Asian Dumplings: Mastering Gyoza, Spring Rolls, Samosas, and More by Andrea Nguyen
Happy New Year!
As we mark the mid-way point of the first full week of 2016, I am also reminded that Chinese New Year is right around the corner (February 8th, 2016) so what better way to start the first book review of the year with a cookbook. Dumpling is a classic and traditional Chinese New Year food and I could not be more excited to try some of the recipes that Andrea Nguyen have presented in this book.
Asian Dumplings is a collection of recipes that Nguyen has created which includes recipes that may be familiar to Chinese Dim Sum goers but it also introduces a lot of new and exciting recipes from other countries in Asia.
Dumplings are essentially Asian comfort food. They come in these little pockets or packages but when done right, they pack huge flavors and leave you wanting more. A lot of people are probably familiar with the Chinese wonton or Japanese gyoza but one of my all time favorite dumpling is Xiaolongbao or soup dumpling which takes at least a day to make and terrifies me every time I look at a recipe. I've looked at Nguyen's recipe in this book and it looks more manageable than I've seen online or other Asian/Chinese cookbooks I have at home.
The book covers not only a large variety of dumplings but also spring rolls, samosas, tapioca + rice based dishes and even a recipe from Indonesia called Pepes Ikan which is essentially steamed grilled fish & rice wrapped in banana leaf. Nguyen laid out the tools and basic foundation of how to create each dough with visual instructions but also talks about "lazy days" and what to look for at the supermarket if you don't have the time to create your own dough.
The chapter I'm excited to tackle first is probably Sweet Treasures (Chapter 8) which has recipes for fried banana spring rolls, sesame seed balls (a dim sum treasure), and another one of my personal favorites- Onde Onde (an Indonesian sweet rice dumplings with palm sugar & coconut).
If you are serious about making dumplings, spring rolls, samosas, puffs, etc from scratch then I highly recommend that you give this book a try. As always, thanks for reading!
Until next time,
Disclaimer: I received this book for free via Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review, no other compensation was received. Most products on my blog have been purchased by me (unless stated like this one) and I will be honest about my reviews and will only work with brands who truly have great products. Please check out my full disclaimer page if you have any questions. Following guidelines provided under FTC 16 CFR, Part 225.
As we mark the mid-way point of the first full week of 2016, I am also reminded that Chinese New Year is right around the corner (February 8th, 2016) so what better way to start the first book review of the year with a cookbook. Dumpling is a classic and traditional Chinese New Year food and I could not be more excited to try some of the recipes that Andrea Nguyen have presented in this book.
Asian Dumplings is a collection of recipes that Nguyen has created which includes recipes that may be familiar to Chinese Dim Sum goers but it also introduces a lot of new and exciting recipes from other countries in Asia.
Dumplings are essentially Asian comfort food. They come in these little pockets or packages but when done right, they pack huge flavors and leave you wanting more. A lot of people are probably familiar with the Chinese wonton or Japanese gyoza but one of my all time favorite dumpling is Xiaolongbao or soup dumpling which takes at least a day to make and terrifies me every time I look at a recipe. I've looked at Nguyen's recipe in this book and it looks more manageable than I've seen online or other Asian/Chinese cookbooks I have at home.
The book covers not only a large variety of dumplings but also spring rolls, samosas, tapioca + rice based dishes and even a recipe from Indonesia called Pepes Ikan which is essentially steamed grilled fish & rice wrapped in banana leaf. Nguyen laid out the tools and basic foundation of how to create each dough with visual instructions but also talks about "lazy days" and what to look for at the supermarket if you don't have the time to create your own dough.
The chapter I'm excited to tackle first is probably Sweet Treasures (Chapter 8) which has recipes for fried banana spring rolls, sesame seed balls (a dim sum treasure), and another one of my personal favorites- Onde Onde (an Indonesian sweet rice dumplings with palm sugar & coconut).
If you are serious about making dumplings, spring rolls, samosas, puffs, etc from scratch then I highly recommend that you give this book a try. As always, thanks for reading!
Until next time,
Disclaimer: I received this book for free via Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review, no other compensation was received. Most products on my blog have been purchased by me (unless stated like this one) and I will be honest about my reviews and will only work with brands who truly have great products. Please check out my full disclaimer page if you have any questions. Following guidelines provided under FTC 16 CFR, Part 225.
