I've had this book for about 2 years now and several of these recipes are in heavy, craveworthy, rotation. I have found most of the ingredients I need at Whole Foods and here on Amazon (specifically curry paste... don't waste your time with Thai Kitchen curry paste for dishes like Massaman Curry, get the Mae Ploy curry paste at a well stocked Asian market, or online, and be reborn). I do live in Chicago and near several specialty Asian markets, so it is without a doubt that my access to harder to find ingredients is better than most. Though, most of what I have needed to get started exploring Asian food through this book is shelf stable and available online, or found at better stocked "Anglo" grocers.
I loved Lucky Peach and was a reader from issue one, and when I learned the overall concept of this book: Nothing fried, no side recipes, I was even further sold. This book makes it so easy to toss together something flavorful and satisfying on a weeknight.
Our favorites are:
Spicy Cold Celery (The perfect way to clear out extra celery languishing in the crisper, or just buy some celery and make this, ok?)
Chineasy Cucumber Salad (perfect summertime side)
Dollar Dumplings (I prep a double batch of these at a time, they are always in the freezer for an easy meal, over rice with kimchi, and/or with some steamed veg and one of the super sauces, or boiled into a soup/stew.)
Vegetable Dumplings (also always in our freezer for an easy meal to be eaten like the dollar dumplings)
Doenjang Jigae (simple, delicious, and nuanced. Incredible comfort food for a cool night)
Chicken Noodle Soup (I neglected this recipe for a while because it looked too basic. My boyfriend was sick recently and I decided to make it to help nurse him back to health. We both LOVED it. The seeping of the chicken created a delicately spiced, plainly chickeny, broth that lent itself well to any number of applications. I doctored it up like ramen some days, and ate it plain on others. The cooked chicken is also DIVINE. Not dry or overcooked. I loved tossing the chicken with Spicy Chili Crisp and eating it like that over rice or noodles and a little sesame oil. Don't overlook this one if you're looking for something simple and heartwarming, or you're willing to use it as a jumping off point to explore other flavors. I also regret not freezing some of the broth, but I will do that next time.)
Massaman Curry (We keep lemongrass and keffir lime leaves in the freezer to make this even more accessible on nights when a trip to Whole Foods or a specialty store is a bridge too far. It's a toss up between this and the Thai style lettuce cups and Miso Claypot Chicken for recipe most made and loved. I have no problem whipping this up on a weeknight and it's quite impressive for company)
Stir Fried Asparagus (having eaten at Pok Pok i was dying to try this. This delivers flavor and texture. I dream of this when I'm eating boring steakhouse vegetables on work trips.)
Korean grilled Chicken (perfect with rice and kimchi for an easy dinner)
Chicken Adobo (Set it and forget it. So much flavor! I will usually make a spice sachet out of cheesecloth rather than trying to strain out the whole spices and aromatics. Awesome with lots of white rice and the asparagus i mentioned before)
Miso Claypot Chicken (I add a layer of frozen green beans sprinkled with salt before adding the chicken to make this a one pot meal. the green beans overcook just a bit and the whole thing is comfort food in a bowl... if I don't just eat it right out of the pot.)
Thai Style Lettuce Cups (So good. We eat this over rice with chopped raw cabbage. It has also impressed company several times as well as a starter before Massaman Curry. We usually make it with pork, but it is quite delicious with ground chicken thighs for those who are pork adverse.)
Ms. Vo Thi Huong's Garlic Shrimp (Decadent and rich, and so easy that even my boyfriend can make it)
We also love the Super Sauces and I have been keeping them on hand to add flavor to veggies, or a simple piece of tofu or seared meat/fish when we have odds and ends to use up. The best part about it is that once you have a stocked pantry these come together without too much effort. We love and usually stock:
Dave Chang's Ginger Scallion Sauce (get ambitious, invite some people over, and make David Chang's Bo Saam recipe with this as one of the side sauces. You won't regret it)
Octo Vinaigrette (Is there anything this doesn't taste great on? I've yet to find it. Mix this into steamed greens and serve with rice and meat/tofu and you've got an impressive meal. It's also plain delicious on rice or as a salad dressing)
Odd Flavor Sauce (Wow. We love this on fish in particular. Nutty and unexpected)
Having these recipes as a jumping off point to explore Asian cuisine has made me more adventurous in general as a home cook, but I could see being perfectly content to spend more time trying each and every recipe in this book and never tiring of it.
I hope you enjoy it as we have!
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About the author
Accessible and authentic Asian food
This book is a very easy and accessible introduction to a broad array of Asian cuisines, with a focus on Chinese (heavy focus), Korean and Japanese food. Some of these ingredients may be harder for you to find at your typical US grocery store, but they categorize the must-have pantry items in levels, to help you with the shopping. And a lot of the recipes don't even require specialty ingredients. My favorite recipes that I will go back to are... Fried rice (Thai Herb version) and cucumber salad. The scallion pancakes were great, but I will admit these are very labor intensive for something you can purchase for so cheap and of equal quality at a Chinese restaurant. As someone who grew up in Japan, I can assure you that the Japanese recipes featured are of very authentic comfort food, most things you wouldn't find in a typical Japanese restaurant in the US. I will make one note about the Dashimaki Tamago recipe-- for those who are into the usual flavorful sweet Japanese egg dish you're used to ordering, add more sugar and a squirt of soy sauce to the mixture, and stir around the eggs with chopsticks in the pan while waiting for it to set. That will make a more even omelet. My only one qualm is... even though there are wonderful desserts from all Asian countries, they do not go into much depth at all. The two desserts are pure and simple oranges (pictured), and egg custard tarts. Yes, they do acknowledge their reasoning but still. I think there are plenty of easy homemade Asian dessert (and beverage) recipes to include.
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2018
Top reviews from other countries
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- damiana_leavesReviewed in Canada on May 11, 2023
Great recipes and super useful tips
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Daniel KollerReviewed in Germany on December 13, 2022
Schnell, unkompliziert und günstig daheim asiatisch kochen.
