Product Description

The second book in DK's series with the CIA covering the "Worlds of Flavor" International Conference and Festival, ,The Flavors of Asia culls recipes from 40 leading chefs from Asia, India and the U.S., including Masaharu Morimoto, Suvir Saran and many others. By transforming the "Worlds of Flavor" festival into a cookbook, the Culinary Institute of America --- one of the best culinary schools in the world --- brings the conference's superb culinary talent right into the home kitchen. Award-winning restaurateur, chef, and author Mai Pham joins the CIA in presenting 125 accessible recipes, from Ammini Ramachandran's Spicy Fritters with Coconut Chutney to Fuchsia Dunlop's General Tso s Chicken, from Myung Sook Lee s Korean Lettuce Wrap with Spicy Beef to Elizabeth Andoh's Kabocha Squash with Red Beans. The chefs' cooking techniques and regional notes appear in feature spreads throughout the book. An enthusiastic foreword by conference chairs and culinary experts Suvir Saran and Fuchsia Dunlop as well as an introduction by Mai Pham, describe Asia's rising influence on world cooking round out this must-have book.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #224661 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

About the Author
James-Beard Award nominee Mai Pham is the chef/owner of the nationally acclaimed Lemon Grass Restaurant and Lemon Grass Asian Grill and Noodle Bar in Sacramento, CA. A food columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and host of the Food Network special "My Country, My Kitchen: Vietnam," Mai is the winner of an IACP Award for Distinguished Journalism and a guest chef-instructor at The Culinary Institute of America.

Customer Reviews

A Cross Section of Asian Cuisine
//The Flavors of Asia// is a valuable resource for those who are interested in cooking Asian cuisine, but not necessarily committed to one country. The book is part of a series released by the Culinary Institute of America and is based on their annual food conference, Worlds Of Flavor. The conference focuses on a different part of the world each year and attracts thousands of attendees, as well numerous famous guest chefs and speakers. This book is the culmination of the 2007 conference titled "The Rise of Asia."

//The Flavors of Asia// covers recipes from China, India, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam, and is packed with beautiful color photographs. It includes common dishes such as Wonton Soup and Pad Thai, as well as recipes for less recognizable dishes such as Banana Blossom Salad with Chicken and Green Tea Seafood Tempura.

The recipes, contributed by a handful of different chefs, are mostly well written and easy to follow. Some of them fall short on ingredient explanations, however, and others could use more detail in the description of preparations. Each recipe includes a brief introduction that describes its history, flavor profile or relevance to its country of origin.

Tucked away throughout the pages of the book, there are a number of brief highlighted sections that go into detail about subjects such as Asian ingredients, cooking techniques and kitchen tools. The many topics addressed in these sections include chutneys, building flavor in soups, mortar and pestles, and handling seafood.

For experienced cooks, or those familiar with the basic flavor components of various Asian cuisines, //The Flavors of Asia// may prove to be a bit pedestrian. For anyone just starting out in cooking or unfamiliar with the foods of these countries, however, this book provides a notable introduction to a large cross section of the foods of Asia.

Reviewed by
Andrea Rappaport

A tricky diversion
The book has a nice blend of information and recipes but the instructions aren't as clear as they might be. I wish the glossary and index were a little more complete as well. But the final dishes are quite good.
Mogul51Bill

A worthy compendium of culinary delight
The Flavors of Asia is a gorgeous, hardcover cookbook collecting recipies from forty of the best chefs in India, Asia, and America. Each of the 125 recipes is presented with numbered, step-by-step instructions, a beautiful full-page photograph of the dish, and insightful comments on the origin and use of the recipe. Recipes include "Baechoo Kimchi", "Spicy Lemongrass Tofu", "Singapore Chili Crab", "Banana Blossom Salad with Chicken", and more. Additional comments on more general Asian culinary techniques such as stir-frying round out this user-friendly cookbook excellent for chefs of all skill and experience levels. A worthy compendium of culinary delight.