Asian Cook [Hardcover]

Indeed, to refer to `Asian Cook' as a cookbook is to do Tan a grave injustice. This is a lavish but functional compendium of the `tools and techniques' beloved of cooks of Asian cuisine, be they food writers for the San Francisco Chronicle or top Indian chefs in London. I suspect that if Tan had his way, the kitchenware department would be situated right next to jewellery.

Tan's authority stems from his experience and expertise as a cookery teacher and food historian. He gives us wonderful descriptions of what makes an Asian cook - the historical background and geographical origins that in turn determine the utensils, implements, ingredients (whether fish, fowl or offal) and spices used. Artfully photographed pots, woks, tandoors, cooking tools, accessories and tableware are accompanied by simple but illuminating points and pointers. For example, did you know that for some Asians, knives are considered `too barbaric to be used at the table' and that they are in any case superfluous, given that `all ingredients are cut into bite-size pieces during preparation'?

Asian Cook offers a wide-range of easy to follow, relatively inexpensive recipes for the discerning palate, with dishes from yang zhou fried rice to roast chicken madurai masala to bamboo leaf dumplings. But they are here to provide a colourful backdrop - and final flourish -- to the tools and techniques that made them. Tan tells us that Asian chefs have `always been at the cutting edge when it comes to presentation skills'. I was particularly intrigued by how one produces an `edible basket' with the right molds (which, surprisingly, are two perforated ladles shaped to fit one inside the other). A prawns in yam basket should go down very nicely at my next supper party. This book is a treasure, if not a secret weapon.

The graphics are exciting!

With recipes by:
Ming Tsai
Roy Yamaguchi
Nina Simonds
Sri Owens
David Thompson
This is a food book worthy of a prominent position on any coffee table, not hidden in a kitchen. Its beautiful double-parchment cover, rich pages, exquisite photography of brilliant foods and beautifully displayed kitchen implements is a delight to page through. Some centerfolds also grace the format.
The book is also a careful delineation of the foods and implements used throughout Asia. The author goes into great detail about how to use each tool correctly. He groups the implements into these divisions and gives an historical overview:
China
Japan and Korea
India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
Indonesia, including Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Kampuchea

Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia
A myriad of Asian kitchen tools are made from materials ranging from aluminum to wood:
Clevers and woks, cooking pots and bamboo steamers
Reed pastry brushes
Tableware
Chopsticks
Rice cookers, pots and pans
Serving dishes and lacquerware
Tea and sake sets
Spice, herbs and coconut processors
Bread-making implements
Molds and presses
Tiffins and serving items
Grinding implements
Cutters and molds
Scalers and shredders

Coconut wooden tools
Natural basketware
Street hawker tools
Edible basket tools
Tools for cakes and snacks
Besides a comprehensive index, the book has a page containing tool retailers, importers, markets and wholesalers.