When I went gluten-free in 2004 the food I missed the most wasn’t bread, cake, or cookies. It was Asian food. I would eat Chinese, Korean, and Thai nearly every week, either at lunch during my work-day or dinner with the family. Finding a gluten-free option at any restaurant is a challenge, and the language barrier present at many Asian restaurants complicates things even further. You might be fortunate to have a P.F. Changs or a PeiWei nearby, but their limited GF menu can get boring.
So, I was very excited to receive The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen by Laura Russell. Flipping through it, the first thing I noticed was that it’s a lovely book design. There are full-page color photos throughout, the color palette is nice rusty-red and gold, and the typography is pleasing. Ordinarily I prefer to read a page set in a serif type (think Times or Garamond), but the more modern slab serif and sans serif typefaces chosen by this designer is a comfortable read and looks cool too. The cover features french-flaps (looks like a dustjacket, but it’s on a paperback book) with metallic gold ink on the inside. This high production value easily makes it a good gift book.
Ginger’s recent birth gave me the opportunity to be the cook in the house. The first recipe I choose was Russell’s Thai Coconut Chicken Soup. We’re no strangers to unusual ingredients here at the Spunky Coconut, but I needed to buy four things I had never seen before. Far from discouraged, I saw this as a fun grocery-mission. I had no problem finding Asian fish sauce. Thai Kitchen sells it near their coconut milk, and it even says “gluten free” on the label.
Fresh lemongrass wasn’t at my local health food store, so I bought a bag of dried. For my first attempt I just threw a bunch in the simmering soup. Don’t do this. The soup wasn’t cooking long enough to soften the dry grass, so it felt like I was eating the occasional pokey pine needle. For the second time I put the dry lemongrass in a ball tea infuser, which worked well. The flavor went into the soup, and I easily pulled the leaves out before serving. I eventually did find fresh lemongrass. Oddly enough, it wasn’t at Whole Foods or any other specialty store. It was at Safeway. It’s not organic, but it’s used in such a small amount that I’m not concerned.
I had never heard of galanal before, and never found it. The book suggested using fresh ginger rood instead, which worked great. I haven’t found kaffir lime leaves, but lime zest is an easy substitute. It will be fun hunting for these atypical ingredients, but in the mean time it is no problem using more conventional substitutes.
The soup was delicious and I’m excited to try more recipes. Russell’s book has a nice variety of sauce, noodle, vegetable, poultry, and meat dishes. There is a useful guide to ingredients, which explains what things are, where to find them, and which are at risk for gluten. The book design itself is sharp and would look good on any shelf.
June Scott says
Great review, Andrew! Very helpful!
wicklineco says
You can find your missing ingredients at the POM marketplace in broomfield, or India’s grocery in broomfield. I personally prefer the latter store. It is family owned 🙂
The Gluten-free 'Dish' says
It is nice to see there is a gluten-free Asian cookbook! But even better to see dad is in the kitchen and blogging!
awakeningheartsong says
YUM! One of my family’s favorite soups! Asian markets are the best place to find Lime Kaffir leaves, fresh lemon grass and galangal root. Usually for low prices compared to major super markets.
Galangal root is related to ginger root and has a very sour ginger flavor. Once you find all three ingredients they can be stored in the freezer for future use. We keep all three ingredients frozen to make this soup when ever the mood hits. Another trick I found that works for lemon grass. Frist peel the outer grass stems off of the lemon grass. Use the back side of you knife (or a hammer if you so choose 🙂 and whack the white part of lemon grass really well before chopping. This gets the essential oils releasing in the fibrous strands of the tough grass. Mince really fine only the white tender part to use in your soup or sauces. (The leftover tough green part of the Lemon grass makes an excellent hot tea. Especially tasty when added to fresh ginger for a cold or flu. Chop the rest up roughly and dry out in a bowl or dehydrator and store in a seal container for tea. )
Tessa says
In soups, I leave the lemongrass in large chunks and remove it before eating. Kaffir lime leaves add SO much flavor to foods, and they store well in the freezer, so head to your local asian grocery for these mystery ingredients…and I recommend Three Crabs Brand fish sauce…one of the higher quality fish sauces out there!!!
Anonymous says
As always, it is a pleasure to see a new posting on the Spunky Coconut blog, and it is no less delightful to have the Mister of the House author the post. Thank you Andrew for the review on this book. I’ll see if the local library has it (which, as a total surprise, carries the first cookbook your family published!). Blessings to you and your gals.
Chrystal in Canada
Alisa says
I love that Andrew critiques the design. So cute! I thought it was a beautiful book too, and really want to try that soup recipe!
laurelvb says
Thanks for the review. While I may not buy the book because of soy and other allergies I do have a tip for you. http://importfood.com/ You can get fresh lemon grass and galangal and kaffir lime leaves. In fact, here’s the direct link to that page
http://importfood.com/freshthaiproduce.html. Have fun. Oh, and Ginger pictures would be cool. 😀
Twitch says
I can’t wait to get this book now!
I get my kaffir lime leaves from Savory Spice Shop. They have several stores around the country, and they also sell everything online, too.
Anonymous says
Would this book be worth purchasing if you are completely grain, soy, sugar, and dairy free?
Nikasha says
Thanks for the great review. I’ve been wanting a GF recipe for dumplings, and that pic on the cover looks very tempting!
Kiki says
This blog entry was Great! I loved everything about it. I cannot wait to read the next book review! You are special, just like your wife and daughters!
Becca @ Our Crazy Boys says
I found your blog through Today’s Creative Blog – and I’m so glad I did!! I recently stopped eating gluten and am so glad to see your ideas and recipes 🙂
honeyfromflintyrocks says
Hello Andrew! Isn’t this your second Spunky blog post? I thought you had done one on beans as a flour substitute??
I too have REALLY missed Asian food! And all the comment tips on finding these ingredients has me anxious to get my hands on this book!!
Give baby Ginger a kiss for me!
Blessings,
~Mrs. R
Vivienne @ the V Spot says
Congrats on your feature at Today’s Creative Blog! That is AWESOME!
Andrew says
Hi Mrs. R., Yes, I have posted before, but some readers visiting my posts didn’t notice it was me. So, I made the big banner to show which posts are mine. It’s like I have a regular newspaper column!
honeyfromflintyrocks says
Hello Andrew!!
Oh “I” noticed it was YOU [posting pieces on this blog]… you signed your name! haha And it didn’t say “Kelly”!
Love your newspaper man banner to mark your posts. Great cartoon figure of you too! Did you draw that yourself? It’s well done and I thought it looked ‘just like you’. 🙂
Blessings,
~Mrs. R
Sea says
What a nice review! The comments were interesting to read as well. I was going to say “hey, check out an Indian market for the galangal” but about 6 people beat me to it. 😉 I need to try a recipe from this book- it really is lovely, and I also like the design.
-Sea