by Phyllis Louise Harris
December 2013
Minnesota is home to thousands of
Asian cooks, chefs and home cooks who have made their traditional cooking a
part of our culture. A few wrote cookbooks to provide cooks with traditional
dishes that can be made in everyone’s kitchen. Surprise someone on your list
with cookbooks that capture the flavors of the Asia Pacific Rim. Here are just
a few available in bookstores and at amazon.com:
Raghavan Iyer’s Indian
Cooking Unfolded published this fall by Workman Publishing Inc.
Raghavan just returned from a
40-city tour of the U.S. and Canada where his fans lined up to get his newest
cookbook. Indian Cooking Unfolded
features 100 easy recipes using 10 ingredients or less so even beginning cooks
will find Indian cooking truly a pleasure. The seven fold-out cooking lessons
make things even easier. He will be making another book signing appearance and
tasting December 20 at Kitchen in the Market in Minneapolis. For details call
612-568-5486.
Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastes of
Minnesota since 1875 published last fall
by the Minnesota Historical Society Press
This one-of-a-kind cookbook went
on to be the basis for the EMMY® winning television show “Asian Flavors” produced
by Twin Cities Public Television and now available for viewing on their TPT MN channel reaching all parts of
Minnesota. I created the book to bring together stories about a few of the many
Asia Pacific Minnesotans who have enhanced our culinary experiences. Raghavan
was included in the book and contributed four chapters of additional stories.
Wing Ying Huie and his father Joe
Huie brought their Chinese home cooking to Duluth through their popular
restaurants. David Fong was the first to bring Chinese food to Bloomington and
after 55 years he and his family continue treating Minnesota diners at David
Fong’s Chinese Restaurant in Bloomington, his daughter Amy’s Fong’s Restaurant
and Bar in Prior Lake and his son David, Jr.’s D Fong’s Chinese Cuisine in Savage.
Leeann Chin created the areas’ largest and most recognized chain of Chinese
restaurants. Reiko Weston opened Fujiya, the first Japanese restaurant in the
state and Supenn Harrison introduced residents to Thai egg rolls at the 1976
Minnesota State Fair, then went on to create the chain of Sawatdee Thai
restaurants. Home cooks also shared their traditional dishes with friends and
neighbors including Mena-li Canalas and Abe Malicsi who share their Filipino
food traditions with nearly everyone they meet. The Minnesota Hmong community
has brought a wealth of new flavors to this land they now call home. The book
includes their stories and recipes, and dozens more.
Asian Flavors also
includes more than 160 recipes from more than 14 Pacific Rim countries, a
historical timeline of the growth of Asian food in Minnesota and gorgeous
four-color photography by Tom Nelson. It is an ideal gift for the history buff,
anyone who likes to read about people, and cooks who want to try some of the
many dishes now a part of Minnesota’s heritage. Even if I did write it, Asian Flavors is truly special!
Crying Tiger: Thai Recipes from the Heart by Supatra Johnson published in 2004
It does not need to be a new book
to be important. When Supatra published the recipes of her homeland, Thailand,
she created a book that gives readers a tour of the country and a wonderful
collection of recipes. At ACAI we used it to teach Thai cooking to a group of
food scientists. Some of the favorites of the class were Pad Thai, Pork with
Peanut Curry Sauce, Steamed Walleye with Vegetables and Pumpkin Coconut Soup.
All easy to make and all delicious! Supatra and her husband Randy own and
operate Supatra’s Thai Restaurant in St. Paul where she is the chef offering a
wide variety of Thai dishes. She also offers Thai cooking classes. For a copy
of Crying Tiger and a wealth of
information about Thai food visit their website at supatra.com. Or visit the
restaurant at 967 West Seventh Street.
Everyday Chinese Cooking by Leeann Chin and Katie Chin published in 2000 by
Clarkson Potter Publishers
This oldie but goodie was created
by the legendary Leeann Chin and her daughter Katie to offer readers simple
Chinese recipes for fun, family cooking. It is still a treasure of flavorful
dishes that any home cook can create. Diners will recognize many of the dishes
served in the Leeann Chin restaurants even today. For chow mein lovers, it
includes Canton-style Chicken Chow Mein that is made with chicken, snow peas,
shitake mushrooms, and bean sprouts flavored with fresh ginger and oyster
sauce: not a stick of celery in sight. With more than 150 easy-to-follow
recipes, Everyday Chinese Cooking is
an ageless gift that keeps on giving.
Or pick up a copy of Katie’s
newest cookbook Everyday Thai Cooking published this fall by Tuttle Publishing.
She dedicates the book “For my late mother Leeann Chin, an amazing chef and
teacher who continues to inspire me everyday.” Clearly Katie also loves Thai
cooking, so much so that her husband took her on a trip through Thailand for their
honeymoon. Now living in California with her husband and children, Katie
continues to refer to her Minnesota roots and her mother’s amazing food. Everyday Thai Cooking is a beautiful,
colorful cookbook that is as much fun to read as to use.
These are just a few of the
wonderful Asian cookbooks by Minnesota authors that are great for gift giving
or just to enjoy yourself. Happy holidays!!
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Read more about Asian food in Minnesota and try more than 160 recipes in Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastes of Minnesota since 1875, in bookstores and on amazon.com.
Buy online: Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastes of Minnesota since 1875
Watch the EMMY® award winning “Asian Flavors” television show based on the book on tpt MN. Check local TV listings for broadcast times or view the show streaming online at:
http://www.mnvideovault.org/mvvPlayer/customPlaylist2.php?id=24552&select_index=0&popup=yes#0
