Southeast Asian Specialties: A Culinary Journey

As a culinary compendium of Southeast Asia, this newest in the Culinaria series offers a comprehensive guide to the cuisines of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, with stunning visual accompaniments. Mowe, a Singapore native and cookbook author, traces the multicultural influences--European, Chinese and Indian--on the regional cuisines. She introduces readers to a prodigious Southeast Asian pantry, ranging from relatively familiar foods (tofu, soy sauce, sesame oil, eggplant, pineapple and coconut) to virtually virgin culinary terrain for Western palates: pomelo (a citrus fruit indigenous to Singapore), durian (a thorny, pungent Malaysian fruit) and bika ambon (Indonesian palm-wine cakes). Authentic recipes, such as Singapore's Chicken with Pangi Tree Seeds, Malaysia's Bitter Gourd with Shrimp and Indonesia's Baked Cassava Cake, punctuate the text, giving context and nuance to regional flavors. This encyclopedic volume details traditional aspects of Southeast Asian cookery (fish preparations, noodles, rice, condiments, indigenous ingredients, herbs and spices), including street foods, restaurant dining and festival traditions. It also provides an esoteric window into Southeast Asian culture: readers can learn about such coveted exotica as bird nests and shark fins, intricate food art and Rijstafel, a colonial-era buffet. Preserving the culinary integrity of a culturally complex region with esthetic and well-researched authority, this collection serves as both an invaluable primer for the uninitiated and an indispensable resource for seasoned gastronomes. Photos. (June) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.