• Jane on November 27, 2009

  Every recipe I have tried from this cookbook has been excellent. Really flavorful and I also love all the stories from the grandmothers.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Chicken coconut soup (tom ka kai)

  • PanNan on September 07, 2023

    This is a delicious version of Tom Ka Kai soup. I did have to make a couple of substitutions, but they didn't affect the expected results. I used half of a serrano pepper instead of the thai chile and I used sliced ginger along with a tablespoon of galangal powder instead of the fresh galangal. It was just a tad too sour, so next time, I would only use 1/4 cup lime juice.

• Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce

  • tsusan on September 30, 2009

    p. 107. Works well because you split the stalks lengthwise so they cook faster/evenly. Wring out the leaves next time. Skipped the shallots.

  • swegener on February 23, 2015

    First time eating Chinese broccoli, and I quite enjoyed it! I used mushroom based "oyster" sauce and it was good.

• Wok-fried pea shoots

  • lorloff on March 22, 2016

    Very good and simple. Used unsalted chicken bone stock and high end thick soy sauce and lots of garlic.

• Spiced red lentil stew (palida)

  • sarahcooks on May 03, 2012

    I think I like my dal a bit less complex, though I usually like dishes with lots of different spices in them. Not bad, but not to my taste either.

• Burmese pork curry (whethar sebyan)

  • Jane on October 07, 2009

    Great every-night curry - took only 20 mins to prep then cooked for 1 hour. I added cauliflower as well as the squash and made it with chicken thighs rather than pork and the whole family loved it.

  • sarahcooks on May 16, 2013

    Very easy for a curry and uses stuff I usually have on hand. I used carrots and bell peppers for the vegetable since that is what I had and it was fine. I think the cooking time could be longer though. I think the onions would benefit from a longer fry at the beginning, and the meat could simmer longer too.

• 1-2-3-4-5 sticky spareribs (tang chu pai gu)

  • BeachDonkey on June 09, 2013

    Use bourbon instead of wine

• Thai basil pork (pad gkaprow mu)

  • tsusan on September 30, 2009

    Very aromatic--can't beat Thai basil plus fish sauce plus garlic

• Lao chicken and herb salad (larb gai)

  • tsusan on September 30, 2009

    Couldn't get the Viet coriander ("rau ram") Maybe toast the rice more next time. Don't go too crazy w/ the kaffir lime even tho you love it! Good balance texture, flavor. Increased both lime

• Rick's chicken curry

  • Jane on November 27, 2009

    This really was one of the best curries I have ever made. Using chicken with bones in really makes a difference to the intensity of flavors.

• Shrimp with homemade black bean sauce

  • lorloff on May 07, 2016

    This dish was really great added onions and used black bean chili sauce combined this with ideas from Grace Young's Kitchen Wisdom cookbook for a similar recipe.

  • ebalk02 on July 29, 2025

    Comes together pretty quickly, but came out more bland than I was expecting. Not sure I'd make again.

• Stir-fried glass noodles (japchae)

  • sarahcooks on May 09, 2013

    This was okay, I added some little cubes of tofu to make it a main dish. I wasn't really a fan of the spinach in it, and I thought overall it could have had more flavor.

• Boston Globe by T. Susan Chang

  If you missed out sitting by your grandmother’s stove, or your family ethnicity doesn’t happen to match the food you know you were born to eat, this book goes a long way toward addressing that need.

  Full review

• Tea & Cookies

  ...the book is gorgeous - full of tempting recipes and stunning photos... You’ll get an impressive education on Asian ingredients along the way.

  Full review

• 5 second rule

  Cheryl finds plenty of recipes to bookmark in this one.

  Full review