fun if you go out with us! |
The galaxy guides web site it built and maintained by www.annoliver.com photography unless otherwise stated Ann Oliver copyright © text, recipes and images unless otherwise stated Ann Oliver |
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book review index
New This Month
New books that we have just reviewed
Books that we are reading at the moment and enjoying but have not yet reviewed
click here
American
Alinea
Grant Achatz with
Nick Kokonas : Mark McClusky : Michael Nagrant : Michael Ruhlman : Jeffrey Steingarten
design by Crucial Detail and Naissance
photography by Lara Kastner
Published by 10 Speed Press, H/B $65
Oysters a Culinary Celebration
Joan Reardon
Published by The Lyons Press, New York and distributed in Australia by Peribo Books
Deluxe Paperback $29.95Chef
Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen
Paul Prudhomme
Published by Harper Collins, H/B $49.95
click here
Architecture & Design
Ultimate Outdoor Kitchens
Inspirational designs and plans
Michelle Kodis
Published by Gibbs, Smith, Publisher deluxe paperback $42.95
click here
Asian
Asian Dumplings
Mastering Gyõza, Spring Rolls, Samosas and More
Andrea Nguyen
Photography by Penn de Los Santos
Published by ten Speed Press, H/B $43.95
KOTO
A culinary journey through Vietnam
Tracey Lister and Andreas Pohl
Photography Michael Fountoulakis
Published by Hardie Grant Books, deluxe paperback $45.00Secrets of the Red Lantern
Stories and Vietnamese recipes from the heart
Pauline Nguyen, with recipes by Luke Nguyen and Mark Jensen
Published by Murdoch, H/B $59.95
Cooking with Asian Leaves
Devagi Sanmugam and Christopher Tan
Published by Marshall Cavendish Cuisine, approximately $30, you will probably have to order the book from your favourite bookseller
click here
Champagne
Books about Champagne is a cpmpletely new section that Champagne editor Kaaren Palmer will be adding to on a regular basis.
April 8, 2011
Chick Lit
The Last Chinese Chef
Nicole Mones
Published by Fourth State, P/B $30
The Lost Recipe for Happiness
Barbara O’Neal
Published by Harper Collins Publisher Australia, P/B $32.99
click here
Children
In the Night Kitchen
Maurice Sendak
Published by harper Collins, H/B $35.00, local P/B $20.00
The Magic Pudding Norman Lindsay
There is an appalling in–print P/B edition by Dodo Press that
doesn’t have Linsday’s suberb images on the cover. We recommend
a second hand edition and there are a number of apparently good copies
available on line.Where the Wild Things Are
Story and pictures by Maurice Sendak
Published by The Bodley Head, H/B $39.95Ratatouille
Disney DVDMax and the Truffle Pig
Written and illustrated by Judith G. Brown
Abingdon Press, appears to be out of print but there are a few copies available for about $20AUD on line 1963 edition if you can get it
click here
Chinese
Kylie Kwong recipes and Stories
Kylie Kwong
Photography by David Matheson
Published by Viking, P/B $39.95
Asian Dumplings
Mastering Gyõza, Spring Rolls, Samosas and More
Andrea Nguyen
Photography by Penn de Los Santos
Published by ten Speed Press, H/B $43.95
click here
Contemporary Australian
classic écco
Philip Johnson buy straight from their web site click hereThe Real Food Companion
Matthew Evans
Photography Alan Benson Published by Murdock Books, H/B $80
OUTBACK
Recipes and stories from the campfire
Andrew Dwyer with photography by John Hay
Published by The Miegunyah Press, H/B $49.95Wild Weed Pie
A lifetime of recipes
Janni Kyritsis with Roberta Muir, photography by Ian Wallace
Published by LANTERN, an imprint of Penguin Books, H/B recommended retail price $59.95
click here
Desserts
Desserts a Lifelong Passion
Michel Roux photographs Martin Brigdale
Published by Conran Octopus H/B $69.95
A Passion for Fruit
Lorenza De’Medici, photography Mike Newton
Published by Pavilion, H/B $61.95, P/B $48.95
click here
Every Day Cooking + Bread
my bread
The revolutionary no–work, no–knead method
Jim Lahey
with Rick Flaste
Photographs by Squire Fox
Published by W. W. Norton & Company, H/B $40
The Naked Chef
Jamie Oliver
H/B available discounted for around $25Wild Weed Pie
A lifetime of recipes
Janni Kyritsis with Roberta Muir, photography by Ian Wallace
Published by LANTERN, an imprint of Penguin Books, H/B recommended retail price $59.95maze
the cookbook
Jason Atherton
foreword Ferran Adrià, chef patron of El Bulli
Photography Ditte Isager
Published by quadrille, deluxe paperback $34.95My French Vue
BISTRO COOKING AT HOME
Shannon Bennett
Photographs by Simon Griffiths
Published by Simon & Schuster Australia, H/B $54.9The Kitchen Diaries
Nigel Slater
Photography Jonathan Lovekin
Published by Fourth Estate, London, P/B $39.99
click here
Food Fiction
How to Travel with a Salmon and other Essays
Umberto Eco
Published by Vintage, P/B $27.95
The Bread with Seven Crusts Susan Temby Published by harper Collins, P/B $21.95Kafka’s Soup
A complete history of world literature in 14 recipes
Written and illustrated by Mark Crick
Published by Wakefield Press, H/B $26.95MARTINI a memoir, with a new twist
Frank Moorehouse
Published by Random House, P/B $24.95
click here
Food Politics & Climate
The Omnivore’s Dilemma
The search for a perfect meal in a fast–food world
Michael Pollan
Published by Penguin, H/B $38.99, P/B $22.99
Not on the Label
Felicity Lawrence
Published by Penguin, P/B $24.95Eating Between the Lines
Food & Equality in Australia
Rebecca Huntley
Published by Black Inc., P/B $24.95
click here
French
Larousse Gastronomique the bible of French cooking
French Lessons recipes and techniques for a new generation of cooks
Published by hardie Grant Books, deluxe P/B $45French
Damien Pignolet
Photography earl CarterMy French Vue
BISTRO COOKING AT HOME
Shannon Bennett
Photographs by Simon Griffiths
Published by Simon & Schuster Australia, H/B $54.99
click here
Greek
Falling Cloudberries
A world of family recipes
Tessa Kiros
Published by Murdoch Books Pty limited Australia, H/B $55.00 approximately
The Greek Cook
Simple Seasonal Food
Rena Salaman
Published by Aquamarine, H/B $39.95
click here
Growing Your Own
vegie patch
How to grow your own food
Alan Buckingham, with Australian consultant Jennifer Wilkinson
Published by DK, H/B $49.95
click here
Health, Vegetarian & Dietary Requirements
DAKSHIN
Vegetarian Cuisine from South India
Chandra Padmanabhan
Published by Periplus Editions (Hong Kong) Ltd P/B $37.95
Sharing Sweet Secrets
Gluten & wheat free
Pamela Moriarty
Published by Pamela Moriarty deluxe paperback $29.95 available nationally at Wheel & Barrow stores and selected bookshops and news agentsNutrition for the Brain
Feeding your brain for optimum performance
Dr Charles Crebbs
Published by Michelle Andersen Publishing Melbourne, P/B $24.9strong class="treb14grey">HEART FOUNDATION
The New Classic Cookbook
Loukie Werle
Published by Park Street Press, quality spiral bound P/B $16.95
www.heartfoundation.org.au or book stores, newsagents and shopsMoosewood Cookbook
Mollie Katzen
Published by 10Speed Press, P/B $39.95The Asian Vegan Kitchen
Authentic and Appetizing Dishes from a Continent of Rich Flavours
Hema Parekh
Published by Kodanasha International, P/B $38.99
click here
Health, Vegetarian & Dietary Requirements 2
Cauliflower Conspiracy
Jo Fielder
Published by Cauliflower Conspiracy, www.cauliflowerconspiracy.com deluxe paperback
$39.95
Healing Foods
Cooking for Celiacs, Colitis, Crohn’s and IBS
Sandra Ramacher
Foreword by Dr Ron Hoffman
Published by
www.ccccibs.com $34.95
click here
History
DELIZIA!
The epic history of the Italians and their food
John Dickie
Published by Free Press, P/B $35
FOOD a history
Filipe Fernández-Armesto
Published by PAN MACMILLAN P/B $25Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World
A concise history with 174 recipes
Lilia Zaouali, translated by M. B. De Bevoise, foreword by Charles Perry
Published by the University of California Press, H/B $44.95The Roman Cooking of Apicius
John Edwards
Published by Rider, P/B $25.00
Has become a little harder to find but remains the best reference of it’s kind
click here
History 2
Aphrodite and the Mixed Grill
Greek cafés in twentieth-century Australia
Toni Risson
Published by Toni Risson, P/B $59
Oysters a Culinary Celebration
Joan Reardon
Published by The Lyons Press, New York and distributed in Australia by Peribo Books
Deluxe Paperback $29.95The Rituals of Dinner
Margaret Visser
Published by Penguin, P/B $24.95The Meat Game
A History of the Gepps Cross Abattoirs and Livestock Markets
Richard Maurovic
Published by Wakefield Press, H/B $39.95Truffles
Elizabeth Luard
Photographs by John Heseltine
Published by Frances Lincoln, H/B $49.95
click here
History 3
Beppi
A life in three courses
Beppi Polese with John Newton
Published by Pier 9, H/B $49.95
Banquet of the Mind
Don Anderson
Published by Random House Australia, P/B $27.40
click here
Italian
Preserving the Italian Way
A collection of old-style Casalinga Italian recipes assembled by
Pietro Demaio
Published by Memoirs Foundation Inc. (Australia), P/B
DELIZIA!
The epic history of the Italians and their food
John Dickie
Published by Free Press, P/B $35La Nonna la Cucina la Vita
Recipes from my Italian Grandmother
Text and illustrations by Larissa Bertonasco
Translation by Fui lee Luk
Published by new Holland, deluxe paperbackLa Nonna la Cucina la Vita
Recipes from my Italian Grandmother
Text and illustrations by Larissa Bertonasco
Translation by Fui lee Luk
Published by new Holland, deluxe paperbackA passion for fruit
Lorenza De Medici, photography Mike Newton
Published by Pavilion, H/B $61.95, P/B $48.95Gastronomy of Italy
Anna del Conte
Published by Anova Books 2001 hardback ($80 approx) and paperback ($40) latest version 2004 ($95 approxSicilian Food
Recipes from Italy’s abundant isle
Mary Taylor Simeti
Published by Wakefield Press, P/B $29.95
click here
Italian 2
Beppi
A life in three courses
Beppi Polese with John Newton
Published by Pier 9, H/B $49.95
Francesco’s Kitchen
An intimate guide to the authentic flavours of Venice
Francesco da Mosto
Published by Ebury Press, H/B $79.95LA CUCINA
THE REGIONAL COOKING OF ITALY
The Italian Academy of Cuisine
Published by Rizzoli NEW YORK, H/B $59.95
click here
Japanese
Japanese Cooking
Shizuro Tsuji with the assistance of Mary Sutherland
Published by Kodansha International, H/B $59.95
IZAKAYA
The Japanese Pub Cookbook
Mark Robinson
Photographs by Masashi Kuma
Published by Kodansha International, H/B $39.95A Little Taste of Japan
Recipes by Jan Lawson, Photographs recipes Alan Benson, locations Gorazd Vilhar, additional text Charlotte Anderson
Published by Murdoch Books, P/B $24.95
click here
Jewish
The Book of Jewish Food
An odyssey from Samarkand and Vilna to the present day
Claudia Roden
Published by Penguin, H/B $53.95
click here
Magazines
SPAIN GOURMETOUR
Food, Wine & Travel Magazine
www.spaingourmetour.com
apicius
international edition
published by Montagud Editores S.A, Spain
available by subscription in Australia from ecotel Adelaide
email or telephone +61 8 8410 3633SAVEUR
Subscription
www.saveur.com and select local news agencies
9 issues for $37.95USD which is approximately $51.00AUD
Their website is excellent and subscribing is well worthwhileSLOW
The International Herald of Taste
The Magazine of the Slow Food Movement
Subscribe on–line
www.slowfood.com
click here
Mexican
The food and life of
OAXACA
traditional recipes from Mexico’s heart
Zarela Martinez, photographs by Laurie Smith
Published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd, H/B $49.95
click here
Middle Eastern
Moroccan Cuisine
Paula Wolfert
P/B $20.95
The New Book of Middle Eastern Food
Claudia Roden
P/B $46.95 The Ottoman Kitchen
Sarah Woodward
My copy is hard cover but it appear there is only a paperback version available for about $25Purple Citrus & Sweet Perfume
Cuisine of the Eastern Mediterranean
Silvena Rowe
H/B $42.95 Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World
a concise history with 174 recipes
Lilia Zaouali
H/B $59.95 Falling Cloudberries A world of family recipes
Tessa Kiros
Published by Murdoch Books Pty limited Australia, H/B $55.00 approximately
click here
Molecular Gastronomy
ELBULLI2003
ELBULLI2005
Ferran Adrià, Juli Soler, Albert Adria
Photography Francesc Guillamet
Published by approximately $200AUD
Only available on internet https://secure.elbulli.com/elbullibooks/
A day at elBulli
An insight into the ideas, methods and creativity of
Ferran Adrià
Ferran Adrià — Juli Soler — Albert Adrià
Published by Phaidon Press Ltd 2008,
www.phaidon.com — H/B
$75
click here
Mushrooms-Funghi
The Ultimate Mushroom Book
The complete guide to mushrooms — a photographic A – Z of types and 100 original recipes
Peter Jordan and Steven Wheeler
Published by Lorenz Books, retail $24.95 for P/B more for the H/B
click here
Philosophy & Digressions
Plenty
Digressions of food Gay Bilson
Published by Penguin, H/B out of print but worth looking for P/B $39.95
and also available as an audio book
on digestion
Gay Bilson
Published by Melbourne University Press, H/B $19.95The Raw and the Cooked
Adventures of a Roving Gourmand
Jim Harrison
Published by Atlantic Books, P/B $24.95Food, Morals and Meaning
The pleasure and anxiety of eating
John Coveney
Published by RoutledgeA Food Lover’s Treasury
Julie Rugg & Lynda Murphy
Published by Frances Lincoln Limited, H/B $24.95Heat
Bill Burford
(An amateur’s adventures as a kitchen slave, line cook, pasta–maker, and apprentice to a Dante–quoting butcher in Tuscany)
Published by Alfred A. Knopf New York H/B $49.95
click here
Philosophy & Digressions 2
Kitchen Confidential
Adventures in the kitchen underbelly
Anthony Bourdain
Published by Bloomsbury $24.95
Alice Waters and Chez Panisse
The romantic, impractical, often eccentric, ultimately brilliant making of a food revolution
Thomas McNamee
Published by The Penguin Press, New York, H/B $49.95The Heretic’s Feast
Colin Spence
Published by Fourth Estate, P/BFish and Feather, Food for Thought
A CULINARY TOUR OF BRITAIN’S SEAS AND SKIES
Simon Courtauld, illustrations by Lucy Vickery
Published by THINK BOOKS, H/B $24.95
Kitchen Essays I adore this book AO
Agnes Jekyll
Published by Persephone Books, London
Recommended retail $27.00 approximately
click here
Recipe Journals
my favourite recipes
Published by Reader’s Digest, deluxe P/B
click here
Science
WHY SIZE MATTERS truffles and aroma
coming next week
NEW FREEZING TECHNOLOGY and why the blast freezer probably should be your next restaurant equipment purchase
Planning for Seafood Freezing Edward Kolbe and Donald Kramer MAB–60 2007
click here Alaska Sea Grant College Program University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks,
Alaska 99775–5040 (888) 789–0090
Fax (907) 474–6285
wwww.alaskaseagrant.org
Journal of Food Engineering 54 (2002) 175–182
Novel methods for rapid freezing and thawing of foods — a review Bing Li, Da–Wen Sun *
click here
FRCFT Group, Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering, University College Dublin, National University of Ireland, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, Ireland
Received 10 August 2001; accepted 19 October 2001
CSIRO press release Presha Fruit wins international food science award in Germany 2009, revolution in fruit juice flavour
click here
Spanish
we are reading now Colman Andrew’s reinventing Food Ferran Adrià, the man who changed the way we eat and despite our fear that is would be another bland churned out Phaidon publication this book sings! Australian release October 2010
RUSTICA MOVIDA
Spanish Traditions and Recipes
Frank Camorra and Richard Cornish
Photography Alan Benson
Published by Murdoch Books, H/B $53.95MOVIDA
SPANISH CULINARY ADVENTURES
Frank Camorra & Richard Cornish
Published by Murdoch Books, deluxe P/B $45.00ELBULLI2003
ELBULLI2005
Ferran Adrià, Juli Soler, Albert Adria
Photography Francesc Guillamet
Published by approximately $200AUD
Only available on internetA day at elBulli
An insight into the ideas, methods and creativity of
Ferran Adrià
Ferran Adrià — Juli Soler — Albert Adrià
Published by Phaidon Press Ltd 2008,
www.phaidon.com — H/B
$75 AUDThe Real Taste of Spain
Recipes inspired by the markets of Spain
Jenny Chandler, recipe photographs by Vanessa Courtier
Published by Cameron House, H/B $49.95
click here
Spanish 2
www.spaingourmetour.com
Culinaria SPAIN
Published by Könemann, H/B
$43.95Traditional Spanish Cooking
Janet Mendel
Published by Frances Lincoln, P/B $39.951080 Recipes
Simone and Inés Ortega, illustrated by Javier Mariscal
Published by Phaidon, H/B $69.95
click here
Spice
Spice Notes and Recipes
Ian Hemphill, with recipes by Kate Hemphill
H/B $59.95, published by MacMillan
Dangerous Tastes
The story of spices
Andrew Dalby
Published by British Museum Press H/B $60.95 P/B $35.95
Just add Spice Lyndey Milan and Ian Hemphill Published by Lantern, H/B $49.95
click here
Technique
SOUS–VIDE CUISINE
Joan Roca and Salvador Brugués
English edition published by Montagud Editores, H/B around $200 can be purchased in Australia off the shelf at Ecotel or you will need to order it from your favourite book selle
Preserving the Italian Way
A collection of old-style Casalinga Italian recipes assembled by
Pietro Demaio
Published by Memoirs Foundation Inc. (Australia), P/BDesserts a Lifelong Passion
Michel Roux photographs Martin Brigdale
Published by Conran Octopus H/B $69.95LAROUSSE GASTRONOMIQUE
The World’s greatest cookery encyclopedia
Published by Hamlyn, H/B $148.99Mastering the Art of French Pastry
An Illustrated Course
Bruce Healy & Paul Bugat
With drawings by Paul Bugat and photographs by Pierre Ginet
Published by Barron’s, out of print and worth any money you can get a copy ON FOOD AND COOKING, Science and the lore of the kitchen (latest edition 2004)
THE CURIOUS COOK – more kitchen science and lore (1992)
MCGEE ON FOOD AND COOKING (2004)
Harold McGee
click here
Technique 2
A Year in a Bottle
How tot make your own delicious preserves all year round
Sally Wise
Published by ABC Books, P/B $24.95Frozen Desserts
Francisco J. Migoya
Published by the Culinary Institute of America, H/B $100 Home Cheesemaking
Recipes for 75 homemade cheeses
Ricki Carroll
Published by Storey Publishing, P/B $30.95
click here
Travel
Shannon Bennett’s PARIS
A PERSONAL GUIDE TO THE CITY’S BEST
Shannon Bennett, Scott Murray & friends
Published by THE MIEGUNYAH PRESS, H/B $44.95
click here
Web Sites & Blogs
The American SAVEUR
The Spanish Spain Gourmetour
click here
Wine
Essentials the books that anyone wanting to learn about wine should have!
The Widow Clicquot The story of a Champagne empire and the woman who ruled it
Tilar J Mazzeo
Published by Collins, An Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, P/B $33Bubbles, Bottles and Colonial Bastards
A short history of sparkling wine in Australia 1840–1990
James Smith
Published by James S. Smith & Associates, P/B $39.95
This book may be a little difficult to find contact Imprints BooksellersPlanning wine touring in Australia?
click here
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Cooking with Asian Leaves
Devagi Sanmugam and Christopher Tan
Published by Marshall Cavendish Cuisine, approximately $30, you will probably have to order the book from your favourite bookseller
This is an invaluable book. In our home city of Adelaide, South Australia just about every visit to a Chinese grocer there seem to be people looking for Chinese leaves and herbs who are totally unable to identify them and frequently the shop assistants do not know their translated names or speak English.
Devagi Sanmugam & Christopher Tan need no introduction to foodies in Singapore
and have collaborated to produce an interesting and useful book that clearly
identifies 29 leaves used in Asian cooking. Actual size images make the ingredients
easily recognizable and their book offers simple recipes as a starting point
with options to take those ingredients further.
Nearly all of these leaves can be found seasonally in temperate climates and some of the soup leaves make a vast difference to the finished taste.
The Khmer Steamed Fish is a good example of tasty quick home style cooking and the Rice Paddy herb can often be found in areas where Chinese and Vietnamese have their gardens. We are not embarrassed to the book along with us and have found it very useful when experimenting with recipes from the lovely book, Secrets of the Red Lantern.
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