Paper Palate

Everyday Asian: From Soups to Noodles, From Barbecues to Curries, Your Favorite Asian Recipes Made Easyie Henricksson, published by Morrow, New York, in 2003. Hardcover, $14.95.

When I started cooking Asian food, all I wanted to do was to be able to make Japanese food at home. This book was the key that got me cooking other cuisines that I had never considered before: Korean, Thai, Vietnamese and others. As a result, it’s earned a lasting place in my heart (and my kitchen).

Henricksson once ran a noodle shop in New York City. This cookbook is her way of sharing her recipes, and also of encouraging others to cook Asian food at home. It’s an excellent introduction for the beginner who wants to investigate Asian cuisines but isn’t sure where to start. Henricksson’s friendly, accessible and balanced approach is just what a neophyte needs.

After introductory sections on “Ingredients” and “Equipment,” the recipes are divided into “Appetizers and Salads,” “Soups,” “Noodles,” “Asian Barbecue,” “Main Courses,” and “Vegetables and Side Dishes.” A “Source Guide” and index bring up the rear. Henricksson strikes a good balance between recipes for classic Asian dishes (like pad Thai, yakisoba, mapo tofu, and adobo), and recipes using Asian flavors in less “authentic” settings (such as “Indian Spice-Rubbed Pork Chops” or “Grilled Squid Salad”). Purists will prefer cookbooks focusing on “authentic” recipes, but these non-traditional recipes have the advantage of getting cooks familiar with esoteric-seeming ingredients by cooking with them. Those who wish to delve deeper into traditional Asian cooking can easily use this book as a springboard to get them started.

Everyday Asian a good pick for cooks who may be acquainted with one or two Asian cuisines but who wish to expand their horizons. There are recipes from China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Unlike some pan-Asian restaurants which homogenize the differences between the cooking of different countries, Henricksson never loses sight of the individual character of each cuisine she considers. This doubtlessly comes from her experience of traveling in Asia and enjoying Asian food in the places it originates. Her recipes are peppered with travel anecdotes and reminiscences of her noodle shop days; these tales add to the friendly feeling the book conveys.

Another strength of Everyday Asian is that the recipes are clearly written and turn out as they are supposed to. If a recipe requires more than one thing to happen simultaneously, the instructions make it clear how the processes are to be organized so that everything is done at the right time. As a cook who is less than intuitive in this department myself, I find that this is one of the best things about the book.

Everyday Asianajor drawback is that it has no illustrations or photos. This unassuming small hardcover won’t scare anyone away from bringing it into the kitchen because it’s too pretty, but some illustrations or photos (particularly in the sections on ingredients and equipment) would doubtlessly help many beginners get oriented. One alternative is to buy a well-illustrated guide like Bruce Cost’s Asian Ingredients as a companion to Everyday Asian.

In sum, Everyday Asian is a terrific introduction to Asian food for cooks. If you love eating Asian food in restaurants and want to get started recreating it in your kitchen, I can’t think of a better guide.

Pros: Terrific introduction to Asian cooking; recipes are clearly written; scope covers many different cuisines well.

Cons: Lack of illustrations or photos may put off some cooks.

Rating: 9 out of 10.