Luminous at dawn and dusk, the Mekong is a river road, a vibrant artery
that defines a vast and fascinating region. Here, along the world's
tenth largest river, which rises in Tibet and joins the sea in Vietnam,
traditions mingle and exquisite food prevails.
Award-winning authors Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid followed the river
south, as it flows through the mountain gorges of southern China, to
Burma and into Laos and Thailand. For a while the right bank of the
river is in Thailand, but then it becomes solely Lao on its way to
Cambodia. Only after three thousand miles does it finally enter Vietnam
and then the South China Sea.
It was during their travels that Alford and Duguid--who ate traditional
foods in villages and small towns and learned techniques and ingredients
from cooks and market vendors--came to realize that the local cuisines,
like those of the Mediterranean, share a distinctive culinary approach:
Each cuisine balances, with grace and style, the regional flavor quartet
of hot, sour, salty, and sweet. This book, aptly titled, is the result
of their journeys.
Like Alford and Duguid's two previous works, Flatbreads and Flavors
("a certifiable publishing event" --Vogue) and Seductions of Rice
("simply stunning"--The New York Times), this book is a glorious
combination of travel and taste, presenting enticing recipes in "an
odyssey rich in travel anecdote" (National Geographic Traveler).
The book's more than 175 recipes for spicy salsas, welcoming soups,
grilled meat salads, and exotic desserts are accompanied by evocative
stories about places and people. The recipes and stories are gorgeously
illustrated throughout with more than 150 full-color food and travel
photographs.
In each chapter, from Salsas to Street Foods, Noodles to Desserts,
dishes from different cuisines within the region appear side by side: A
hearty Lao chicken soup is next to a Vietnamese ginger-chicken soup; a
Thai vegetable stir-fry comes after spicy stir-fried potatoes from
southwest China.
The book invites a flexible approach to cooking and eating, for dishes
from different places can be happily served and eaten together: Thai
Grilled Chicken with Hot and Sweet Dipping Sauce pairs beautifully with
Vietnamese Green Papaya Salad and Lao sticky rice.
North Americans have come to love Southeast Asian food for its bright,
fresh flavors. But beyond the dishes themselves, one of the most
attractive aspects of Southeast Asian food is the life that surrounds
it. In Southeast Asia, people eat for joy. The palate is wildly
eclectic, proudly unrestrained. In Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet, at last
this great culinary region is celebrated with all the passion, color,
and life that it deserves.
