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The Flavors of Asia

From roadside hawker stalls in the large cities to the food courts in shopping malls, the five-star restaurants and the joys of home cooking, food is an all-consuming passion in Asia.

There is so much good food in Asia that the first-time traveler cannot help but be enchanted. It often comes as a surprise to people unfamiliar with Asian cultures how much the joy of living of most Asian peoples centers around the preparation, sharing, and discussion of food. As a chef once said, food in Asia is an exercise in tradition, in aesthetics, mutual caring, and moral lessons.

Even out of Asia, it is hard to find a place on earth with food that has not been touched by some aspect of Asian cooking, be it in the form of ingredients, cooking methods or presentation. From elegant New York brasseries to stylish Sydney restaurants, Asian food has come a long way since the American take on Chinese food, chop suey, or soupy, flavorless curries made with lots of curry powder and nothing else. These days, modern cooks around the world use fresh cilantro (coriander) with the same confidence as rosemary; add lemongrass and kaffir limes to their tomato broths; and, with their family and friends, want to eat their food spicier and spicier. Chopsticks are placed alongside the trinity of spoon-fork-knife in Western-style restaurants—if indeed such a category still holds—that now serve roast lamb and tandoori chicken on the same menu. And just as kids in some Asian countries are demanding cornflakes and milk for breakfast, some people in the West are trading in their breakfast cereals for steaming bowls of noodles or plain rice with miso soup and pickles. The popularity and pervasiveness of Asian food, particularly in the West, has never been higher.

But in order to cook Asian food—any food—properly, you need to understand the origins of the particular cuisine. You also need to know the best way of getting the most out of your ingredients. As many good cooks will tell you, if you do the basics properly, the rest will follow. Once you understand why a certain ingredient is tempered with another or used in conjunction with something else, you can then play and let your imagination (and taste-buds) take you to new taste sensations.

Let The Food of Asia be your guide through a diverse selection of cuisine from China, India, Burma (Myanmar), Sri Lanka, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, Because the countries covered here encompass a diverse geography and climate, from the temperate to the tropical, all the cuisines are quite distinct, despite the similarity in cooking techniques and some ingredients, All, however, emphasize freshness and flavor; in Asia, they believe that good eating is essential to good living.

Many of the popular favorites from each country are represented here: the gorgeous red and green curries of Thailand, invigorating Vietnamese pho, fluffy Indian breads, cleansing sushi and sashimi from Japan, and incendiary laksa and noodle soups from Malaysia and Singapore. There are simple dishes that require just a little cooking and no complicated techniques, making them ideal for day-to-day use in the home. For the confident cook, there are more complex dishes that are guaranteed to impress family and friends at your next dinner party or Sunday lunch, and taste delicious too! Most of the dishes are readily adapted to a Western-style table, and hints and tips have been included as to how best to serve them.

Common to the tables of all these countries is grain, which holds pride of place during a meal, as distinct from the Western table where the meat component or main course is the height of the meal. In most tropical countries located on or near the equator such as Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, and Indonesia, plain steamed rice is the staple. However, be warned: there is rice and there is rice, and they are not always interchangeable. The Chinese prefer the fragrant long-grain jasmine rice, the Japanese a starchier short-grain variety. The Thais and Indonesians often serve glutinous rice to mop up their curries. The Indians favor the basmati. As you venture above the equator, preference is frequently given to wheat, which, may be served in the form of noodles, buns, or pancakes.

Another characteristic of Asian food is its dependence on the humble soybean and its by-products. Bean curd (tofu), soy sauce, bean curd wrappers and bean paste sauces are used in dishes from China to Indonesia, with a little tweaking to local tastes.

And then there is the noodle.., whether it be flat, round, dried, fresh, or is made of egg, buckwheat, mung bean, potato starch, wheat or ground rice, the Chinese love affair with noodles has left its mark on other Asian cuisines. The machines and factories have taken over from the hand-pulled noodles that the Chinese were particularly famous for, but there is no denying the versatility of the end product. In Asia they are stir-fried or pan-fried, or used in soups, salads, and spring rolls, or eaten with a sauce. They can be eaten as part of a meal or be a meal in a bowl, eaten at all times of the day, from breakfast to supper.

Asian cooks demand-and receive-the very best there is on offer from their local markets and suppliers, a hangover from their agricultural heritage perhaps, or because supermarkets were few and far between until recently. The ingredients have to be of the freshest quality: the vegetables just picked, the fish just out of the water, the chicken just caught. This ingredient is then quickly cooked, usually in a simple manner that would allow the essence of the produce to shine through.

Please do not be wary of the foreignness of some of the ingredients used in this book; remember that the now-ubiquitous ginger and scallions (spring onions) had to start somewhere too! Most of the ingredients called for in The Food of Asia are readily available from your local Asian grocery store, and it is worth your while searching out a good one and befriending the people who run it-they will be a rich source of advice and hints on how best to prepare your purchases. Many Asian food stores these days have an extensive range of fresh greens and vegetables, and they do not have to be used only in the Asian way.

Try to use the best of what's in season and don't be afraid to experiment. For instance, there is no reason why you can't serve Chinese broccoli in place of conventional broccoli with your next leg of lamb, or use coconut milk instead of milk to make a creme caramel, or serve steamed baby bok choy instead of green beans with a traditional roast chicken. You may also like to try smearing tandoori paste over a rack of lamb for a change of pace, or baste the next chicken you roast with green curry paste, and serve it with roast potatoes and a crisp green salad. The recipes are meant to be a guide and not a constraint! Frequently, ingredients may be substituted for each other without compromising on authenticity-just make sure you do try the recipe as it is set out at least once though. If you are attempting a recipe for the first time, it is very important that you read the recipe all the way through to the end to make sure you have the right equipment and ingredients to hand. With much Asian cooking, the time-consuming work is in the preparation. After the ingredients have been cleaned, chopped and sliced, the cooking process itself is usually fairly simple and straightforward.

The men in this Chinese tea-house have gathered to gossip as much as to drink tea.

Like modern Japanese culture, Japanese food is a striking blend of the old and the new.

A comprehensive, illustrated glossary (see pages 10-17) has been included to help you demystify and use some of the knobbly tubers and jars of brown stuff you may find in food stores. There is also a chapter on cooking implements and a few simple techniques to help you prepare Asian food. Despite the advent of modern methods and gizmos in Asian kitchens, some traditional implements are still regarded as irreplaceable. Not all kitchens, for instance, have cookers complete with an oven, as most cooking is done on the top of a stove. Many Asian kitchens are functional rather than aesthetic, with meals cooked over an open fire. In urban areas, gas rings fuelled by LPG are increasingly used.

Measurements in this book are given in volume as far as possible. A conversion guide has been included on page 188 for your convenience. Unless otherwise stated, these recipes will serve four to six people as part of a shared meal of two to three dishes with rice.

This Balinese ritual should help ensure a plentiful crop of rice.

In Indonesia, you're never too young to contribute to the family dinner table.

An array of succulent offerings at a Singaporean banana-leaf restaurant.

The Asian table is a communal table. All dishes, with the exception of dessert, are usually presented at once and served with rice. Diners help themselves to whatever they want and to as much as they desire. There will usually be a soup, followed by or accompanied with one or two meat dishes and a vegetable dish. Dessert, especially in a domestic situation, is almost always sliced fresh seasonal fruit.

Of course you may like to serve a series of Asian dishes for a Western-style dinner, where the dishes come out sequentially (as opposed to all at once). The recipes in this book have been structured with this in mind, into categories such as appetizers, soups, salads, main courses, and desserts for ease of use. You may need to increase the quantities of the main dishes slightly if you are not planning to serve rice or bread with the meal. A number of suggested menus-for family meals, dinner parties etc-are included in each chapter to help you plan your meals.

Most diners in Asian countries drink tea throughout a meal. Spirits are also popular, especially at formal dinners and banquets. But there's no reason why you can't drink your favorite red or white wine if you are eating Asian food-with some judicious tasting you will soon find out which goes best with what.

We hope The Food of Asia will inspire you, with its pictures, words and delicious recipes, to prepare these luscious dishes at home. It will also let you gain a better understanding of the wonderful cuisines of the region and give you many years of happy eating. And don't forget to have fun in the kitchen!