'The Asian Grill' - Cookbook Spotlight

by Sara Bonisteel, Posted Sep 2nd 2009 @ 2:00PM

Photo: Amazon.com

'The Asian Grill: Great Recipes, Bold Flavors'
by Corinne Trang
Chronicle Books -- 2006
Buy it on Amazon

Corinne Trang takes readers on a journey through the balanced flavors of Asia via the backyard barbecue in "The Asian Grill: Great Recipes, Bold Flavors."

Part how-to manual on grilling and Asian cuisine and part cookbook of grilling inspiration, "Asian Grill" manages to teach experienced grillmasters a thing or two on how to switch up their repertoire while giving newbies a lot worth chewing on.

See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.

Takeaway tips: The grill is the place for making Asian cuisine. "The key is the marinade," Trang writes. Learn "to make expert use of the five flavor notes -- sweet, sour, salty, bitter and spicy -- at all meals, and in some cases, in each dish." And you can improve mediocre fruit by grilling it. This works for bananas, mangoes, pineapples, peaches, pears and apples.

Quality of pictures: Lush close-ups of ingredients and finished products taken by Trang are delectable.

We tested: Sweet Summer Corn and Edamame Salad with Walnut-Miso Dressing and Sweet Miso-Marinated Fish

Trang's miso-marinated fish was a breeze. Her marinade of white miso, sake, mirin and sugar turned our mackerel into a very sweet and flaky entree reminescent of a piece of unagi sushi. If you can't find mackarel fillets with the skin on, be sure to grill your fillets on aluminum foil, or you'll lose your dinner to the flames.

We chose her corn and edamame salad as a refreshing Sunday evening accompaniment to the mackerel. In hindsight, the sweet notes of this salad are better paired with something more savory. Again white miso and mirin -- along with rice vinegar, grated ginger, toasted and crushed walnut, onion and corn -- combine to make a hearty and healthy summer salad.

This recipe actually requires no grilling (if you so desire you can grill the corn) -- just lots and lots of edamame. We had some shelled edamame which we mixed with some preshelled soybeans, but they didn't have the same consistency. Stick with jacketed edamame, as Trang suggests.

Trang has designed this recipe for a party -- it serves 6 to 8. (If there are only a few people in your home, cut the recipe in half.)

Worth the investment: If you love Asian flavors and love to grill, you've found a new tome. You'll find Trang's explanations of pantry ingredients and grilling how-tos detailed and insightful.

Filed Under: Cookbook Spotlight
Tags: cookbook review, CookbookReview, corinne trang, CorinneTrang, the asian grill, TheAsianGrill