Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)As a Malaysian living in US, I can vouch for the authenticity of the recipes in this book. At this juncture, I would like to address some concerns raised in Arun J Gavali's review. First & foremost, Malaysia is a Muslim country where pork is not "kosher", hence the lack of pork recipes unless you're referring strictly to the foods of the Chinese ethnic group (2nd largest ethnic group in Malaysia). Beef & other meat recipes are limited owing to the fact that the landscape of Malaysia does not permit wide pasturage for raising cattle. Chicken & fish are much more widely consumed. Most of the fresh ingredients such as turmeric, galangal, pandan (screwpine) leaves, kaffir lime leaves, daun kesum & wild ginger bud, can be found in Thai or Vietnamese grocery stores. They may come fresh or frozen, depending on the store. As for keeping them fresh, freeze them by wrapping them first in parchment or in another plastic bag, before putting them into ziploc freezer bags, to prevent freezer burns. I've been successful at keeping them fresh for a couple of months this way. Better yet, seal them in vacuum packs (if you have one of those vacuum packing machines) before freezing. I always separate them into smaller portions before freezing so that I only have to defrost what I would need later for cooking. You can get a rough idea of how much you would need each time by going through the recipes in the book, especially where the curries are concerned. I only anticipate difficulty in locating ingredients for 1 recipe, Nasi Kerabu (rice with fresh herbs), since some of the herbs listed are truly indigenous to Malaysia only. Apart from this, there's nothing to prevent you from enjoying other recipes in this book, especially with the suggested substitutes. The book does present a very good cross-section of the most popular Malaysian foods and serve more than adequately to introduce the novice to the very wide variety of food found in Malaysia. To include more recipes would be overwhelming in my opinion, to most people who aren't familiar with or even unsure of the outcome of these recipes. If you truly want to try more, you should travel to Malaysia and plan on feasting everyday while you're there. Otherwise, I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to try some great Malaysian food.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Food of Malaysia: Authentic Recipes from the Crossroads of Asia (Periplus World Food Series)
The remarkable diversity of Malaysia and its exciting cuisines is brought to life in this unique collection, providing an in-depth look at the melding and fusion of Asian cultures from the regions top chefs and restaurants. Learn to prepare such delectable dishes like Salted Fish and Pineapple Curry, Black Pepper Crab, Eggplant with Basil, Spicy Barbecued Chicken, and Pickled Papaya, among others.
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