The Encyclopedia of Asian and Oriental Cookery [antikvár]

BoniIt is hard to imagine life without the lovely spiced and fragrant foods of the Orient. I have been 'hooked' on the exotic and intriguing flavours of the East for over 40 years.My first taste of Chinese food was in the home of a Chinese school chum. It had a profound effect on my Scottish-Australian taste buds and opened up a whole new world for me. There was, I decided, an exciting and adventurous world out there, and from that moment, I knew I was going to explore every facet of it.My first Chinese Cookery classes were in Sydney's China town in the late 40's and they were way ahead of their time. I learnt about stir-frying, sweet and sour flavour combinations, making delectable dim-sum and I quickly became adept at folding the little 'cloud-swallows' for the well loved short soup. Added excitement came from a police-raid. We were, it was revealed, a front for an illegal fan-tan school!In the 50's my newspaper sent me to Hong Kong specifically to attend two renowned and serious cooking schools - for Australians were fast developing a taste for Chinese cooking. Then followed a stint in Japan where there were new and elaborate Chinese and Japanese cookery schools.On to Taiwan for lessons from the chef at the Grand Hotel. My first visit to the People's Republic of China was two days after the death of Chairman Mao Tse Tung in September 1976. An historical time where we saw and felt the grief and mourning of one fifth of the world's population. Travelling South, East, North and West, as guests of the People's Republic, we were introduced to the simple but beautiful foods sen/ed in the communes - a carp caught and steamed with the finest angels hairs of thinly cut fresh ginger and other aromatics, as refined a dish as would be served in any top restaurant. We were also introduced to the exquisite Court dishes that were still served in the restaurants catering for heads of government and diplomats.I returned to China in 1979, heading up the first Chinese gourmet tour. We went behind the scenes learning again first hand from the new young chefs and some of the old masters.I have also had the honour of visiting India on many occasions as the guest of the Indian Government. Arrangements were made for me to learn 'straight from the horse's mouth' as it were. The best of Indian cooks, professional chefs, food writers and good home cooks, led me gently through their repertoire. My travels throughout the Indian sub continent have been extensive - from the lovely Vale of Kashmir at the foothills of the Himalayas to Cape Camorin on the southern tip, from Karachi at the mouth of Indus River on the West Coast, to busy, teeming Calcutta on the Ganges delta. Its food, people and customs completely captured my imagination and today I often find myself yearning for the wide and varied foods of India, easy to prepare at home when so many cooks have shared their recipes with me and taught me their skills.Living so close to the East, I hove enjoyed lovely long working holidays in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia. The best part of these trips has been returning home with a wonderful fund of information and recipes for the dishes of these countries.Naturally all this love and experience should not go unrecorded. An invitation to join forces with other authorities and experts on the foods of these exotic countries was quickly grasped. It has been a pleasure to include many of my own recipes and knowledge to those so carefully prepared by such an imposing line-up of International authorities. Gloria Zimmerman, who specialises in Vietnamese and Chinese Cooking; Khalid Aziz, born in Lahore, who has written and broadcasted extensively on Indian cooking; Deh-ta Hsiung, born in Peking and has several books published on Chinese cooking; Kay Shimizu, 0 Japanese-American, the author of several specialist Asian Cookbooks. Jan Leeming, a journalist who has token a special interest in Korean cooking.