Fun with Asian Food

August 1, 2005
Gr 1-5 -Confusion and clutter mark the pages of this collection of 14 recipes. Highly stylized color cartoon illustrations of male and female figures wearing traditional costumes dominate the spreads, which include dishes from India, China, Thailand, Malaysia, and Bali. Some recipes are more authentic than others. -Vietnamese Spring Rolls - are made with dried rice paper wrappers, but -Japanese Bread Sushi - employs generic white or whole wheat sandwich bread and hot dogs or canned tuna flakes. -Delicious Naan Pizza - combines cuisines, with naan or pita breads serving as the crust for cheddar or mozzarella cheese and tomato topping. An introduction lays out the basics of kitchen safety. The recipes are listed in a sidebar on the left-hand page, but the explanation of the difficulty ratings noted for each are less obviously located in a sidebar on the right. For each dish, the ingredients are similarly listed on the first page of the spread, separated from the directions by illustrations and text about the culture of the country. Utensils are indicated by outline drawings that can be difficult to decipher; two concentric circles with -4x - printed on top means that four dinner plates are needed for serving. The step-by-step directions are illustrated with mixed success, and there are occasional lapses. Matthew Locricchio's series of international cookbooks, such as "The Cooking of Thailand" and "The Cooking of India" (both Benchmark, 2004), include far more information about national culture and cuisine, with beautifully photographed dishes and clearly detailed instructions." -Joyce Adams Burner, Hillcrest Library, Prairie Village, KS"

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