Notes about Recipes in this book

• Lentils and rice with caramelized onions

  • jaelsne on May 28, 2014

    Excellent taste. The texture was a bit mushy (my fault, I'm sure), so be sure not to overcook the lentils before adding rice. I offered a bit of Harissa with the dish to give it some color.

• Flavorful sticky rice (Yau mei faan)

  • kleins99 on April 23, 2020

    Used pre-cooked shrimp, pre-cooked chicken breast, breakfast sausage. Added sesame seeds, scallion, mushroom, and chopped fresh ginger. Didn't have sherry, used sake cooking wine and thin soy sauce.

  • MOSteen on February 19, 2022

    I added coconut aminos and sesame seed oil to the water used to cook the rice which helped to add flavor. This was the easiest way of making sticky rice I have found so far, and is easy to alter based upon allergies or taste preferences

• Flash cooked kale or collards with lemon juice

  • Cheri on January 06, 2010

    Good, quick. Richard liked this

• Lamb stew with dill

  • sideshoes on December 21, 2010

    Pretty good. Nice, simple and homey.

• Seaweed salad with cucumber and chicken or shrimp

  • sideshoes on July 16, 2011

    Did not like the texture of the seaweed.

• Chicken salad with Vietnamese seasonings

  • sideshoes on August 13, 2011

    Only served two.

• Basic sautéed eggplant, Indian style

  • PennyG on August 24, 2014

    This was okay. I think I just don't care for the texture of sauteed eggplant. I prefer it roasted or in casseroles. Taste was nice; it was just the texture I didn't like.

• Chicken biryani

  • PennyG on August 24, 2014

    OH - this was beyond delicious! I pretty much followed the recipe exactly and it exceeded my expectations of what I had in mind when searching for a good Chicken Biryani recipe. And it's super easy too!

• Prune stuffed meatballs in yogurt sauce (Alubukhara kofta)

  • mlbatt on August 22, 2010

    Used dried apricots. Nice flavor.Don't use fat free fage - curdled. full fat regular yogurt would be better.

• Roasted pepper, anchovy and caper salad

  • lorloff on July 03, 2018

    I made this with mixed colored organic sweet peppers from the farmers market. I only used 1/2 of the anchovies and used fresh oregano instead of dried. It was delicious and even better the next day. Added enough very flavorful olive oil to cover which remotes the excellent marriage of flavors in the dish.

• Minced chicken "salad" (Laarb)

  • lorloff on January 13, 2019

    This was terrific and flavorful. I had left over poached chicken that I made this with instead of starting with raw chicken. I flavored the oil with garlic then added the chopped cooked chicken to heat through with the seasonings. It worked out very well. I doubled the amount of the fish sauce mixture. This will be a keeper both when I am starting with fresh chicken and when I have leftover cooked chicken. It was great with raw cabbage although the recipe says you can substitute lettuce, I would not recommend that. The crunch of the raw cabbage with the chicken salad is excellent.

• Crisp-skin salmon fillets with chimichurri sauce

  • lorloff on June 19, 2021

    We made this with king salmon and it was delicious. The chimichurri was perfectly spiced we used mexican chili flakes. I would chop the parsley a little more finely next time. I loved it my husband thought it was more like poached than roasted.

• Grouper or other fillets with chiles and tomatoes

  • lorloff on August 16, 2014

    Great delicious dish. I made it with ottolinghi's okra dish from plenty which was perfect. I used red boat nam pla fish sauce which was perfect. The cooking time for the fish was a bit longer because the cut I had was quite thick. If I could rate this fish a 6 instead of a 5 if I could.

• Marinated lamb "popsicles" with fenugreek cream

  • marylandline on January 20, 2011

    p. 353

• Pork, bean, and sauerkraut soup (Jota)

  • bernalgirl on May 22, 2023

    A hearty soup with making again. I added chile flakes, carrot and celery to sautéed onions as a base and would make it this way again

• Fried rice

  • twoyolks on March 24, 2013

    This is a good basic fried rice but it still feels like it is missing something (possibly MSG). I'd also reduce the amount of oil as it turns out a bit greasy.

  • PanNan on December 06, 2017

    This is a good basic fried rice recipe. I did add a cup of finely diced carrots and a cup of snow peas cut on the bias (slightly larger than the carrots). I stir fried these for a few minutes before adding 1 pound of shrimp (no pork) and following the rest of the recipe as written. I did have to add more soy sauce at the end to adjust the seasoning to our liking.

• Beef lo mein

  • twoyolks on July 23, 2013

    This has a very attractive presentation. A full recipe will not easily make 4 servings, despite the listing in the cookbook. The finished dish feels like it's missing an ingredient or two.

• Ginger-chile sauce

  • twoyolks on January 09, 2013

    I used 3 small red chiles to make a half recipe and it turned out very spicy.

• Grilled mushrooms and bacon

  • twoyolks on April 19, 2016

    Grilling the mushrooms on skewers with bacon is fine but there just isn't enough here to recommend this as a recipe. It doesn't even call for seasoning the mushrooms.

• Tortilla soup (Sopa de tortilla)

  • twoyolks on October 02, 2014

    The soup reminded me of a soup version of enchilada sauce. It had a good tomato flavor but ended up a bit thick.

• Tuna with miso-chile sauce

  • twoyolks on March 13, 2013

    3 minutes per side with 1 inch thick tuna steaks resulted in medium-well tuna. A light hand with the glaze is necessary or the miso will over power the tuna.

• Hainanese chicken rice

  • twoyolks on January 09, 2013

    This is simple and relatively mild in flavor but also good. It's a flavor that grows over time. It reminds me of Chinese comfort food. The rice needs to be seasoned aggressively. Instead of cooling the chicken in ice water, I served it warm; in the future, I think I would serve it lukewarm. With the tomato and cucumber, one of each made a significant garnish.

• Chinese mustard greens (Gai lan) with oyster sauce

  • twoyolks on March 13, 2013

    The stems took closer to 10 minutes to fully cook. Some of the gai LAN was too bitter to eat and there wasn't enough sauce to complement it.

• Nutty zarzuela

  • docjosh on October 02, 2016

    Added fried fresh chorizo, lemon juice, sweet paprika

• Simmered tofu with ground pork (Ma po tofu)

  • SACarlson on November 13, 2016

    This was a good, quick, basic recipe. However, I missed some of the complexity of a more authentic Ma po dish, and am not sure why the Szechuan peppercorns weren't in the recipe--even as an optional item since not everyone can get them!

• Spicy pork and tofu stew

  • SACarlson on May 26, 2014

    This would benefit from being made the day before, as the pork throws off a lot of fat.

• Ground and toasted rice (Khao koor)

  • SACarlson on September 21, 2014

    Great garnish for any Thai dish!

• Fragrant coconut milk rice (Nasi lemak)

  • JKDLady on January 01, 2016

    This was very good. I served it alongside Kari Ayam. What a delicious meal!

• Braised short ribs (Kalbi jim)

  • JKDLady on January 01, 2016

    Good, but a lot of work to taste basically like pot roast.

• Potatoes with bay leaves

  • JKDLady on January 01, 2016

    These were good, but needed to be cooked longer.

• Chicken potato patties

  • JKDLady on January 01, 2016

    These were fun, but they were a lot of work. I would only make these again if i had leftover chicken and potatoes.

• Roast pork (Lechon asado)

  • JKDLady on February 05, 2016

    This was good, but 1 T of salt? It was too much for us. I ended up using the leftover meat in a barley soup, which was delicious and masked the salt content. Wouldn't make again.

• Chicken curry (Kari ayam)

  • JKDLady on January 01, 2016

    We absolutely loved this. I used 4 T curry powder instead of 3 because we like stronger flavors. I will definitely make this again. I served it with Nasi Lemak, which was perfect.

• Red fish stew, fast and spicy

  • JKDLady on January 01, 2016

    This was delicious! I used mussels and sea bass. The mussels took longer to cook than the fish.

  • rpepper on November 06, 2017

    Good flavor, pretty simple. Used 3 dried red chiles instead of 5 and it was still plenty spicy. Made with 2 pounds of rockfish.

• Crustless vegetable pie

  • KissTheCook on September 22, 2017

    P. 459, called Torta de Melanzane - no need for crust. Good flavor. Allow 2 hrs. Peel, cube and salt eggplant at least 30 min. ahead. Squeeze liquid from eggplant; no need to rinse salt. Sauteed bread crumbs 10 min. first before topping pie before baking.

• Couscous with apricots

  • Rinshin on December 20, 2014

    Terrific taste. Much better tasting than plain couscous. I did use really good Asian homemade style chicken stock and that sure made it taste delicious.

• Real beef Stroganoff

  • Rinshin on August 28, 2016

    This is a solid beef stroganoff although my fav is still the beef stroganoff in the mellinkoff style. But this recipe is very simple enough to make on a busy night. Using good cut of beef makes this special. I used shitake mushrooms and fresh tomatoes. Shitake perfumes this dish with wonderful woodsy aroma. Surprise ingredient was Dijon mustard which helped balance some of the richness. I added the optional dill as well. Rating it 4.5.

• Fish tagine

  • Rinshin on December 20, 2014

    I made this recipe as is and I thought it was very good. My husband thought it was a tad too tart the first day. I used milder lemon juice from our own meyer lemons but I plan to reduce the amount by 1/3 next time I make this. For people who like tart taste it may be fine, but even for me I thought it was a little too pronounced the first day. Next day made the leftovers milder tasting and I liked it better too.

• Seared swordfish with lemongrass, tamarind, and fried garlic

  • MikeCirillo on September 12, 2016

    This is an interesting recipe; instead of lemon providing the sour as in most fish recipes in this taramind provides the same effect. This has a nice combination of southeast Asian flavors, hot from chili peppers (I just just substituted crushed red pepper for fresh), sour *tamarind) and salty (fish sauce). It says it should be made with sticky rice but we had it with boiled, buttered new potatoes and it was delicious. My wife and I both loved it. The fried garlic was so good I think I should make a batch and put in on just about anything I eat! I had lemon grass growing in a herb garden and I keep other Asian ingredients in the pantry and fridge so that helped of course!

• Miso-broiled scallops

  • springandfall on April 27, 2018

    With good scallops near $20/lb., beware this marinade. It is overpowering and so thick that it does not fall away when you remove the scallops for cooking. Next time I'll use the marinade from Lucky Peach's '100 Easy Asian Recipes' (Miso-Roasted Fish), shortening the marinating time for small items like scallops.

• Stir-fried squid with basil and garlic

  • springandfall on April 15, 2018

    This is wonderful, but I didn't like putting an empty nonstick skillet over high heat as one might heat a wok. I'd like to try this in a wok or regular skillet next time. Chinese stir-fries often feature squid and it doesn't seem to stick.

• Creamy carrot soup (Potage Crécy)

  • springandfall on September 18, 2017

    Flooded with carrots from my CSA, I made this with low expectations, mainly to clean out the fridge. Most of the carrot soups I've made have been fine but nothing special. But this one was extraordinary. I'm not sure why. Homemade stock helps, as does the relatively brief cooking time. And I recently got a Vitamix, which makes a smooth, slightly foamy puree. I was out of all the garnishes (sour cream, fresh parsley or chervil), but it still tastes complex and wonderful.

• Fast pilaf with meat

  • vikingcook on February 09, 2017

    I used ground lamb and canned tomatoes in this dish. I did cut down on the amount of butter used as ground lamb has plenty of fat. Fast, filling dish that makes enough for 4 large servings.

• Monkfish or other fillets in almond sauce

  • msl521 on August 09, 2021

    The sauce, when cooked after forming a paste, is not very saucy. It goes back to being paste like. But it is very flavorful.

• Bulgur pilaf with meat

  • adelina on March 14, 2021

    Loved the flavors of the meat. I tried substituting arborio rice instead of bulgur and that was a fail. I will try again with bulgur. The meat alone was delsih

• Pasta with walnuts and bread crumbs

  • taochild on October 05, 2014

    Go easy on the garlic.

• Stir-fried pork in garlic sauce, Thai style

  • dianev on September 18, 2015

    Subbed soy sauce for nam pla. Good flavor but oily.

• Chewy sugar cookies

  • Alowishs on April 02, 2016

    (on 656) Have to refrigerate dough 12+ hours. Turned out super, duper good. Icing would be good, but tastes great even without it.

• Olive oil cookies with orange and cinnamon

  • Alowishs on April 02, 2016

    (on page 657) Had to substitute rum soaked with orange rind for Grand Marnier or orange liqueur, since I had none. Still turned out well. Can put confectioners sugar on top or an icing. Enjoyed these, but they probably won't turn into one of my go-tos.

• Cod baked in foil

  • GiselleMarie on May 01, 2021

    We found this a little plain. I used chopped tomato, parsley, and thinly sliced onion as toppings, making for a very colorful dish, but the flavor was lacking.

• Green beans, pears and ham

  • GiselleMarie on July 08, 2017

    This is surprisingly good! It's an old-fashioned dish that seems like someone's mother made it up when there was hardly any food in the house. I'm trying to empty my freezer so we can buy a new one, and I had pieces of our Easter ham I needed to use. I also wanted to use some of our garden's bounty of green beans, so this dish was just what I was looking for. I will definitely make this again!

• Tofu with black beans

  • GiselleMarie on January 08, 2023

    This is easy and excellent! I made this as a side dish on Christmas Day 2022 to accompany Asian Foil-baked Salmon and two vegetables, and all four of us at the table loved it. Next time I’ll double the recipe. We all wanted more!

• Beet salad with cumin

  • GiselleMarie on September 17, 2023

    Decrease dressing by half. This recipe makes way too much—and I like a lot of dressing on salad!

• Pickled beets

  • hbakke on June 02, 2020

    I wasn't able to add the optional horseradish because it was expired, but the pickling liquid tasted fine without it. This recipe was made simpler by pressure cooking the beets the day before. I love the addition of the onions which retained a bit of crunch.

• Beef stew with prunes

  • KatieK1 on January 21, 2024

    The meat needs to be browned in two batches, and maybe first dusting it with flour would have helped. The sauce was delicious. The recipe makes 4 servings. Too much work for so little.

• Spicy cold celery

  • eileentien on November 02, 2022

    I remember making this dish years ago and it was good. This time I didn't add the optional chili oil, and it wasn't as flavorful. The spicy version of the dish tastes better

• Mushroom and cranberry chicken

  • alecreid on June 25, 2023

    Caution not to add too much liquid to the simmering chicken. Better to eat seared and topped with cranberry mushroom sauce. .

• Chilaquiles with meat

  • alecreid on March 27, 2023

    To save time I just use high end tortilla chips. I also tried the addition of chicken, this go around and it was stupendous. This is one of my go to breakfast options for guests, or when staying in an Airbnb during ski season!