Asian Ingredients: A Guide to the Foodstuffs of China, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam

by Bruce Cost, Alice Waters (Foreword by)

Overview

First published in 1988, Bruce Cost's Asian Ingredients was immediately hailed as one of the most comprehensive and fascinating books on Asian foodstuffs ever written. Now fully revised and updated, Asian Ingredients offers a wealth of information on identifying and using the often unfamiliar ingredients in traditional bottled condiments. This book's clear black-and-white photographs make it easy to identify ingredients in your local supermarkets or Asian grocery, while Cost's carefully researched notes explain how to select, store, and cook with these wonderful foods. Cost also includes more than 130 simple recipes for sumptuous Asian specialties. Cooks can create the dramatic flavors of China, Japan, and southeast Asia in their own kitchens with this indispensable resource. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780060932046
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	03/01/2000
Edition description:	REVISED
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	7.37(w) x 9.12(h) x 0.92(d)

About the Author

Bruce Cost is widely recognized as one of the nation's leading experts on Asian cooking. An award-winning restaurateur and chef, acclaimed cooking teacher, and former food columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, Cost is now a culinary partner in Big Bowl Restaurants, the Chicago-based chain renowned for its innovative pan-Asian food. He is the author of two other books, Ginger East to West and Big Bowl Noodles and Rice, a new collection of recipes from the restaurant.

Read an Excerpt

Asian Ingredients (Paperback) by Bruce Cost $18.00/$27.50 (CAN) Quill · 336 pages · 7-3/8 X 9-1/8 isbn: 006093204X · loc:99-086440; ACT · 08/17/2000

Eggplant Sauteed with Crushed Red Chili and Black Vinegar

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

A simple dish, good hot or at room temperature, this makes good use of the smoky Chinese black vinegar.

Ingredients

1 1/4 pounds Asian eggplant
3 tablespoons Gold Plum "Chinkiang" vinegar other Chinese black vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup peanut oil
1 teaspoon crushed dried red chili pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions, green part included

Instructions

Cut the eggplants in half and then into wedges no more than 1/2 inch wide. Cut the wedges into strips measuring 2 inches by 1/2 inch. Blend the vinegar, sugar, and salt, and set aside.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. When it is hot, add the eggplant and cook, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes or until lightly browned and thoroughly wilted. Add the dried chili pepper and stir briefly. Add the vinegar mixture and cook another minute or two, until the liquid is thoroughly absorbed. Stir in the scallions and turn off the heat. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Asian Ingredients. Copyright © by Bruce Cost. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

Table of Contents

	Foreword	xi
	Acknowledgments	xii
	Introduction	xiii
	Fresh Ingredients	1
	Herbs and Seasonings	3
	Asian Basil	3
	Mints	5
	Perilla	6
	Chili Peppers	7
	Citrus	9
	Fresh Coriander	10
	Trefoil	12
	Ginger	13
	Mioga Ginger	15
	Galangal	15
	Fresh Turmeric	18
	Lesser Galangal	19
	Lemongrass	23
	Kinome	24
	Matrimony Vine	24
	Scallions	25
	Shallots	27
	Chinese Leeks	27
	Chinese Chives	28
	Garlic	30
	Pandanus Leaf	31
	Tamarind	33
	Wasabi	35
	Miscellaneous Southeast Asian Herbs and Edible Leaves	36
	Vegetables and Fungi	37
	Bamboo Shoots	37
	Bok Choy	38
	Bok Choy Sum or "Choy Sum"	39
	Shanghai Bok Choy	39
	Taiwan Bok Choy	41
	Yow Choy Sum or "Yow Choy"	41
	Chinese Broccoli	42
	Celery Cabbage	43
	Chinese Mustard Cabbage or Gai Choy	45
	Asian Radish	47
	Watercress	49
	Celtuce	49
	Chinese Celery	50
	Chrysanthemum Leaves	50
	Asian Eggplant	52
	Angled Luffa	54
	Bitter Melon	55
	Fuzzy Melon	56
	Japanese Squash	58
	Winter Melon	58
	Fresh Fungi	59
	Bean Sprouts	63
	Broad Beans	65
	Long Beans	67
	Pea Shoots	69
	Snow Peas	69
	Lotus	70
	Burdock	71
	Jicama	72
	Taro	72
	Chinese Spinach	75
	Sweet Potato	77
	Water Spinach	78
	Water Caltrops	78
	Water Chestnuts	79
	Meat	80
	Pork	80
	Beef	83
	Other Items	85
	Poultry and Eggs	94
	Poultry	94
	Eggs	96
	Fish and Fish Markets	108
	Fish	108
	Crustaceans	110
	Bivalves and Univalves	110
	Squid	110
	Amphibians	111
	Preserved and Processed Ingredients	123
	Dried Ingredients	125
	Lily Buds	125
	Black-Eyed Peas	126
	Broad Beans	127
	Mung Beans	127
	Red Beans	128
	Soybeans	129
	Black Mushrooms	130
	Tree Ears	131
	White Tree Fungus	134
	Fish Maw	136
	Jellyfish	137
	Scallops	140
	Shrimp	142
	Kelp	144
	Laver	145
	Wakame	146
	Dashi	146
	Hair Vegetable	148
	Agar-Agar	149
	Bird's Nest	150
	Sea Slug	152
	Shark's Fin	154
	Salted and Cured Ingredients	156
	Asian "Dairy": the Soybean and the Coconut	166
	Soybean Curd	166
	Coconut Milk	168
	Condiments and Sauces	173
	Soybean Sauces, Condiments, and Pastes	175
	Salted and Fermented Black Beans	176
	Bean Sauce	179
	Hot Bean Sauce	180
	Hoisin Sauce	182
	Sweet Bean Sauce	183
	Soy Sauce	183
	Miso	189
	Fermented Bean Curd	192
	Fish and Shellfish Sauces and Pastes	196
	Fish Sauce	196
	Ground Fish Sauce	199
	Whole Fish Sauce	200
	Oyster Sauce	200
	Shrimp Sauce and Fine Shrimp Sauce	201
	Barbecue Sauce	202
	Chili Pastes and Sauces	204
	Vinegar and Spirits	206
	White Rice Vinegar	207
	Chinese Black Vinegar	207
	Shaoxing Wine	211
	Mirin	212
	Flavored Oils	213
	Sesame Oil	213
	Chili Oil	214
	Spices, Sugars, Nuts, and Seeds	215
	Spices and Flavorings	217
	Star Anise	221
	Cassia Bark	223
	Dried Galangal	224
	Pepper	224
	Sichuan Peppercorns	225
	Sansho	227
	Kaffir Lime	227
	Dried Orange Peel	228
	Monosodium Glutamate	229
	Essences	230
	Sugar	231
	Brown Sugar	232
	Honey	232
	Maltose	233
	Rock Sugar	233
	Palm Sugar	234
	Sugar Cane	234
	Nuts and Seeds	235
	Chinese Almonds	235
	Cashews	236
	Chestnuts	236
	Gingko Nuts	237
	Peanuts	239
	Pine Nuts	242
	Walnuts	244
	Chinese Red Dates	246
	Sesame Seeds	247
	Sesame Seed Paste	247
	Rice	249
	Long-Grain Rice	253
	Short-Grain Rice	260
	Glutinous Rice	260
	Brown Rice	263
	Red Rice	264
	Noodles and Wrappers	265
	Noodles	268
	Chinese Noodles	268
	Wrappers	278
	Wonton Skins	279
	Jiao Zi	284
	Spring Rolls	286
	Rice Paper	286
	Bean Curd Sheets	289
	Flours and Thickeners	291
	Wheat Flour	294
	Tapioca Starch	294
	Wheat Starch	295
	Rice Flour	295
	Glutinous Rice Flour	296
	Cornstarch	298
	Water Chestnut Powder	298
	Cooking Fats and Oils	299
	Vegetable Oil	303
	Fat	305
	Bibliography	307
	Index	309

Editorial Reviews

Now that the foods of Asia have become part of the American cooking repertoire, the rerelease and revision of Bruce Cost's Asian Ingredients: A Guide to the Foodstuffs of China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam is a treasure. It is one of the best resources for cooks, Asian restaurant diners, and market goers.

bn.com

Bruce Cost is one of the greatest cooks I've ever known . . . He truly demystifies many previously forbidding and odd ingredients.

Alice Waters

Asian Ingredients is by far the most comprehensive guide to essential ingredients for Asian cooking ever published in English. It unfolds the many mysteries of precisely what you are tossing into your wok or skillet . . . the recipes are excellent.

Craig Claiborne

For a long time, I have valued Bruce Cost as a cook. And his recipes, of course, are terrific. But even if you never set foot in the kitchen, you'll probably want this book. For if you have ever eaten in a Chinese, Japanese, Thai, or Korean restaurant and wondered what was on your plate, this book has the answers. I honestly can't imagine that any curious eaters will want to be without it. —Gourmet

Ruth Reichl