THE COMPLETE ORIENTAL COOKBOOK

An extraordinarily interesting cookbook, prepared by the food consultant of Pan American, who has managed in brief introductions to the foods of each country to give the flavor of the foods- something of their peculiarities- their meal customs, their native drinks and beverages. The recipes themselves are adapted to home cooking in the American kitchen, and are recommended for economy, drama and speed of preparation at the last moment. An introductory section suggests basic needs in utensils and techniques. The countries covered include:- Hawaii, with extensive use of coconut, pineapple, bananas, and fish; Japan, with its soy sauce bases, its limited use of beef and chicken, its soups, fish, and particularly the American favorites, Tempura and Suki-yaki; Korea, not so rich as the Chinese, nor so bland as the Japanese, but sharing characteristics of each; the Philippines, in which foreigners particularly note the combinations of fish and meat, of two kinds of meat, of poultry and either fish or another meat; Indonesia- and the Javanese rice table, hot and spicy; China, gourmet nation of the Orient, with a diet built on noodles, rice and vegetables-and only tiny quantities of meat or poultry- and with certain characteristic ingredients in their sauces; Indochina, with rice as the basic food, with green vegetables, poultry and pork, cooked either in French or Chinese fashion; Thailand, one of the most exotic countries, with curries, vegetables, sauces- light and spicy; Burma- stressing curries with coconut, rice and a green salad with a fish sauce, as basic diet; and finally India, again with curry dishes, varying from city to city, family to family- and rice. Lots of tempting recipes for the experimental housewife to try. Sources of ingredients are given in a list (too much confined to NYC) at the end.