[.ca] The Lhasa Moon Tibetan Cookbook (ISBN 1559391049)

Wonderfully different recipes, very easy to follow!:
Tsering Wangmo has written down recipes that are both simple to follow and delightful to create and enjoy. These are very traditional types of recipes from Tibet that I would venture to say would be difficult to find in any other cookbook. She includes interesting trivia and ways of life of the Tibetan people. Even if I wasn't that interested in the food, the knowledge I gained about the customs, likes and dislikes, and attitude of the Tibetan people was well worth the price of the book. The Paley (flat bread) is quite good and goes well with any dish that requires a side bread to dip with...I like it with chili. The Chicken Curry is cooked with tomatoes and is exceptional! The Stuffed Dumplings (Momo) are addictive and the Tukpa broth (meat broth Tibetan-style) brings a whole new taste to soup! I was delighted to find recipes for such things as Butter Tea, Tsampa (parched barley flour), Dried Cheese and even Chang (barley beer). This book is a jewel!

Delightful and Delicious..........:
............this cookbook opens with an introduction to Tibetan cooking that explains Tibetan cooking traditions, holidays, daily meals, common ingredients and the typical Tibetan kitchen, welcoming us to this wonderful and unique cuisine that Americans are so unfamiliar with. The cookbooks also contains several black and white photos of people in and around Tibet and quite a few drawings. The recipes are a pleasure to make and, if you get together with friends or family that enjoy cooking, spend a day making Tibetan momos (stuffed dumplings) together! There are recipes for chicken, beef, vegetable, spinach and spinach/cheese fillings. I can personally vouch for the chicken and vegetable fillings. Hubby and I really liked Tibetan momos! This cookbook contains chapters on Soups, Appetizers, Momos, Noodles, Meat Dishes, Vegetable Dishes, Breads and Tsampa, Sweets and Desserts, Beverages, Cheeses and Chili Sauces and Pickles. We've enjoyed: Roasted Potato Soup, Egg Noodles in Beef Soup, Himalayan Chicken, Lamb Curry, Cabbage Stir-Fry, Eggplant with Potatoes, Steamed Bread, Sweet Yogurt Shake, and Spiced Tea. There are many more recipes that look very appealing in this cookbook and we are eager to try more, especially from the chapters we haven't delved into yet. Honestly, this book has a few drawbacks, though. For my personal tastes, there are too many recipes that involve deep frying. Also, the authors make it clear that a fair number of recipes are either largely American inventions or American adaptations of Tibetan dishes. I wanted something a bit more authentic, but at least the authors seem scrupulously honest to tell us at each point in the cookbook where traditional Tibetan cooking has been violated. Overall though, I have enjoyed this cookbook and would recommend it despite its flaws.

A way of learning about Tibet:
To an armchair traveler like me, reading this cookbook was a very special way of learning about Tibet and its people. And even though I'm not planning or recreating the dishes, I can almost taste them in my mind by reading this book. The authors, Tsering Wangmo and Zara Houshmand not only bring recipes from The Lhasa Mood Tibetan restaurant in San Francisco on to the printed page. They also give the reader a feeling of the role that food plays in the way of life of the Tibetan people. For example, in the Tibetan diet, butter and is much more than food. It is accepted as currency for trade or taxes, burned for light in butter lamps, smeared on the face as an ointment for protection against wind and cold, and consumed medicinally. And the salted and buttered tea, known as Poecha, is consumed in large amounts as people sip it all day to keep warm and avoid dehydration in the high altitude. Another interesting insight about Tibetan food is appreciation for the Buddhist belief that all lives are equal, so larger animals are preferred as food. In his writings, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has expressed his utter dismay at the loss of lives in a whole plateful of shrimp making a meal for a single person. I'm lucky to have several Tibetan restaurants to enjoy in New York City, but if I ever get to San Francisco I would definitely check out the Lhasa Moon.

Delightful Repast:
I purchased this book about 3 years ago, and really enjoyed it. Being somewhat of a self-taught chef I readily buy new cookbooks. The book is well written and reads top-notch. The recipes are simple and DELICIOUS. The authoress includes a few personal ruminations from her past while a refugee in India. It doesn't take up a lot of shelf space and has a lot of practical tips. I was recently in San Francisco and had the chance to eat at the Lhasa Moon Tibetan Restaurant and meet the authoress. She is a delightful hostess and the food was fabulous and very affordable (and this was in San Francisco). Take my advice, buy the book, cook the food, and visit the restaurant!