Whether you are gluten-free by necessity or choice, The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen by Laura B. Russell is a cookbook that is only sure to delight. It’s a gorgeous new cookbook that’s filled with recipes or alternatives for several Asian dishes and staples, including sauces that usually have wheat hidden in them. I was fortunate to receive an early (review) copy of this cookbook, which is available right now for pre-sale and will be officially released August 22nd.
While much of Asian cuisine is based on rice products, there’s also a good deal of Asian food that is wheat-based including dumplings, such as pot stickers, or gluten hidden in sauces that are integral to make a particular dish such as teriyaki or even something as basic as soy sauce. (Although there is gluten-free soy sauce available, you generally have to request it if you’re eating out.)
Until I read the author’s story – she discovered she was gluten intolerant, experiencing symptoms after the birth of her second child – I simply thought that gluten-free Asian cooking involved using gluten-free soy sauce. Knowing that a lot of Asian foods use rice and rice products perhaps led to this belief, as gluten intolerance and celiac disease seems to be more common in the West as we’re surrounded constantly by gluten-based products. (In fact, celiac disease has been called a Western epidemic in India.)
I made three recipes from The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen: Gingery Pork Pot Stickers, Spring Vegetables Fried Rice, and Lychee Sorbet. All were delicious results; one described as dangerously so by my family. (Honestly, we couldn’t stop eating them!) While some cookbooks have recipes that are only made once, the recipes that I tried are going to be made again and again.
Click after the jump to read my thoughts on these dishes and more info, including a chance to win a copy!
