[.ca] Asian Ingredients: A Guide to the Foodstuffs of China, ... (ISBN 006093204X)

a unique book:
this is a unique book that is most useful in "de-mystfying" asian ingredients. I have bought and seen a lot of food related books and this one is remarkable for its accuracy and user friendliness (the pictures help so much!!). I bought it back about 10 years ago or so and it taught me a lot. A very good investment for anyone interested in asian food and asian flavours michael

"Fully revised and expanded"...NOT:
This excellent, informative book deserves to have been reprinted (how could such a fine book have gone out of print?), but beware of the "fully revised and expanded" claim. I ready owned the out-of-print hardcover and bought the new paperback edition to check out the updated information. I've looked pretty closely, and the only new copy I can find is very incidental (i.e., changing the locations of farms from exotic locations to the US as more domestic farmers are now growing Asian produce). No new recipes, either, although some new titles (to throw unsuspecting readers off the scent?). If you don't have this book, and you are an Asian food aficionado, do add it to your collection. However, I am very irritated at the publisher's suggestion that this is a new edition (it's a good old-fashioned reprint, and that's all) and at the previous reviewers who didn't find it necessary to warn other buyers of this important fact. I would rate it much lower for readers like me who own the original, but newcomers to this classic will find no quarrel.

Reprinted for a reason:
I'm lucky because I also have a copy of the original book. Anyone who is interested in Asian cooking this book is ABSOLUTELY essential. I haven't come across any other Asian ingredient book that adequately gives you historical, use, and brand information all in one without seeming like a super over informed encyclopedia. What I also like are the pictures of the different items as for many, they just seem like weird looking plants or dried things. So next time you happen to be in Chinatown and wonder what that's for or what that taste like this book would be an excellent reference. On top of that the recipes are great, and cover a wide span of dishes from different Asian countries. Now that it's out again I don't have to keep loaning my original book out so get your own.

Ingredient Encyclopedia:
A terrific reference for people like myself: round-eyes who want to learn about authentic asian ingredients and cuisine. The book is a great guide to many obscure and, to outsiders, mystifying ingredients. What's most important is that the book clearly describes the ways in which they are commonly used and (often) provides sample recipes; this allows you to utilize previously unknown items correctly and learn how their flavors are part of traditional asian dishes. The book is well-written, though this version is the first I've seen, so I can't comment on whether it's really "new and expanded". Someone with a keen interest in food can sit down and read it cover-to-cover. I was also impressed by the care taken to differentiate national/regional applications of ingredients. Much discussion is given to how the region and history shaped the use of ingredients and what is accepted in contemporary cuisine. All in all, a great reference book.

A cookbook in reverse:
Asian Ingredients is a cookbook in reverse. The familiar cookbook formula dictates that a little of the book is dedicated to some cultural background titbits and a glossary; the rest is devoted to recipes. Cost, as his title indicates, offers us a major tour of the foodstuffs with just a sprinkling of recipes throughout. And that is exactly why the book appealed to me. Here you get the best bookish knowledge mixed with personal experience as he gives ingredients not just names, but cultural context, almost bringing them to life as if characters in history. Soy sauce, he tells us in the introduction, "evolved from ancient methods of fermenting and preserving meat and game ¡K" There are plenty of practical tips for the market and kitchen, but while the book includes a nice Region of Use listing for each ingredient, the geographical origin of each recipe is unfortunately left a mystery. The book is also crying out for a separate recipe index. You would not necessarily buy this for the recipes but I have tried four or five, and whenever I wore my reading glasses and did not try to cut corners, I ended up with some really good food. Simple Roast Chicken with Sichuan Pepper (my eye was drawn to the word Simple), for example got the thumbs up from my friend Linda. The photographs being black and white are not always as illuminating as they should be, and there may be one or two questionable facts (Dong gwa is Mandarin for Winter Melon, not Cantonese) but all in all this is an excellent reference