Each country is divided into a seperate section, with the exception of Indian and Pakistani cuisine
being grouped together, as she states they are too similar to really be able to seperate. The
beginning of each section takes a little time to describe the country, and to show the author's
connection to the cuisine from that area - she's spent time working with people from every area,
watching and talking to them, to learn their ingredients and cooking methods. And it shows, as after
the description, she gets into information on those methods of cooking, how the food is presented,
and how it is eaten. She'll also give a list of ingredients very common to the cuisines from that area,
things you'll want to keep on hand if you make that type of cuisine often.

Each recipe is presented in both it's native name (or English transliteration), along with the English
equivalent underneath. The instructions are also nice and clear, making it less likely that there will be
confusion during cooking.

As Ms Solomon lives in Australia, and the book originates there, there are a number of minor
differences in names of ingredients, utensils, and other items. There is a handly little chart in the back
of the book to give a "translation" between American and Australian names. Usually this can be
figured out quickly, as most of them are not that different.

She also states substitutions for certain ingredients. The book tries to balance out the ingredients
used in the dishes, sticking as much as possible to authentic ingredients, but listing others for some
hard to find items. Those are listed in the book, so if you are able to find them, you can use them
instead - and if you're in an area where some of the other ingredients are not available, you'll also
see other choices to approximate the flavor and texture of the missing ingredients.

21 of 22 found the following review helpful:

THE only Asian cookbook to own  Mar 08, 2000

I have owned the original copy of this book since 1984. I also lived on the Pacific Rim for 12 years. This book is without a doubt the most authentic Asian cookbook I own, and I own several. I have found Ms. Solomon's directions always clear and informative. Yes, some ingredients may be a bit out of date and you can use shortcuts (i.e. canned Thai sauces), but I find I still go back to the original recipes for the best taste. I have never had a failure using this book. My Maylaysian/Indian friend uses the Malay and Indian recipes all the time (because they're so good), the Thai section is better than in the restaurants, I re-create Indonesian food that tastes the same as in Indonesia, and everyone asks me for my Chinese and Indian recipes. The Japanese food tastes just like in the Japanese restaurant in San Francisco where I ate If you really get into Asian cooking I also recommend Ms. Solomon's Encyclopedia of Asian food, and another book called simply "Southeast Asian Cooking," by a German publisher (no author listed).

42 of 49 found the following review helpful:

The Complete Asian Cookbook  Feb 04, 2001
By Charmaine Solomon
First off, let me confess - I am the author of this book. However, I have only recently dared to "surf the net" and have been delighted to discover several 5-star reviews of this book which was written 25 years ago. I would like to thank all those who have given it such high praise, and assure them that the reason the recipes work so well is because I tested them all and then made sure that I relayed the information in easy-to-understand language. It was lots of hard but enjoyable work, and when I read the reviews it makes me feel it was certainly worth while. I have thanked those who included an email address, and just wish they all did. I have written many books since then, but this one is probably the most used in my kitchen too. If anyone thinks their copy is dog-eared and has stains on it, they should see mine! Before the internet, I would get letters from places I have never been, but where someone has cooked from my book and found it rewarding. Considering the way Asian ingredients have become widely available in the intervening years, the introduction to the revised edition covers the subject for those who live in big cities and can buy the fresh herbs, roots and leaves which are now sold even in "western" societies. The publisher keeps reminding me that there are folks out in woop-woop (Australian slang for back of beyond), who would still have to rely on dried or canned ingredients, so we didn't re-write the recipes, knowing that any keen cook would make their own adjustments. Meanwhile, I have been making my own adjustments - there's always something to learn, and in the past five years I've taken to making curry pastes and marinades which cut time in the kitchen by half. These were mostly to save myself and my cooking pupils time and effort. Soon it became impossible to keep it so exclusive, and now the Charmaine Solomon range of curry pastes, marinades and spice mixes are sold in specialist food stores throughout Australia, in Sainsbury in UK and Dean & Deluca in U.S. To all those who enjoy my work, a big, heart-felt thank you. Happy cooking and eating!

13 of 13 found the following review helpful:

Almost everything you ever wanted to know about Asian cooking ...  Jan 18, 2007
By Jeff Templon
I got this book after seeing a couple of "Charmaines" at friends' houses. This book has an astonishing range, starting in India/Pakistan and heading all the way to Japan, including pretty much everything in between, including the Phillipines and Malay/Indonesia.

Things I did not like : in order to cover all countries, she of course could not go into a huge amount of depth in all countries ... I would have liked to see more Thai recipes for example. Another thing was that many recipes seemed to be difficult, one can't fault the book on this though, I suppose that's what happens when you cook authentic. I have tried a couple of the more adventurous ones and they came out fantastic, so if you have the time, well worth the effort.

Things I *did* like : the glossary in the back totally rocks! I am an American living in the Netherlands and I regularly travel to Switzerland for work, and here in the Netherlands (and in Switzerland) I get my ingredients at a number of different stores, some chinese, some japanese, many european, and some indonesian. The glossary has the spelling of each ingredient in as many as ten different languages, so it doesn't matter what store you go to, you can find your shrimp paste as kapi or as trassi ... Also there are some very good recipes from countries that I otherwise never would have tried ... one of the burmese curries is really great, and the korean recipes I have tried rock too.

There is also lots of information on how to cook the things right ... what order to add the ingredients, how long to cook the coconut milk before adding the spice paste in order to get the right consistency ...

Bottom line: excellent reference work on ingredients and techniques : wide range of excellent recipes, many of which you would not easily find elsewhere; not for casual cook who wants to make a quick, easy meal ... but detailed enough for an adventurous beginner to find his/her way. Recommended!!!

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