Two Asian Kitchens
Adam Liaw
Random House Struik, R395
We fell in love with Adam Liaw’s quiet and unassuming manner as he constantly surpassed the expectations of his fellow contestants and judges and wowed viewers all over South Africa to become MasterChef Australia 2010.
Born in Malaysia and having lived in four countries, Adam’s cooking style has been borrowed from his exposure to the exotic cuisines of Malaysia, China, Japan and India together with his Hainanese, Singaporean, English, French and Indonesian heritage.
True to his word, Two Asian Kitchens is a masterful culmination of nostalgic recipes from his eclectic upbringing (Old Kitchen) coupled with inspired and modern dishes from his New Kitchen.
Old Kitchen demystifies many dishes we often see but won’t dare try, such as dumplings, tempura, donburi and sushi.
It also gives instructions on basic staples including stocks, pastes and oils commonly used in Asian dishes.
Don’t be discouraged by ingredients like yuzu juice and daikon because they can be substituted with similar local ingredients.
New Kitchen takes you to a whole new level of boldness and fearlessness in Asian-inspired Australian cooking. If you love Asian food and have the time to prepare the basic staples to stock your pantry, this book will unravel the myths and simplify Asian cooking.
In Adam’s words, the book is “true authenticity”. Loved it! – Rosana Pillay