Demystifying Southeast Asia's cuisine, this cookbook translates years of photography, culinary training, education, and resulting expertise into an adventure of recipes, stories, and practical advice on cooking. Regardless of exotic flavors, foreign ingredients, and unfamiliar techniques, the guide demonstrates how cooking remains universal and the science of food holds fast. Including more than 100 recipes, 700 photographs, and vivid anecdotes, this is the perfect book for anyone seeking to learn about the flavors of Southeast Asian cuisine or just looking for a unique, recreational read.

Southeast Asian cuisines, such as Thai, have become quite popular in the United States even though immigrant numbers are low. The food is appealing because it is tasty, attractive, and generally healthful, with plentiful vegetables, fish, noodles, and rice. Food Culture in Southeast Asia is a richly informative overview of the food and foodways of the mainland countries including Burma, Thailand, Lao, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia, and the island countries of Singapore, Brunei, East Timor, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Students and other readers will learn how diverse peoples from diverse geographies feed themselves and the value they place on eating as a material, social, and symbolic act. Chapter 1, Historical Overview, surveys the archaeological and historical evidence concerning mainland Southeast Asia, with emphasis on the Indianized kingdoms of the mainland and the influence of the spice trade on subsequent European colonization. Chapter 2, Major Foods and Ingredients, particularly illuminates the rice culture as the central source of calories and a dominant cultural symbol of feminine nurture plus fish and fermented fish products, local fresh vegetables and herbs, and meat in variable amounts. The Cooking chapter discusses the division of labor in the kitchen, kitchens and their equipment, and the steps in acquiring, processing and preparing food. The Typical Meals chapter approaches typical meals by describing some common meal elements, meal format, and the timing of meals. Typical meals are presented as variations on a common theme, with particular attention to contrasts such as rural-urban and palace-village. Iconic meals and dishes that carry special meaning as markers of ethnic or national identity are also covered. Chapter 6, Eating Out, reviews some of the options for public eating away from home in the region, including the newly developed popularity of Southeast Asian restaurants overseas. The chapter has an urban, middle-class bias, as those are the people who are eating out on a regular basis. The Special Occasions chapter examines ritual events such as feeding the spirits of rice and the ancestors, Buddhist and Muslim rituals involving food, rites of passage, and universal celebrations around the coming of the New Year. The final chapter on diet and health looks at some of the ideologies underlying the relation between food and disease, particularly the humoral system, and then considers the nutritional challenges related to recent changes in local food systems, including food safety.

60 vibrant recipes proving that Asian roadside barbecue is just as easy, delicious, and crowd-pleasing as American-style backyard grilling. Sharing beloved barbecue dishes from the Southeast Asian countries of Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, and Indonesia, experienced author and expert on Asian cooking Leela Punyaratabandhu inspires readers with a deep dive into the flavor profile and spices of the region. She teaches you how to set up your own smoker, cook over an open flame, or grill on the equipment you already have in your backyard. Leela provides more than sixty mouthwatering recipes such as Chicken Satay with Coriander and Cinnamon, Malaysian Grilled Chicken Wings, and Thai Grilled Sticky Rice, as well as recipes for cooking bone-in meats, skewered meats, and even vegetable side dishes and flavorful sauces. The fact that Southeast Asian-style barbecue naturally lends itself to the American outdoor cooking style means that the recipes in the book can remain true to tradition without any need for them to be Westernized or altered at the expense of integrity. This is the perfect book for anyone looking for an easy and flavorful way to expand their barbecue repertoire.

Offers recipes for appetizers, vegetables, rice and pasta-based dishes, curries, stir-fries, stews, grilled and barbecued main dishes, and other dishes from Southeast Asia

Foodlore and Flavors - Inside the Southeast Asian Kitchen takes you on a truly sumptuous gastronomic tour of ten countries in Southeast Asia. With essays and contributions from 14 international culinary experts from the countries of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, this is the first ever publication to focus exclusively on the cuisines of all ten member nations which make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), while delving into the cultural significance of the region's culinary folklore and traditions. Through this book, explore the true heart of the Southeast Asian kitchen - the deep-rooted ties between food preparation and the partaking of the meal with feelings of family, village and community. With a clear and highly visual approach, Foodlore and Flavors - Inside the Southeast Asian Kitchen will serve as a key resource for not only authentic Southeast Asian recipes but also an understanding of the cultural role that food plays in this part of Asia.

An illustrated recipe book and food guide to the cuisine of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, covering fish and seafood, noodles and rice, healing herbs, condiments, wine, traditional baking, yams and sweet potatoes, satay, and various types of dining experiences in the region.