5 comments about Spices of Life: Simple and Delicious Recipes for Great Health.

1. This book was not my first introduction to Nina Simonds' recipes. I have a very dog-eared copy of Asian Noodles from which I make about ½ dozen recipes on a regular basis and another ½ dozen or so less frequently. Spices of Life provides an expansion of the recipe file for the Nina Simonds pantry. Her recipes are clearly written, easy to follow, and always a success. A very good description of her ingredients list is given in "Basic Staples (with some substitutions)," this is something I wished for with the Asian Noodles book. Now I always have the staples on hand and often I need only pick up a few fresh ingredients at the store, or pull them out of the fridge, to put together a wonderful meal. Everyone in my family including my 4-year-old has a favorite recipe from a Nina Simonds cookbook.
   
   I welcome this book on healthy cooking which doesn't simply forbid some foods and scold us for lazy eating so much as it encourages living and eating healthy through easy-to-prepare, family-friendly, delicious recipes. Thank you, Ms. Simonds, for another wonderful cookbook!



2. So far I have made several things from this book and cant get enough! I cook for my friends and am always trying to come up with new recipes to try when I came across this book and had to buy it one the spot. The recipes are easy to prepare, the ingredients are not hard to find either. I am going to get her other cookbooks, if they are anything like this one I will be so happy. There is a section in this book that has come amazing marinades and surprize you do not need to marinate them overnight. Highly recommend this cookbook escpecially if you are into the Asian Fusion genre.



3. If you are seeking recipes and information about an array of spices, and herbs, you will find this selection too narrow. There are a handful of European-style recipes that feature Mediterranean herbs, but most are fundamentally Asian. South America, Native North America, and many other cuisines full of exciting flavors are entirely unrepresented. You will, however, find numerous recipes containing ginger, as well as the key spices in Indian curries.
   
   The health claims presented by a series of enthusiasts are a rehash of what is now common knowledge among most of us who have been paying attention to nutrition news over the last decade. Claims are unsubstantiated and, even if substantiated elsewhere, are mixed with those for which claims have been entirely inconclusive, at best.
   
   If you really need a new recipe for ginger cookies or rhubarb-berry crisp, or maybe Asian-style bbq ribs, this is the book for you. Or perhaps if you are rather new to healthful Eastern cuisine, this is a nice introduction.



4. You will try one recipe after another and be impressed with the results. There are lots of veggies but you you will eat in delight at the flavors and textures and not because they are good for you. The recipes are easy enough for any night and special enough for company.



5. Nina Simonds' cookbooks are all fresh, useful, and inspiring-- this one is certainly no exception. The recipes are simple and delicious and the nutritional tips are great. I learned a lot from this book and have passed it along to friends as well. It makes a great gift for foodies.

No comments about The Complete Book of Korean Cooking.

5 comments about A Spoonful of Ginger : Irresistible Health-Giving Recipes from Asian Kitchens.

1. I've had this cookbook for a number of years, and I freely admit that I haven't made every recipe in the book. There are some dishes, however, that have become standbys, such as the saucy ground turkey wrapped in lettuce leaves. (In fact, I just grabbed the book so I could make those lettuce wraps as my contribution to a potluck Halloween party -- everyone says, "This is better than PF Changs!")
   
   It's not that these are the most authentic, knock-your-socks-off recipes. If I'm ready to spend a couple of hours putting together an awesome Asian meal, I'll turn to Barbara Tropp or to The Key To Chinese Cooking. However, the recipes in this book are solidly GOOD, with an underlying sense of healthful eating, and many recipes are vegetarian (or nearly so).
   
   However, what makes this cookbook a winner is that the recipes are straightforward enough to make during the week, after an exhausting day at work (when something to balance your energy sounds most appealing -- doesn't "hot and sour salmon with greens" sound restorative?).
   
   Plus, there's a good chance you have most of the ingredients you need in the house already, and can whip together something more interesting than "maybe I'll just open a can of chili." That's how the book falls open to the recipe for chile chicken with cashews -- I usually have a bag of frozen chicken breasts, a can of water chestnuts, scallions, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, cashews... it doesn't ask for a heck of a lot more. A few minutes of rummaging around in the refrigerator, and I have a meal that sounds like I planned it.
   
   Also, the healthy stuff -- yin-yang, and advice about food-based remedies (mussels are good to strengthen the kidneys, for instance) -- is enjoyable and educational.
   
   Nice book. I recommend it.



2. I was so excited to try the recipes in this book, and after the first couple was disappointed, but kept trying several more. The ingredients seemed interesting, but the meals were very bland.



3. The book is organized well and has beautiful pictures. Recipes are clear and easy to follow, and so far, have proved to be delicious!



4. I love this cookbook! The blurb on the jacket by Nora Pouillon says it better than I could. "Recipes that not only are full of flavor and taste delicious but most of all are good for us - balanced, energizing, and nurturing. Nina Simonds teaches us about the importance of yin and yang in our diets and show us that food is fundamental to our lives and our health. Food is our daily medicine and Nina's book helps us make this connections again." And not only are the recipes fairly simple and the ingredients easy to find, this cookbook is fun to browse and read.



5. After being consistently surprised with the quality of recipes I've made from this cookbook, I felt compelled to throw in my .02 to anyone looking for great, fresh, off-the-hook recipes that not only taste good, but are really good for you. My taste-testers are a tough bunch--two adolescent boys and a hubby that's slowly coming around to eating healthier. I just made the "Vegetarian Roll-Ups" the other night to rave reviews. I've tried the "Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup", the "Healthy Hot & Sour Soup," the "Chinese Cinnamon Barley Soup", "Garlic Beef with Broccoli," and the "Roasted Asparagus w/a Sesame Vinaigrette," ALL of which rated an A or better. My response to the reviewers who complained that the recipes were too bland or were only for people who ate "Chung King" garbage is that I absolutely disagree. If you think these are too bland--then just up the aromatics, people! If you want delicious, feel-good, smell-good, invigorating recipes that are nutritious to boot, then get this cookbook. The only downsides are that some of the recipes have a long prep time, and in the "Vegetarian Roll-Ups" recipe it omits what to do w/the tofu. So there are a couple of typos, but the trade-off is SO worth it if you've got the time.

5 comments about The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking: Techniques and Recipes.

1. Totally spellbinding and exciting book! Barbara recognized that great outcomes require more than simply great recipes, and that great execution requires more than superficial knowledge.

   In The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking, Barbara prepares the reader for virtually all of the conditions and eventualities that home cooks face. She then provides the in-depth knowledge and nuance necessary to consistently achieve world-class perfection. And she does it in an easy-to-read, entertaining style.

   Thanks to Barbara's book, the fine recipes from David Hom and Irene Kuo have reached even greater heights.




2. I'm an avid cookbook reader and recipe-try-outer and this is one of the best cookbooks in general that I have come across. Instructions are crystal clear, which is great for beginning cooks, and because of the careful instructions, each recipe turns out exactly like it's supposed to. She has a lot of home-cooking type recipes that are easy, like the Master Sauce Eggs and chicken. It's true that some recipes do take time, but most of them you can do parts ahead of time or are hands-off sorts.



3. This is certainly a fantastic book, which I bought following recommendations from the Amazon reviews and from an internet food community. The strengths of the book are that it contains a level of detail in the recipes, and in the introductions to the various types of cooking styles, ingredient preparation and correct use of cooking utensils.
   However, the recipes themselves are not on the whole as appealing as one might expect from a book of this size. Also, in terms of "classical" chinese cuisine (by that I mean what you and I are used to, rather than what someone from Mainland China is used to) this book is not as strong as you may think.
   My main gripes emerge when comparing this book with Yan-Kit's Classic Chinese Cookbook. This book to me contains the same, if not greater levels of detail with regards to frying/steaming and ingredient prep, and also contains many many more appealing recipes, with just as good levels of detail for those that are not familiar with chinese cookery. The section on ingredients and also on the cuisine of Mainland China is also superior in this book.
   Yan-Kit's Classic Chinese Cookbook remains my go-to book for Chinese food, altho I will keep this and use it from time to time, but it is certainly not as useful and doesnt contain as many appealing recipes. If you are interested in smoking chicken and duck however, you will need Barbara Tropp's book.



4. This book isn't really what I was looking for. It is filled with informative recipes, ingredient lists, and anecdotes. Like Julia Child or Marcella Hazan, Tropp is a purist. I've got a large Chinese market nearby, but I'm still intimidated by the ingredients she insists on. (They're not necessarily exotic, it is just finding the best soy sauce, for example, that is daunting.) I like this style of cookbook, and I'm convinced that if I cooked my way through it I'd be an accomplished Chinese cook, ultimately this book has much loftier aspirations than I do.



5. I wanted one Chinese cookbook that would teach me all the basics of cooking.
   
   This is it! (And I'm still learning.)
   
   Ok, it's very time consuming. But it's worth it! I've even learned little hints that have helped me in all of my cooking! For instance, now I can bread and lightly fry or bake any item without it falling apart!

5 comments about Blue Ginger: East Meets West Cooking with Ming Tsai.

1. I have always enjoyed Ming's style of cooking, his fusion preference of East meets West is the same as my own. My favorite recipe in here is the lemongrass crab tarts. Make them for almost every party, and they're always a huge hit.
   
   That being said, there are some typos in the translation from restaurant to home use (in both this book and his newer one). However, if you pay attention, you should be able to catch most of them. In the newer book, I have caught 2 so far... 4 cups of apples does not equal 8-10 apples... it equals about 2. And reducing 4 cups of liquid by 1/2 will not take 2 minutes. But if you read the recipe and apply a little common sense, this will be obvious.
   
   I still love the food. Definitely a book worth having in the library.



2. `Blue Ginger' is fusion celebrity chef Ming Tsai's first book and the name of his Cambridge, Massachusetts restaurant. It also happens to be a slang name for the Asian spice root, galangal. It has taken me a long time to get to this volume, in spite of the fact that Tsai's second book, `Simply Ming' was one of the first cookbooks I reviewed. But, since I have seen a number of new cookbooks from oriental / fusion chefs lately, I though it was time to catch up with one of my favorite Food Network chefs from the `golden age' when Ming was doing oriental and Mario Batali was doing real Italian cooking.
   
   To put it in a nutshell, this book is both better than many other recent Oriental celebrity chef cookbooks and it is even better than Tsai's second book, which is great if you are cooking for a large family, but less useful if you cook three times a week for only two or three people. Tsai's recipes in this book are, on average very easy for an amateur cook to accomplish and they do not require very many expensive or hard to find ingredients except for those few recipes in the chapter entitled `Over the Top'. What I like best about Tsai's recipes is that they generally use very familiar western cuisine dishes and techniques with Asian ingredients. There are a fair number of exceptions, especially in the `Dim Sum' chapter, but there are virtually no recipes which require a wok, especially since American kitchens are simply not set up to work effectively with a traditional round bottomed carbon steel wok.
   
   Tsai opens his book with a chapter on `East Meets West Pantry' that I find especially helpful and useful compared to similar sections in other books.
   
   His chapters of recipes are:
   
   Soups featuring an Asian gazpacho, a Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup, and a Corn Lemongrass Soup.
   Dim Sum with two spring roll recipes, two dumpling recipes, Shu Mai, wontons, oyster corn fritters, and even some sushi and sashimi.
   Rice and Noodles with the technique for doing sushi rice and a traditional fried rice recipe and maki rolls.
   Seafood with several shrimp recipes plus scallops, mussels, snapper, skate, and trout.
   Birds with braised and roasted chicken, quail, and duck.
   Meat with an excellent pork loin and tenderloin recipes plus beef, short ribs, and braised oxtail.
   Over The Top with caviar, foie gras, truffles, scallops, sea bass, and duck breasts.
   Sides with veggie dishes, especially cabbage and mushrooms.
   Oils, Dips, and Seasonings with oils, dips, and seasonings.
   Desserts, using green tea, glutinous rice, and jasmine rice.
   
   Where Tsai uses a specifically oriental technique, he typically provides a photographic walk-through for the entire method. These are good, but would have been better if the pics had been numbered and the instructions were keyed to the numbered pics.
   
   Otherwise, this is about as good as celebrity chef cookbooks get for amateur cooks who are looking for doable recipes with a new twist and some celebrity cachet.
   
   Very highly recommended.



3. I got this for my hubby (He Who Cooks), since he'd specifically requested a Blue Ginger cookbook after we'd spent an hour drooling over a recent "Simply Ming" episode on TV (and Ming, the rat bugger, doesn't have anything west of the Alleghanies, apparently). I'd seen the more negative reviews here, especially regarding the editing, but after looking at it in a brick-n-mortar store (and then purchased here, since it was cheaper...yay, discounts!), it occurred to me that Ming's editor may be British-trained, which could account for some differences in style.
   
   Since I'm not a cook/chef/etc., I can't really judge it comparatively to others in its field (hence, only 4 stars), but my husband definitely liked the Fusion style greatly, even the recipes in the back calling for really expensive ingredients. I look forward to delicious mysteries issuing forth from our kitchen!



4. We would sit and drool over Simply Ming every sat morning on PBS and we bought the books and love them! The recipies are sometimes a bit involved, but worth the investment of time and energy!



5. Not the best book for home cooking, If you decide to make more than one dish at a time, you will have two or more basic sauces in the fridge, these sauce last one to four weeks. wHAT A MESS. I cooked several of the recipes and made them with sauce ingredients, they were just OK.

5 comments about Singaporean, Malaysian & Indonesian Cuisine.

1. Finally, a cookbook that satisfies my frequent cravings for foods like padang spicy beef, sate, and hainan chicken!! After living in Southeast Asia for a number of years, I fell in love with the cuisine of this region and since then, I've been searching long and hard for a cookbook like this one to come out. It's easy enough to find decent cookbooks for Thai food or Vietnamese food these days, as a single search will turn up thousands of results, but it's truly a rare find to come across a cookbook on the foods of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore - especially one of this quality! The recipes, each of which is accompanied by a large, beautiful picture, are concise and easy to follow, and the food itself is simply amazing. Now that I have this book, I no longer have to suppress my cravings or fight the urge to fly back to the islands to get my fix of Gado Gado (Java styled salad), Kari Sapi (Malaysian beef curry), or Kangkung Tumis (spicy, Singaporean water spinach). Funny thing is, I never thought I would ever be able to make these foods myself! But what surprised me most was the fact that these dishes tasted even better than I remembered, coming out of my own kitchen no less! (now *that* is truly incredible). So do yourself a favor and buy this book - you'll not only save tons of money you'd otherwise spend at mediocre Malaysian/Indonesian/Singaporean restaurants in the area (if there even are such restaurants available to you), but you'll also be able to impress everyone with your newfound ability to cook dishes as delicious and as hard to come by as the ones shared in this cookbook. Definitely worth every penny and more!



2. After having now tried almost every recipe in this book, I can say that they are all absolutely delicious! This cookbook is essential for anyone who wants to learn how to cook Indo/Malay/Sing food. My boyfriend is Indonesian and had been bugging me for some of his childhood favorites such as Lontong. The satay is the best I have ever had, in or out of Indonesia. The recipes are also super easy. There is no complicated preparation for any of the recipes. Even someone who is a novice could make these with ease (and they will taste great!). I live in Tallahassee and we have one not too big Asian market. With a little searching, I found virtually all of the ingredients needed. Most of the ingredients are readily availible in your average grocery store. If you do have an Asian market, even a small one, they can often find something that you need, so don't be afraid to ask. The book itself is perfectly laid out and there are color photos of every single dish. I highly recommend this cookbook!



3. Being a native Indonesian far away from home, I crave for the rich and savory flavor of the cuisine from these three countries. Unlike Thai cuisine, Singaporean, Malaysian and Indonesian cuisine is still not well known here in United States. Therefore there are limited restaurants that offer this cuisine. You can imagine my agony of having to suppress my craving until I make a trip to these restaurants in NYC or Toronto. It all changed after I bought this cookbook. This cookbook is amazing! It contains 68 recipes that are divided into Singaporean, Malaysian and Indonesian recipe sections. A one-page spread picture accompanies each recipe, which is very helpful for people who are not familiar with this cuisine. The author starts by introducing the countries and their cuisine followed by glossary of ingredients, seasonings, spices and herbs. It then continues with recipes for stocks, condiments, pickled salads, sambal chilli sauces (used like chutneys in Indian cuisine), and assorted spice pastes. These spice pastes are used in a lot of the recipes and they are what give this cuisine its fragrant, rich and savory flavors. This book offers specialties from Singapore (Hainan chicken rice, spiced sparerib soup, spring roll, laksa, spicy crabs, sweet coconut rice balls, etc), Malaysia (fried noodle, coconut rice, sate, beef curry,vegetable with grated coconut, etc) and Indonesia (beef rendang, eggs in spicy red sauce, java salad or gado gado, turmeric fried chicken, etc). I have tried more than a dozen of the recipes and they all taste fantastic! Most of all they taste authentic. They are a huge hit with my American boyfriend and roomate. There are some ingredients that are hard to find, even in Asian markets (especially in small towns). I had to shop online at an Indonesian grocery store to find most of the hard to find ingredients like candlenut, dried galangal, pandan leaves, palm sugar, kaffir leaves and shrimp paste. However, they are worth it. I use dried galangal because I don't have access to fresh ones. I substitute fresh red chilli with bottled ground chilli paste called Sambal Oelek. It works just as wonderful! I think this is the most authentic and remarkable cookbook I have. It is simple, clear, precise and a gem. I would recommend this cookbook if you want to bring authentic new flavors to your table. It helps ease my homesickness. Nowadays, I call my mom up to say "I made beef rendang today!"... something I had never said before this cookbook.



4. This is an amazing cookbook. If the bilingual recipes didn't give it away, the recipes would -- this is incredibly authentic and varied cooking. The other positive reviews here are exactly on the mark. The photos are a good indication of the real food you will cook.



5. Everything about this book is great: the food, pictures (we can actually see what the meal is supposed to look like)not to mention that the books were new and arrived in no time. I would definitely go back to this seller.

4 comments about From Persia to Napa: Wine at the Persian Table.

1. This author continues to bring us beautiful books, reliable recipes and now pairing this wonderful wine with the food. Couldn't get better.



2. 
   
   the book is very informative with beautiful photographs throughout.



3. A beautiful way to learn some Persian history and culture, and the role that wine has played.



4. I have been enjoying "New Food of Life" for the past several years, and when I saw "From Persia to Napa" for sale at a vineyard in Napa, I knew I had to have it. While "New Food of Life" is primarily a cookbook sprinkled with wonderful bits of history, culture, poems, fables and Persian art, "From Persia to Napa" is a love story about wine. In the first half of the book, Ms. Batmanglij covers the history of wine, the evolution of wine and culture in Iran, and includes a long discussion of the new Darioush Winery in Napa Valley, with many vivid photographs. The second half of the book are persian recipes that she has designed specifically to be paired with wine. The recipes are in general designed for high-end meals. Most are accompanied by photographs which make my mouth water! At the end of the book she includes suggested menus for persian meals at different times of the year. This is an aesthetically wonderful book as well as being fascinating reading, and she has elevated it to much more than a book of recipes matched with wine.

2 comments about The Food & Cooking of Cambodia: Over 60 authentic classic recipes from an undiscovered cuisine, shown step-by-step in over 250 stunning photographs; An ... using ingredients, equipment and techniques.

1. The recipes are really good, the layout of the book is easy to follow and there are tons of great photos of the dishes and ingredients. BUT...the recipes are exactly the same as the book I already own called 'Vietnamese Food & Cooking' by the same author. I wish I had known this before ordering the book (which I am now returning). That's why I only give three stars.
   
   The Vietnamese cookbook has more background information in the front section, including many pages describing ingredients (with photos) and some tips on preparation. This Cambodian version has much less. There are two things that are included in the Cambodian cookbook that are not in the Vietnamese one: how to prepare bottled prahok for use in cooking and a recipe for Tuk Trey sauce. I just don't want other people to be disappointed for the same reasons (especially when I was looking forward to this "new" book).



2. I already have their first book: Food & Cooking of Vietnam & Cambodia, which I love!, so when I heard there was a new one of straight up Cambodian dishes, I was thrilled to add it to my collection. To my disappointment, though, it is exactly the same book, just minus the Vietnamese portion. Yep, very same photos and exactly the same recipes. Can't believe they made money off o' me all over again, and for the very same product! I'm a SUCKA! :)

3 comments about My China: A Feast for All the Senses.

1. Having lived in southern China for nearly 3 years, our family had nearly given up on finding authentic Chinese cuisine here in upstate NY. Thankfully, there is this wonderful book. Our daughter made us a holiday feast (including dumplings, yum!) from a few familiar recipes found here and we were almost back in Xiamen! Outstanding photos, stories, and great recipes. If you've ever lived in China, this is for you. If you've ever wanted to visit or live in China, this is for you, too! Try some of these meals and you will understand what real Chinese food is about.



2. I have all of Kylie Kwong's books and they are all great but this is her best so far. The stories add to the book but the real stars are the recipes. I've only tried a few so far, but there are so many already on my do list. There is a fabulous rare beef with Ginger sauce which got rave reviews from the family. Last night we tried the Hot and Smoky chicken with Ginger and Chilli - YUM. We do have an industrial strength wok burner which probably helped with the smokiness, but it was very good on all levels. I am a bit of a cookbook collector (500 or thereabouts)and I have a shortlist of books I think are really excellent. This one has already made it to that list - I knew from the moment I opened it!



3. Kylie Kwong was born into one of Australia's oldest Chinese families. She is a 29th generation Kwong, and a 4th generation Australian-Chinese. Kylie is known to many Australians through her wonderful television series, as the proprietor of the Billy Kwong restaurant in Sydney and through her magnificent books.
   
   `My China' is the fourth of Kylie's books, and invites the reader to travel with her as she rediscovers her Chinese heritage and explores the history, culture and cuisine of China and Tibet. This book contains magnificent photographs of places, people and food. The book is also a travelogue containing recipes specific to particular regions. There is a map, as well, so the reader can see where these places are.
   
   The recipes themselves are easy to follow, clearly explained and are accompanied by delicious photographs. Ms Kwong provides serving numbers based of shared meals (ie a recipe will serve 4 to 6 as part of a shared meal) thus enabling someone to plan how many dishes they might wish to prepare based on the number of guests and type of gathering. I particularly like her section on ingredients, and found the paragraph on the relative uses of different soy sauces especially helpful.
   
   In summary, `My China' is a delightful addition to the home library for anyone who enjoys Chinese cuisine. Those interested in Chinese culture and history will also enjoy this book. The photographs are simply stunning.
   
   Highly recommended.
   
   Jennifer Cameron-Smith

5 comments about Afghan Food & Cookery: Noshe Djan.

1. This book not only provides the most incredibly comprehensive view into the world that is Afghan cooking, but it's also written with the awkward, amateur cook in mind (i.e. those of us who have no common sense when it comes to the kitchen). I've tried only a few of the hundreds of recipes in it so far, but its inspiring presence on my tabletop brings a sense of excitement to each of my weekends, when I will venture to try yet another one of Sabri's culinary treasures. Hooray - Afghan cooking is now a DYI reality!



2. Reading all of these favorable reviews, I bought this book and couldn't wait to try out the recipes. The first one I tried making was the chicken kebabs which came out tasteless. I love Afghani rice, it is so flavorful so I tried the basic pilau recipe which came out bland and undercooked even though I followed the directions exactly. I am not encouraged to try out the other recipes after such terrible results. I don't think the author has really tested these recipes to make sure the measurements and instructions will produce the intended results. There are no pictures and the format of the book is bound more like a novel than a cookbook making it hard to refer to while cooking.



3. This book is great if you like Afghan food this is the book for you.
   
   I have been using this book for a long time and it is just great.



4. This is outstanding because there are so few books with Afghan food as the topic. Even this one is about 50% Pakistani and Indian along with about 50% Afghan, but the 50% that is unique makes it worthwhile to own.



5. This book is the best I have read in a long time. It not only tells you how to cook Afghan food, it tells you about its history and why some of the thing are done in an Afghan house-hold.
   Being a terrible cook and non Afghan myself, this book has helped me cook some lovely food for my Afghan partner.
   It is easy to follow and has some brilliant sketches of traditional Afghan life and food.
   This is more than just another cook-book... A must for anyone intersted in Afghan anything.