Hot Sour Salty Sweet: A Culinary Journey through Southeast Asia
by Jeffrey Alford, Naomi Duguid
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Luminous at dawn and dusk, the Mekong is a river road, a vibrant artery that defines a vast and fascinating region. Here, along the world's tenth largest river, which rises in Tibet and joins the sea in Vietnam, traditions mingle and exquisite food prevails. Award-winning authors Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid followed the river south, as it flows through the mountain gorges of southern China, to Burma and into Laos and Thailand. For a while the right bank of the river is in Thailand, but show more then it becomes solely Lao on its way to Cambodia. Only after three thousand miles does it finally enter Vietnam and then the South China Sea. It was during their travels that Alford and Duguid--who ate traditional foods in villages and small towns and learned techniques and ingredients from cooks and market vendors--came to realize that the local cuisines, like those of the Mediterranean, share a distinctive culinary approach: Each cuisine balances, with grace and style, the regional flavor quartet of hot, sour, salty, and sweet. This book, aptly titled, is the result of their journeys. Like Alford and Duguid's two previous works, Flatbreads and Flavors ("a certifiable publishing event" --Vogue) and Seductions of Rice ("simply stunning"--The New York Times), this book is a glorious combination of travel and taste, presenting enticing recipes in "an odyssey rich in travel anecdote" (National Geographic Traveler). The book's more than 175 recipes for spicy salsas, welcoming soups, grilled meat salads, and exotic desserts are accompanied by evocative stories about places and people. The recipes and stories are gorgeously illustrated throughout with more than 150 full-color food and travel photographs. In each chapter, from Salsas to Street Foods, Noodles to Desserts, dishes from different cuisines within the region appear side by side: A hearty Lao chicken soup is next to a Vietnamese ginger-chicken soup; a Thai vegetable stir-fry comes after spicy stir-fried potatoes from southwest China. The book invites a flexible approach to cooking and eating, for dishes from different places can be happily served and eaten together: Thai Grilled Chicken with Hot and Sweet Dipping Sauce pairs beautifully with Vietnamese Green Papaya Salad and Lao sticky rice. North Americans have come to love Southeast Asian food for its bright, fresh flavors. But beyond the dishes themselves, one of the most attractive aspects of Southeast Asian food is the life that surrounds it. In Southeast Asia, people eat for joy. The palate is wildly eclectic, proudly unrestrained. In Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet, at last this great culinary region is celebrated with all the passion, color, and life that it deserves. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
I wanted to like this cookbook more than I did. The illustrations were lovely, and the authors present a variety of recipes for those wanting to make dishes from countries such as Thailand, Burma, Vietnam, and Laos in Southeast Asia. I just did not connect that much with the travel narrative section, and I did not find many recipes I would want to try in my own home. I'll probably stick to occasionally enjoying these cuisines in specialty restaurants.
A big gorgeous coffee-table travelogue-cookbook, and a fascinating introduction to Southeast Asia, but not really practical to cook out of unless one copies the recipes out onto separate pieces of paper.
I adore this book for its blend of cooking and travel writing. I have purchased all of their books (or begged them as Christmas gifts... or given them as wedding presents). I have to acknowledge, though, that I haven't been successful with all the recipes, and that sometimes, the techniques don't quite translate to my own home kitchen.
Nevertheless, highly recommended.
Nevertheless, highly recommended.
Gorgeous, mouth watering coffee table book. It isn't clear how many of these recipes one can actually make without access to unobtainable ingredients, but the photography and travel commentary alone are worth the price of admission. The authors have a dream job!
Beautifully illustrated, wonderful recipes. Some ingredients you might not find in your local grocery store, but it's worth it to try to track those ingredients down via the Internet or through specialty stores.
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Author Information
8+ Works 2,464 Members
Jeffrey Alford is a cook, writer, photographer, and great traveler. His first book, Flatbreads and Flavors: A Baker's Atlas, was the 1996 James Beard Cookbook of the Year and the IACO/Julia Childs Best First Book. Seductions of Rice, his second book, was Cuisine Canada's Cookbook of the year. His articles and photographs appear frequently in Food show more & Wine, Gourmet, and Fine Cooking magazines. He lives in Toronto with his two sons. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
9+ Works 2,992 Members
Naomi Duguid is a cook, writer, photographer, and great traveler. Her first book, Flatbreads and Flavors: A Baker's Atlas, was the 1996 James Beard Cookbook of the Year and the IACO/Julia Childs Best First Book. Seductions of Rice, her second book, was Cuisine Canada's Cookbook of the year. Her articles and photographs appear frequently in Food & show more Wine, Gourmet, and Fine Cooking magazines. She lives in Toronto with his two sons. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Awards and Honors
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Hot Sour Salty Sweet: A Culinary Journey through Southeast Asia
- Original title
- Hot Sour Salty Sweet
- Important places
- Southeast Asia
- Original language
- English
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 640
- Popularity
- 45,170
- Reviews
- 5
- Rating
- (4.23)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 1
