Paper Palate

There is so much more to Asian food than Chinese take out and sushi (though I love, love, love sushi). That’s actually why I chose the topic: to showcase Asian cuisine from a variety of the cultures that inhabit the continent. This week’s selections feature cooking from some less common areas that really rely on many spices for their enhanced flavors.

Discovering new styles of cooking and ethnic specialties happens to be a great joy of mine. I remember the first time I tried Ethiopian food . . . the family style method of serving on giant platters and the delicious injera that is not only bread but the eating utensil was very foreign to me and I loved every minute of it. These books give us all a chance to experiment with other cultures in our homes.

A little bit about the continent: Asia is the largest continent and home to more than 3.3 billion people. It includes countries such as India, Japan, China, Iran and Turkey.

Cradle of Flavor: Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia
by James Oseland – Norton/$35.00

This sounds like one of those rare volumes where you will come out knowing more for having read and used it.

James Oseland, who has lived in Singapore for more than two decades, has written a book that includes a pictorial glossary of ingredients (yay!), directions on where to get them (double yay!) and plenty of other explanatory advice. In fact, according to a Publishers Weekly description, nearly half of the book is explanatory. The Spice Islands recipes come from places like Singapore, Malaysia, West Sumatra and Java.

This book is due out in August.

Kaiseki: The Exquisite Cuisine of Kyoto’s Kikunoi Restaurant
by Yoshio Murata, Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, Masashi Kuma (Photographer) - Kodansha America, Inc./$45.00

I admit it. It was the beautiful styling of this book cover that made me select it for this week’s Hump Day Horizons. I had to search a bit to find a description of the book, but I wasn’t disappointed by what I found.

This is one of those cookbooks that divides it recipes by season, something that’s wonderful if you are into eating locally and sustainable living. According to the publisher, “With candor and insight, he (Murata) shares his thoughts on ingredients, preparation methods and the philosophy behind his dishes.”

This book is due out in September

Kerala Cooking: A Distinctive Cuisine from India’s Spice Coast
by Anoo Verghis – Silicon Press/$34.95

This book, for which I have limited information, caught my eye because a good friend of mine, Angelmary Koola, who is a chocolatier and fellow blogger, hails from Kerala. After more than 10 years of hearing about the state of Kerala, it seemed only fitting that I would highlight this new cookbook devoted to the local cuisine.

According to the Library of Congress, the book includes a history of spices in Kerala and recipes on rice, vegetables, fish, meat, lentils, snacks, bread, dessert and accompaniments.

This book is due out in October.

Filipino-American Kitchen: Traditional Recipes, Contemporary Flavors
by Jennifer M. Aranas, Michael Lande (Photographer), Brian Briggs (Photographer) – Tuttle Publishing/$24.95

From what I’ve read, this book is good for cooks who aren’t experienced in Filipino cooking. Like other books on this week’s list, this doubles as a resource for locating hard to find ingredients locally and online.

There are 10 chapters of recipes, organized by course, as well as some historical culinary related information.

This book is due out in November.