China Town Kitchen From Noodles to Nuoc Cham

by: Lizzie Mabbott

London UK: A Hachette Company 2015, $29.99, Hardbound
ISBN: 978-1-78472-031-5

Reviewed by: Jacqueline M. Newman
Summer Volume: 2016 Issue: 23(2)

With more than one hundred dishes, Chinese, Thai, Malaysian, Japanese, Korean, and others in the Southeast Asian area, this volume uses ingredients found in London’s Chinatown. The author uses them in the book's recipes and details them. The subtitle: From Noodles to Nuoc Cham, immediately tells that the book uses many Southeast Asian ingredients worth knowing about in their cuisines. After the introduction, two chapters titled: Basic Equipment and Basic Ingredients include six foods with recipes, color photographs of completed dishes, and color drawings that illustrate many techniques. The author shows how to wrap pot-stickers, make chive breads, and fold and fill many a wonton; other things, too.

Also included are many recipes are for basic items such as homemade Siracha sauce, Century Egg Salad, Sugar Snap Peas, Scallops & Baby Corn with Fermented Tofu, and Chicken Katsu Curry. Some recipe pages include a box titled: Other Ideas; they are very creative. Do not overlook the classic items that show many other possibilities. They guide you to treasures made from packages, jars, cans, spices, and other finds in Asian supermarkets. The recipes use familiar and less familiar ideas to broaden your tastes and your techniques. They enable your branching out, being adventurous, and being delighted with all the results.

Hoisin and Ginger Pork Ribs
Ingredients:
3 to 4 pound rack of pork ribs
1 onion, coarsely chopped
8 cloves garlic, peeled
1 six-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
2/3 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
2 Tablespoons Shao Xing rice wine
2 Tablespoons thin soy sauce
1 Tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F., then line a roasting pan with foil and set a rack on it. Pour some boiling water into the pan and set the ribs on the rack, bone side down.
2. Put all other ingredients in a blender, then smear this over the ribs, then cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.
3. Roast the ribs for half an hour, turn oven down to 325 degrees F, add more water if needed, and roast the ribs for another hour, then cut the ribs apart.
4. Simmer the remaining marinade in a small pan for three minutes, drizzle it over the ribs, and serve.

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