[.ca] The Asian Grocery Store Demystified: A Food Lover's ... (ISBN 1580630456)

Answers to many of your questions about Asian markets.:
I have been regularly venturing into various Asian markets for many years, and although in doing so I have gained some knowledge of the basics of Asian cooking, there is still a vast amount I didn't know until I bought this book. The Asian Grocery Store Demystified finally answers many of the questions I've had for years, but was hesitant to ask the store owner. The book is based on the author's frequent visits to a Chinese grocery store, therefore other Asian cultures get a light treatment. However, by itself Chinese cooking is vast and varied, and it would probably be impossible for any one book to cover the full range of food items to be found, so I give her credit for covering what she did, including various other Asian foods. There are no photos, and I feel that the more uninitiated cook of Asian cuisine will be at a bit of a loss without them, but the author does a good job of describing much of what you will often find, and the random drawings help. The book includes descriptions of the basic cooking utensils, cooking techniques, a brief glossary, and a smattering of recipes from different Asian cultures. I particularly appreciate the author's encouragement of the reader to try food items that the stranger to Asian cuisines might otherwise wrinkle his or her nose to.

Serves a purpose, but not the best:
Unfortunately I was not as enraptured with this book as most of the other reviewers. I don't feel it would be terribly useful for a beginning Asian cook. I also found some inaccurate or less familiar descriptions; for instance many recipes call for "thick soy," which in this book is called "dark soy, or superior soy" but a novice wouldn't know those distinctions. Additionally the book only gives one or maybe two names for the same thing; if you're cooking something from another culture confusion may reign! For instance in this book belacan (spelled blacan in most other Asian cookbooks I own), which is a common Asian ingredient, is the only word used for dried shrimp paste -- it's also known as trasi (Indonesia), kapi (Thailand) and mam tom (Vietnam). In the grocery store I have bought a wonderful paste that is packaged only under the name "trasi." Using this book, who would know? Among its weaknesses I find the dearth a pictures a detriment. Many shoppers (like me) are quite visual and look for colors or bottle shapes. It would be more helpful to have photos of some ingredients; for instance showing the difference between bean thread noodles and rice sticks, or what a jackfruit looks like. I found the index difficult to use. Something might be referenced in the text but not found in the index. Drives me nuts. However, there are some strengths to this book. It's a convenient size to bring to the store and gives a nice overview. It's also helpful for the novice to have brand recommendations, but I can safesly say, having shopped for ingredients in Minnesota and California (and in Australia), that not all the same brands are imported to everywhere and that what she recommends may not be in your market. If you really want to get serious about Asian ingredients I suggest you check out three books: "Chinese Cooking, Step by Step techniques" by Yan Kit Martin (Random House). This book has photos and Chinese characters for many different ingredients. You can easily take it to the market. Charmaine Solomon's "The Complete Asian Cookbook" (Lansdowne) has a good glossary of ingredients in the back of the cookbook, but it's a big book to heft around (I think the new edition is paperback though). Lastly, if you can find it, "Charmaine Solomon's Encyclopedia of Asian Food" (William Heinemann Australia) is well worth seeking out. It's the best of the bunch. Loads of ingredients listed alphabetically, pictures, a great index, some good recipes -- this weighty book has it all. Worth lugging to the market if you need help.

excellent:
This is an interesting book that is packed with information. Using an actual store as an example, the author describes where to locate grocery items and what they look like. Recommendations are given for specific brands and suggestions for storage and cooking are provided. The book is well-organized and comprehensive - I could only think of a couple of items not included - and is written with considerable care and attention to detail.

Excellent Guide:
I love interesting ingredients and am fortunate to live near an ethnic grocery. This book helps me figure out what new and interesting dishes I can make with what is available to me. The set up is easy to understand, divided into foods most people should be familiar with, saving the "exotic" ingredients for last. I recommend this book, and if the other ethnic grocer books are anything like this one, I recommend them too.

Alternative Title: Asian Food Demystified:
This small paperback not only demystifies the Asian grocery, but also the Asian recipe and menu. I was able to quickly look up items that I couldn't spell but had long been curious about because the book is organized by the sections in the grocery. After quenching my initial curiosities, I had to sit down and read the interesting book cover to cover. Each ingredient is discussed as to appearance, taste, texture, uses, history and quality with references to preferred brands or possible substitutes. There are a few basic recipes included to try right away, but this book best serves as a supplement to other Asian and vegetarian cookbooks and in preparation for shopping or dining. My only disappointment was not finding the recipe for Sweet Thai Tea listed in the index but omitted from the content.