johung

I think it is a little relatively speaking. For example, Donny Hay's books are pretty low end by English-speaking countries' standards, yet I saw them sold in Hong Kong's bookshops as if they were regarded on the same level as the premium cookbooks written by Alain Ducasse. In fact the price tag (HK$600) is pretty dear even for the middle class Chinese in HK - where the most expensive Chinese-language premium cookbooks rarely sell for more than HK$350.

I doubt that would be the case if you compare Charlie Trotter with, for example, Jamie Oliver. After all, Oliver is just as "European" as Ducasse. If this is the feedback you give to American chefs, I would shudder what you think of Simon Gault of NZ or Neil Perry of Australia.

Even in New Zealand and Australia malt vinegar is fast disappearing from people's homes. I haven't seen any recipes newer than 20 years old which call for its use, and the only people who use it are the over-70s. Most other people are using some kind of wine vinegar in 2009 New Zealand for most dishes.

I heard from my father that most restaurants would add some drippings from roast pork into the finished dish. This is why fried rice is very high in fat. This would be true at least up until the late 1980s, but I'm not not too sure if it is still true today.

Malt vinegar is way too strong for most of the "real" Chinese food, at least as far as food in China/Hong Kong are concerned. I as a first generation ethnic Chinese migrant, would like to think it reflects Kylie Kwong's Westernized tastes as a 4th generation Chinese-Australian. Basically, it is an Anglo type of product that is widely available in Britain and Australia and NZ. I would substitute malt vinegar with any Chinese vinegar you prefer. For the strongest taste to what Kylie intended, use white rice vinegar (which is very strong in Chinese tastes, but still a bit mild compared with Western distilled vinegar. I remember years ago I read from Wiki that 4 tablespoons of Chinese red rice vinegar = 3 tabelspoons of distilled white vinegar in taste)

I would put the two MoVida cookbooks together as above Moro (Moro is more a Spanish-Moroccan Moorish inspired type, while MoVida is definitely Spanish) as far as teaching you Spanish cooking, but IMHO they are not really better than Penelope Casas or Janet Mendel's numerous works. Should still be good materials on a par with America's Jose Andres though.

My apologies in advance for chirping in here. Alexander's book is indeed very heavily promoted and popular here whether at Borders, Whitcoulls or even boutique specialist independent bookshops. When I bought the title last year, a gentleman passed by and commented, "This is a very, very good book. It's a shame that it is so pricey!". My guess is it is among the top 3 or 4 of the non-NZ cookbooks sold in this country. (The others titles seem to be constantly changing between Marie Claire cookbooks, what's-published-thiis-month-from Jamie Oliver or Gordon Ramsay or Rick Stein, Australian Woman's Weekly cookbooks, and perhaps a couple of other Australian cookbook authors like Neil Perry or Bill Granger) The book can be readily used in the NZ contexts since a lot of food styles are virtually identical in NZ. Seafood may pose some difficulties though: the fish is different in NZ shores. Still, I would dare say it is quite difficult at times to state it isn't a NZ cookbook!

I'm rather surprised at the "negative" reviews on amazon.co.uk on Patten's books. It seems to me the reviewers were desperate to declare that Britain today is a very different place from even a decade or two ago in culture manifested in food, and want to paint much of Patten's recipes as stodgy anachronisms that better belong to museums. Much of what we would call "anachronisms" often make comebacks down the line, and in Britain's Antipodean offsprings, even the most snobbish foodies like Peta Mathias will never brush old-fashioned cooking off as museum time wraps in such casual manners (of course, this correlate saying by many Britons that these "white" former British colonies seem intent to keep more of the post-war British culture than even Britain itself - I wouldn't go further than this remark). With regards to NZ's cookbooks, many aren't particularly "must" especially as most do have Australian analogues and most would be very similar to British or Australian cooking except adapted to NZ contexts. I would recommend A Cook's Bible (Pengiun, 2007) by Lesley Christensen-Yule and Hamish McRae for a modern NZ How-to-cook book. Alison Holst is the old-end cooking authority, and I recommend her signature books The Best of Alison Holst and Alison Holst the Ultimate Collection. Australia's equivalent to Alison Holst is Margaret Fulton. Her Margaret Fulton's Encyclopedia of Food and Cookery is very similar to Stephanie Alexander's A Cook's Companion, except feeling more European and pre-Pacific Rim food and more old-fashioned. Alexander's book feels more of the post-2000 while Fulton seems to be rather late 1980s.

There are two books from Australia-based Frank Camorra that I believe are very good for translating good Spanish dishes into kitchens of English-speaking nations. It may be a bit Australian in focus at times, but still very good: 1. MoVida: Spanish Culinary Adventures http://www.amazon.co.uk/MoVida-Frank-Camorra-Richard-Cornish/dp/1921259396 2. MoVida Rustica http://www.amazon.co.uk/MoVida-Rustica-Frank-Camorra/dp/1741964695 Another one that I like is Teresa Barrenechea's The Cuisines of Spain ( paperback edition: http://www.amazon.com/Cuisines-Spain-Exploring-Regional-Cooking/dp/158008835X ). Anya von Bremzen's The New Spanish Table has a good mix of cutting edge molecular or creative New Spanish dishes in a mix with old favourites, but in general I find the ingredients a bit bizarre for the standard dishes like gazpacho (using water to soak the bread pieces instead of olive oil), and the layouts are a little confusing.

I second some comments here. It's more a travelogue/food p0rn rather than a genuine recipe book. Some dishes (such as kanom sai sai, guay jap) are unique to this book and definitely the first time I see written down and published in English anywhere in the world, but the number of recipes are disappointing low. Most are photos of various street food and the marketplace and the people. I feel cheated after begging the staff at Borders Christchurch to allow me to have a peep at the book, 1 day before its official release date. It is definitely not worth the NZ$125.00 price tag. A disappointment I'm afraid.

Hi all, Does anyone know if there are any new or recent (published within the past 10 years) cookbooks on the cooking of Tahiti/French Polynesia in English? I could only find Jean Galopin's La cuisine de Tahiti et de ses îles (ISBN 2950243428) and Lisa Mairai Bellais's Cuisine de Tahiti d'hier et d'aujourd hui (ISBN 2915654174) but they are in French only. My interests on this srea is primarily on the cooking of Tahiti since I went to the place as a stopover a few years ago and found the food very different but strikingly good (perhaps the chefs have French training - even the average Sofitel hotel chefs cook better than their counterparts in New Zealand), and I also like the fusion between native Tahitian cooking (similar to other Pacific Islands) and French cuisine. Any information will be much appreciated. Regards,

I actually have a differing opinion that I believe these books do complement each other in subtle ways, even for very similar recipes. Michele Cranston is quite lifestyle oriented so her recipes are very much what's the hippest in vogue, while AWW cookbooks are a more gradual evolution of Cranston's recipes. AWW is also very good at teaching a Joe Smith who has never even stepped into a kitchen before to cook - even things like "how to do a good boiled egg" (BTW, Michel Roux Jr has written that there are some tricks to do such simple things in his latest book so it is not a trivial task either), and if my memory is correct there was someone in a previous post on this thread a few years back that asked for an Australian version of "how to cook with nil experience" type. Alexander wins handsdown on all the major recipes, but AWW cookbooks do complement on teaching the basic cooking so you could take Alexander's recipes. It is no shame - many American chefs like Jonathan Waxman has a trusty copy of their The Joy of Cooking for handy reference. You do need basics and The Joy of Cooking is of no use to us, so the AWW ones serve as substitutes if you are Australian/NZers and I would say for British they do the job as well since it is far more familiar than The Joy of Cooking world). From time to time, someone will say "Oh I was in Australia back in the 1970s/80s and the food at that time is something I miss. Could you find any book that has those recipes?" or "This is not my good friend Jane Doe in Brisbane prepares when she invited me over for meal. It is more traditional than Cranston's works...". For example, I searched through AWW and Cranston's Marie Claire or Alexander's The Cook's Companion for the older curry powder yellowish type curry chicken. Nil nada zip - yes, green curry, Pehang curry are all there, and so is butter chicken, but no that type of older yellowish curry. Fulton's books come in handy here IMHO. Of course it is all my two cents, and as foodies we do have different needs. The books differ in very subtle ways that often owning a majority of them help on different times.

To anyone who starts reading now, I would say the best general Australian cookbooks already published in 2009, suited for home cooking, or indicative of how Australian households prepare meal at home, and still in print, would be: 1. Margaret Fulton's Encyclopedia of Food and Cookery by Margaret Fulton, only just back in print in 2009. Margaret Fulton is probably as close to Australian icon as far as cooking is concerned. May be a little behind the hippest trends and a little like 20 years ago, but I found plenty of old favourites inside. A bit like Australia's Alison Holst and would match The Joy of Cooking. You may also buy Fulton's The Margaret Fulton Cookbook and Margaret Fulton's Kitchen 2. The Cook's Companion by Stephanie Alexander A little more cutting edge with more high end ingraidents than Fulton, it is very similar. I would say this is more equivalent to The Gourmet Cookbook if Fulton's work is like The Joy of Cooking. 3. Australian Women's Weekly series Cook, Kitchen, and Bake cookbooks. It is very family oriented. I would recommend purchase these three cookbooks ahead of Fulton and Alexander if you had absolutely nil experience before stepping into a kitchen. Very much what the average folk cooks but also note it is very contemporary with many recipes not prepared in traditional ways which is a good thing for some but too trendy for others. It sounds a little like The New Best Recipe by Cook's Illustrated. Cook covers basics, Kitchen covers what's not in Cook, and Bake covers baking exclusively. Don't buy the 1000 Best Ever Recipes From AWW published after the three mentioned. IMHO it is just a condensed book from the three. 4. Marie Claire's Kitchen and Marie Claire's Seasonal Kitchen by Michele Cranston These two books are like variations of Alexander's book. I would say it is very trendy with its emphasis on light, fresh, multiethnic cuisines of Australia in the 2000s. Very much complements Fulton's works. I would say if you want the best comprehensive coverage, get all 7 (or 9 if for Fulton's 3 books).

It's a shame that you're not in Australia because I've seen "Balance and Harmony" for sale at $40 at Target. ← Just an update: I received the book ordered from amazon.co.uk and it is a hardcover book without the gift box. This suits me because the I found reading a book packed in a giftbox to be very impractical. Apart from this, none in NZ is selling the regular hardcover version yet. It is too bad for the shoppers in NZ.

I read some reviews written in Chinese. The comments are rather unflattering that you spend 3x as much and get the same dishes as the mom and pop restaurants in Sydney's Chinatown. Obviously the ambience is much better (it is a shame that most good Chinese restaurants outside Hong Kong aren't noted for good ambience). The dishes offered are in Perry's latest cookbook "Balance and Harmony".

Thanks everyone. It is reassuring the spice mixes compositions are written down in Louisiana Kitchen instead of asking people to buy processed product lines. I wouldn't mind about the specialty products like tasso ham etc, because you obviously can't make it at home and it is akin to asking me to use serraro ham. (although for the sake of educating readers, he could include the recipes of making them). I think I will buy Louisiana Kitchen. How about Louisiana Tastes? It was written in 2000 so I would like to check if the recipes tell you to make sauces from scratch or buy processed ones, thanks.

Hi all, Does anyone have actual experience with preparing recipes out of Prudhomme's books? I have been pondering about buying his books Louisiana Tastes and Louisiana Kitchen but am afraid 90% of the recipes would call for buying his merchandise before proceeding in the style of "4 teaspoons of Chef Paul Prudhomme's Poultry Magic" or "buy crab boil - it should be available everywhere", which because I'm from overseas, neither are available in NZ. Do the 2 books advise methods to make spice mixtures from scratch? That will make things a lot easier for us overseas readers. Thanks

I like all 5 of Neil Perry's cookbooks although his restaurant book Rockpool, barring an updated edition, is a little bit dated. Matt Moran is one that I prefer with reasonable recipes (good reading for pure restaurant-grade recipes, and a few doable ones). Pier is perhaps the most cutting edge as far as food fashions go, and if you are keen to prepare what's-hot-right-now at home, it's the one to go. If you are keen to extend the horizon across the Tasman [sea], I would recommend Simon Wright's The French Cafe Cookbook which is like the NZ equivalent of Botanical. I also like Adam Newell's A Consuming Passion. Simon Gault's Nourish is good for showcasing what the top line NZ chefs, similar to Wright, are up to but nothing too original. In general, I feel that just as Canadian (especially English Canadian) cookbooks are hard to find overseas because the style of cooking is too similar to American ones and thus the small markets, NZ suffers the same in the shadow of Australia. There is a lacking of distinct characters to distinguish NZ restaurant cooks from Australian because the background culture and contemporary developments are too similar. Any comments welcome.

I have both official Commander Palace cookbooks (the one by Dick and Ella Brennan in 1984, and the other one by Ella Brennan's daughter Ti Adelaide Martin and the late Jamie Shannon in 2000). The 2000 edition probably is more comprehensive and teaches you how to create spice mixtures like seasoning mixes or crab boil from scratch. I found it very handy for someone overseas like yours truly. Recipes wise, the 1984 cookbook was trying a little too hard to be relevant to contemporary food trends - the gumbos are thinner as roux is left out. The 2000 cookbook is somewhat more sensible. But I feel a little disappointed that many of the traditional Creole restaurant dishes, even as famous as oyster Rockefeller and crawfish etouffee, are absent because the newer restaurant dishes have occupied their places. I would recommend another NO restaurant cookbook, preferably one of the grand dame establishments, to complement the two Commander Palace books as good as they are. I found Kit Wohl's Arnaud's Restaurant Cookbook a good title to complement the two discussed so far. It has the old time favourites that are left out of the Commander Palace cookbooks. It must be seconded recommendations by others the best most comprehensive of all is John Folse's The Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine. It is not exhausive but has very broad range of dishes. I don't like the graphics though - as a reviewer on amazon.com has commented, their quality are more akin to the 1980s than one made in 2004. About Susan Spicer, I think she is more New American but happens to be based in New Orleans. Recipes like seared duck breasts with pepper jelly glaze or seared yellowfish tuna with walnut red pepper sauce would be just as likely to have come from Napa Valley as Louisiana. It is still a good title though and I would say it is a must if you want to build a library of good food from New Orleans and Louisiana in general. I do plan on getting Emerile Lagasse's specific Louisiana books, Paul Prudhomme's classic and Terry Thompson-Anderson sometime in the future. Does anyone have Roy Guste's Antoine's cookbook? Is that a good read? And how about Tom Fitzmorris's New Orleans Food? Thanks

Hi v. gautham, No offence taken . I have no doubt Oseland's work is a very fine book on its own, but I already own Sri Owen's and Yasa Boga's books on Indonesian cuisine (there are two books on Indonesian cuisine, one focusing on main dishes, soups, salads, and noodle and rice, and the other on snacks sweet or savoury, written by 4 Indonesian ladies active in local [indonesian] publishing circles, and they call the grouping Yasa Boga. The two titles are published by Singapore's Marshall Cavendish Ltd) that have the truly Sumatran preparation of rendang and Javanese interpretations, and I do have Christopher and Terry Tan's Shiok, and Mrs Leong Yee Soo's series on Singaporean cuisine and Mrs Lee Chin Koon's Mrs Lee's cookbook that have the Singaporean/Nonyan preparation, and am receiving Betty Saw's book which should be the Malay version. Oseland's book will probably offer not much new materials for my case. I have no doubt he will have many good tales and kitchen tips, but to me it doesn't justify spending US$35 for me, unfortunately.

Please refer to my earlier post, as quoted below: Both verions are hardcover. The Australian version has a red cover with gold lettering, whilst the UK version has the "Australian box design" as its cover. ← Thanks - this is to play it safe because some other UK-based sources have conflicting info and seemed to imply there is no "regular hardcover version" on sale even in the United Kingdom itself. In this case I will be on my way to place an order on the UK-based version.

I'm not really convinced that the Australian buyers do get it better. What it boils down to is that you're paying $35 to $75 extra for a box. A very nice box mind you, but it's still just a box. It might have been a lot better if Australian buyers got an option on buying a limited edition with a box or a standard hardcover without a box. That would have made it cheaper, and I probably would have bought the book locally. As for the book, it's general Asian cooking, but with an emphasis on Cantonese food. There are three main sections, chapters within each section, and recipes that are relevant to each chapter. The book is divided as follows: Finding Balance And Harmony In The Kitchen -Cooking Equipment -Asian Ingredients Basic Techniques And Recipes -Sauces, Dressings, And Pickles -Stocks And Soups -Salads -Braising And Boiling -Steaming -Stir Frying -Deep Frying -Tea Smoking -Curry And Spice Pastes -The Shared Table Advanced Recipes And Banquet Menus -Tofu And Eggs -Pork -Beef And Lamb -Poultry -Seafood -Vegetables -Noodles And Rice -Fruit And Sweet Things There's already a few recipes that I'm keen to try like the tea and spice smoked duck (page 148), the grilled beef with spicy dip (page 222), and the double boiled pigeons with shiitake mushrooms (page 269). Mind you, I reckon that a few of the Chinese cooking fundamentalists will get upset at some of Perry's adaptations of Chinese food. But hey, they can worry themselves sick over authenticity, whilst the rest of us can just cook up something tasty. ← Just a quick question. I assumed the other day the version sold by amazon.co.uk would be a regular hardcover version without the trimmings of a gift box. I'm not prepared to pay a premium for just a cookbook especially with today's conditions and Whitcoulls and Borders both are still trying to ram the gift box version. Is the one that you received from amazon.co.uk really the regular hardcover version? If it is still the gift box version I will wait until the second printing ships. Thanks.

Thanks people for the answers so far. I assumed Australian cooking is probably less country style and less British legacy, but apparently the difference is probably minimal. Rather, the difference seems to be the level of specialist products available. Looking from NZ's internal perspectives, Auckland's food scene does seem to be very Pacific Rim even when compared with the rest of the country. From my personal experience, households in Auckland are far less intimidated by using Asian ingredients than those in the South Island.

If you go to Post #340 on this thread, the post lists all the recipes in the book, and you can judge if anything sounds new or different to you. All the recipes in the book have been cooked on this thread, with comments and photos, so you can check any recipe also. ← Thanks for the reminder, my apologies that I didn't go through the whole thread in the first place. After glancing through the recipe list, I don't think there is any recipe that is missing from the books I already own. Still, I think Oseland's book is good one with the contexts and introducing the cuisine to American audience.

Hi all, I already have a number of popular cookbooks on these countries' cuisines and produced straight from Singapore or Malaysia. Is Oseland's book going to fill in any gaps of knowledge or probably just covering the same ground?