In this volume, Charmaine Solomon guides the reader step by step through Asia's most popular dishes. Recipes featured come from Thailand, Burma, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Sri Lanka, Japan, Korea and China. The more than 130 recipes include Tom Yum Goong, Laksa Lemak, Pho, Lamb Korma, Sushi, Fried Rice and Beef in Black Bean Sauce, and Solomon has included handy hints on how to take short cuts without compromising flavour by using spice pastes and powders that have been prepared beforehand.
All over the world, tastebuds have been captured and held to ransom by the flavours of Asia. Affordable travel has introduced new flavours to timid palates. These are dishes you may have come across at restaurants, food stalls or in friends homes.
Now the traveller wants to taste those flavours again without the cost of the fare. In big cities, a restaurant from any part of the world is sure to be found. I remember visiting Odense in Denmark and yearning for a simple Thai soup, with its clear and sharp flavours. In a Thai restaurant Iwas served this dish with all the fresh herbs and roots it would have featured in its native land. We fly them in every week, the waiter said when I expressed surprise.