Beyond the Great Wall by Alford & Duguid

[Kim D]

In the interest of full disclosure: I really liked Mangoes and Curry Leaves.  I traveled for months in India and although the coffee table feel of the book put my off at first the recipes were earthy and brought back lots of good memories...Also the Bangla (sp?) Dal with lime and tamarind is my all-time favorite dal recipe, since it's got tons of flavor unlike most dal recipes.  I'm curious why people didn't like Mangoes and Curry Leaves.  Any additional thoughts?  Also, has anyone tried their flatbreads cookbook, I think it's called Flatbreads and Flavors?

←

I have all of the Duigud-Alford books except the Seductions of Rice. I happen to really like Mangoes and Curry Leaves, too. The Mountain Dal and Bangla Dal with Lime are my favorite dal recipes.

←

Mountain Dal is one of my favorite recipes. My husband isn't so hip on it so I make it when he's out of town. I haven't made the Bangla Dal yet but I will. I've come to love tamarind.

What I like about the Alford-Duguid books is that they've gotten me to be more free-flowing and intuitive when it comes to cooking. My husband teases me because, when we first started cooking, I had to measure. Everything. And it had to be exact. If a recipe called for 1 cup of chopped onion, then I would measure an exact cup of onions. Alford-Duguid (and Kasma Loha-unchit) have taught me that the measurements are not as important as how it tastes. You need that balance of hot, sour, salty, sweet. Measuring exactly won't get you the right flavor profile.

The recipes in Beyond the Wall are simple and basic. They seem to be those kind of recipes that moms don't understand why they need to be written down. Like boiling eggs. You boil eggs. Why would you need a recipe for that? Well, some of us do. Or at least did.

The latest recipe I made is Pressed Tofu with Scallions and Ginger. Easy recipe. The quality of the ingredients makes all the difference.

[Wholemeal Crank]

don't have this one yet, but their flatbreads and flavors is my all-time favorite cookbook, hands down.

this book was a revelation: not all bread has to be baked in a pan or as a baguette. I fell in love with it at a time when the freedom from trying to match the perfect oven spring of commercial sandwich loaves was particularly appealing. The authors describe breads from around the world that are yeasted or unyeasted; based on rye, oats, corn, rice, and teff in addition to wheat; that are festive or everyday; and they include equally wonderful recipes for things the breads would accompany. Why I keep it: Madnakash (which introduced me to Mahleb, a now indispensable spice in my kitchen); Uighur naan with cumin and onion accompanying chickpea and onion stew; sprouted apricot bread; bulgur bread; and pine-nut breads to go with pumpkin stew. And I've bought all of their subsequent books too.

Since some of my favorite recipes in F&F were from western china (Uighuur Naan!), I am really looking forward to this new one. It will be in my hot little hands within 48 hours, however, now that I know it's on the shelves.

[MikeHartnett]

So far, I've made the hand-rolled rice noodles with market fresh tomato salsa and soy-vinegar dipping sauce, and the pork and leek dumplings. Both were very good, simple cooking. I do have a question, though for any who has made the hand-rolled rice noodles. Did they have a sort of grainy, crumbly texture for anyone else? They stayed together reasonably well, but the "graininess" threw me a little.

[eje]

We got to meet Jeffrey and Naomi when they were in town for a food related event and I really enjoyed what they had to say.

I haven't made anything from it yet, but one of our cats likes to lounge on the book when it is hot outside.

[Anna N]

What is it about Mangoes and Curry Leaves that left everyone feeling so meh about it? I made ten recipes from it, so I feel as though I gave it a good try. My favorite was Mountain Dal on page 182 and it's become part of my repertoire.

My copy of Beyond the Great Wall arrived yesterday. I made Beef-Sauced Hot Lettuce Salad on page 67 because I had ground beef on hand. And because I so rarely see recipes for ground beef that intrigue me.

I liked it yesterday. And I liked it even better today. Easy peasy and tasty.

←

I am late coming to the game! This book was among a wondrous pile that a Santa friend brought to me. To be honest, it didn't really appeal and so has been among the last of the pile that I have opened. But that Beef-Sauced Salad immediately appealed to me. I made it today and it did not disappoint. It reminds me in many ways of laarb but is fast and easy to make and the ingredients are ones always in my pantry including black vinegar.

There are many other dishes that are calling out to be made from this book and I hope to get to all of them soon.

[JTravel]

This thread inspired me to place a hold on the book at the library. For $.50 it will be delivered to my favorite branch. That Beef and Lettuce sounds wonderful.

I have Seductions of Rice, which I will now re-read , and Hot and Sour. Love them both....it's the armchair travel thing....and the recipes. Hit the Asian market today, so have a big supply of green stuff in need of flavoring.

I've been watching the used book sellers for a bargain on Flavors and Flatbreads too. Do love those breads.

[JTravel]

Since I seem to have double posted anyway, I will add that a favorite recipe from Seductions of Rice is the Special Everyday Persian Rice. It has a crispy and creamy layer on the bottom, involving yogurt, which makes it unusual and interesting.

Edited January 23, 2009 by JTravel (log)

[Anna N]

This thread inspired me to place a hold on the book at the library. For $.50 it will be delivered to my favorite branch.  That Beef and Lettuce sounds wonderful.

I have Seductions of Rice,  which I will now re-read , and Hot and Sour.  Love them both....it's the armchair travel thing....and the recipes.  Hit the Asian market today, so have a big supply of green stuff in need of flavoring.

I've been watching the used book sellers for a bargain on Flavors and Flatbreads too.  Do love those breads.

←

In case you become too impatient waiting for the book here is a link to the recipe on Leite's Culinaria:

click

[Lesley C]

I wrote a story about Naomi and was lucky enough to spend an afternoon cooking with her. We made the noodles, the ginger carrot pork stir-fry, the beef and tomato soup (so delicious!) and the market stall salsa.

The story, as well as several recipes, is on My Webpage.

Having read the book cover to cover, I would strongly suggest buying it or at least picking it up from your local library (if they don't have it, tell them to order it!). It's fantastic. Naomi and Jeffrey are great cooks and even better story tellers.

[Anna N]

I wrote a story about Naomi and was lucky enough to spend an afternoon cooking with her. We made the noodles, the ginger carrot pork stir-fry, the beef and tomato soup (so delicious!) and the market stall salsa.

The story, as well as several recipes, is on My Webpage.

Having read the book cover to cover, I would strongly suggest buying it or at least picking it up from your local library (if they don't have it, tell them to order it!). It's fantastic. Naomi and Jeffrey are great cooks and even better story tellers.

←

Thanks, Lesley. They are a fascinating pair.

[JTravel]

In case you become too impatient waiting for the book here is a link to the recipe on Leite's Culinaria:

click

←

Thanks, I have everything for that recipe......dinner tomorrow night.

In further looking at Seductions of Rice I realize that it is Hot ,Sour etc. that I really loved. But they both, and this this new one too, provide the on the ground experiences I like to read about......and recipes.

[Snadra]

I love this book, even though I've not cooked much from it. Fantastic pictures and stories, and recipes for foods that different but remain accessible.

However, I made two dishes from the book over the past week: Tofu batons with hot sesame dressing and Miao Pork with corn and chiles (corn's practically out of season now, but I just got a corn zipper and needed an excuse ot use it!). Both delicious and very simple, although you have to plan ahead with the tofu sticks because they need to be soaked.

I'd never had tofu sticks before. They have a nice chewy texture and a distinct but mild flavour I can't quite put my finger on. I found it made a real difference cutting out all the bits that didn't hydrate properly - chewy is nice, hard isn't. The folds hold the dressing nicely too. We found we prefered them at room temp rather than warm. Definately making it again.

The pork dish was great as well - the fresh corn and chile is a good combo. It's a nice change from my usual stirfry dish and I like that it has just a few ingredients so the milkyness of the corn really stands out and the fresh chiles make a sharp contrast to it.

Edited May 9, 2010 by Snadra (log)

[nakji]

I've seen this book at my local bookshop, and I've thought about buying it, but it almost seems like more of a coffee table book than a cookbook. It's good to hear that recipes work and are good. I might give it a second look.