• hpadvantag on February 23, 2010

  Though the recipes are tantalizing, they are never as good as the restaurant it seems. I have to be in the mood for these dishes, but I keep going back and trying one at a time. SOme are very complicated - which is fine by me, but not for the timid chef.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Vegetable stock

  • Ganga108 on January 28, 2021

    An interesting Veg stock that includes the usual veg and herbs, with fennel, dates/raisins and apples. It used up my carrots and celery at the end of the week, and also the dates in the fridge and apple on the bench!!!

• Miso broth with tatsoi-enoki salad

  • lorloff on January 08, 2017

    Made the dressing for this and added it to blanched tatsoi. It was very good. Needed to add 50% more vinegar and soy to have enough dressing. The dressing would also be great on blanched spinach.

• Carrot garlic soup

  • hibeez on February 02, 2026

    This was a lovely creamy soup without cream. I made a half recipe and it yielded 4 large lunch portions of soup. I did not make the curried potato hash but I did add some cooked finely diced carrots since my husband is not a huge fan of pureed soups. (trying to work down the 10 lbs of carrots in storage from our garden) 4 stars.

• Spinach tofu Napoleons

  • Ganga108 on February 25, 2022

    There is a long family history and many stories that go with this dish. Suffice to say, we love it, and it has been made all over the country since 2000. A definite favourite, and we make in a number of different ways.

• Avocado puree

  • Ganga108 on October 11, 2024

    It is interesting to dive into the older books in my collection. Tsai was doing pho and mashed avocado very early, before global popularity. Ok, Bill Granger was doing avocado toast in Sydney a lot earlier than this book, but it took a while to build into such a global sensation. This recipe is a fairly standard avo puree, with chilli, lime, shallots and coriander. But it is a lovely inspiration on a Saturday morning for a breakfast addition. With toast, of course.

• Shrimp and haricots verts chow fun

  • mirage on August 03, 2010

    Tasty!

• Hoisin pork tenderloin sandwiches

  • Bloominanglophile on August 27, 2015

    These were fabulous--my family loved them. I don't think I have ever seen pork tenderloins for sale that are only 8 oz., so I bought two 1 lb. pork tenderloins, resulting in about 6- 7 servings. If you buy larger tenderloins like I did, there is no need to increase the marinade--it makes plenty. Three hours in the marinade gave the meat a really nice flavor. These took about 25 minutes to cook in the oven. I used some of the pan juices and mixed it with mayo to spread on the buns to prevent them from getting too soggy from the slaw.

• Aromatic braised short ribs

  • Vanessa on December 11, 2011

    I'm a novice with short ribs, so perhaps you need to discount this note. I thought this was very good, with elements of red-cooking and elements of good old European "stew" going on together in the same pot. I didn't have fennel bulb (used fennel seeds instead) and added a turnip because I had some lovely ones. I just got some new star anise last month and was glad to have another place to use it! I really liked the technique of cooking it all up, then taking out the meat and using the immersion blender on the liquid/veg stew to create a more homogenized sauce.

• Ahi tuna parfait with two caviars

  • hibeez on May 05, 2026

    this is our go-to celebration dinner. (and yes we make it a dinner) I don't use the 1" ring; most recently, I made it in a 3" ring, using 11 oz of tuna for 2 people and 50 g of caviar. I also changed the layers by putting the whipped cream on first, then topping it with the caviar, which allowed you to take a little scoop of cream and caviar on its own. I also diced up an avocado and circled the parfait with it and the dressing. Spectacular. Don't skip the wasabi tobiko - essential. FWIW - we ordered the tuna, caviar and tobiko from Browne Trading company out of Portland, ME - for those of you that don't have easy access to these ingredients.

• Spicy fish balls

  • HunyBadger on December 06, 2011

    Sablefish (black cod) from Alaska and British Columbia, and Pacific halibut are Chilean sea bass alternatives

• Napa slaw

  • Bloominanglophile on August 27, 2015

    A bit of a mixed review--I made this slaw as it was part of the Hoisin Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches (p. 146). It is just fine in the sandwich, but I wouldn't really like it by itself--too much fish sauce (1/2 cup!!!). The slaw also wilts quickly, so only make the amount you need and toss with the dressing close to serving time.

  • mirage on May 30, 2016

    I agree with Bloominganglophile - okay with the sandwich (which was pretty good - would have been great with a different slaw!!), but I really didn't like it by itself. Too much fish sauce is right - and I love fish sauce!!

• Lemongrass ice cream

  • RufusL on November 01, 2013

    I made this with toasted coriander seed and no lemongrass. Served it with chocolate cake and fudge sauce.