Accents of the Orient

Recounts Grodnick ( The Four Seasons Spa Cuisine ), ``One day as I was rummaging through my cabinets looking for ingredients for a lamb marinade, I came across a jar of sambal oelek,'' a hot Indonesian relish. ``I used it instead of pepper, and the lamb was a big hit.'' Serendipity may have inspired her first attempts to apply Asian spices to American standbys, but Grodnik's persistence made the most of that first impulsive choice. The results: savory dishes mingling ingredients from North America, South America and Europe with others from China, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Korea and the Philippines in recipes such as grilled salmon with miso; fettuccine with spicy peanut sauce; stir-fried chicken enchiladas; and Oriental bouillabaisse. The author's ample coaching in preparation, her clarity and her extensive list of ingredients critical to Asian cuisine (from the familiar soy sauce to galangal, a ginger-like root) stand us in good stead. Also provided is a helpful mail-order source for those whose local corner groceries don't include hijiki (``sea vegetation with a licorice-like flavor'') and such. (Mar.)