Sallie Morris

I bought this book because the vast majority of the local stores are Chinese and don't always do the English-speaking thing so well, and for the greens of mystery at the farmers' market.

About 1/3 of the book is spent on the unfamiliar, but space is wasted on items such as onions. (Was there ever a cook unfamiliar with onions?)

It's very much like a DK visual encyclopedia but smaller, 128 pages and slightly larger than octavo (sorry, no measuring tools on hand). The emphasis here is on the Far East and Southeast Asia. Most entries describe the item, explain aroma and flavor, give culinary uses, preparation and cooking techniques, and information on storage. No nutritional data is given, which is a big drawback, since I'm sure some of these things are high in desirable nutrients, while others are high in salt and other undesirables.

The list of food shops and the index are poorly put together. I do not believe there is a place called "Sea Rance" in Wilmette, IL, and I know for a fact that there is no place called "San Maleo" in the 415 area code. The index has an entry for "beefsteak plant" , but the entry sends you to a page with both basil and shiso. Nowhere does it explain that beefsteak plant is another name for shiso.

Except as a reference work the book is really of use only if you live in a area with a large Asian population. In that case it's worth buying, but otherwise skip it.… (altro)