Beyong BOK Choy: A Cook's Guide to Asian Vegetables

Asian cuisines once considered exotic are now commonly enjoyed in the West. Many Asian vegetables and herbs, however, may still be difficult for American cooks to identify, much less to prepare at home. Though this is not a vegetarian cookbook, Lo San Ross (365 Ways to Cook Chinese), a New York cooking teacher born in Macao, does a wonderful service for Asian food lovers and vegetarians by detailing the appearance (with large color photos), taste, cultivation, storage and preparation of dozens of vegetables used in Asian cuisines, from Chinese to Thai to Indonesian. The book is divided into five sections: Leafy Greens (from delicate, cabbage-like bok choy to leafy Chinese broccoli); Gourds, Melons & Squashes; Roots, Rhizomes, Corms & Tubers (including ginger and sweet, starchy taro); Sprouts, Shoots & Beans; and Herbs. A concise run-down on each vegetable is followed by one or two recipes. Dishes range from such classic stir-frys as Long Beans Dry-Fried with Peanuts and Spicy Sauce (in which the beans are fried twice, the second time with very little oil) to ""fusion"" dishes like Shiso Risotto (shiso is a parsley-like herb with a ""hint of licorice, mint, or cinnamon--depending on your taste buds""). Though more recipes would have been welcome, this is an attractive and very usable introduction to a wealth of intriguing Asian vegetables. (June)