Hopefully it will be written in English... ;)

The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook is great, a total classic, but not really what you're looking for.

Maybe not, but that's an awfully cute wallet ;P

I can't believe no one can recommend a cookbook to me.


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Hey, ico, check out this nice wallet. Also this Japanese cookbook. (Your library ought to have both of those, and there's a decent chance that a used bookstore would have an old edition.)

Box, your wallet link and your cookbook link are transposed. Admin hope him plz?

A good book to have on hand so your shopping will be easier is Bruce Cost's Asian Ingredients book.

For a very general introduction without too many surprises I would suggest Corinne Trang's Essentials of Asian Cuisine which is somewhat controversial because it is not bold enough in its spice profiles, as some have accused.

I am not sure at what skill level you are at and how bold your tastes are. For instance, is natto something you would consider eating as part of your Japanese cuisine studies? Andoh's books are pretty reliable for Japanese cooking and so is Shimbo's works. The great book to have because it is fun to read and recipes are reliable is Japanese Cooking: A simple art by Tsuji

I liked Cracking the Coconut but it is not for someone who is not willing to do certain things the long way for Thai food.

Hope this helps.

jadepearl, thanks so much! That's exactly the kind of info I was looking for. My skills are currently pretty nominal but I'm very interested in learning good technique, and am adventurous and willing to try and taste new things. Hmmm it sounds like I'm talking about something other than cooking here...

The Japanese Cooking book is the same one that box linked to so that's a definite buy with two recommendations. I'm also going to get Essentials of Asian Cuisine and put Cracking the Coconut on my amazon wishlist. Thanks again!