Table Of Contentasian bites
A feast of fl avors from Turkey to India to Japan
Tom Kime
asian bites
asian bites
A feast of flavors from Turkey through India to Japan
Tom Kime
Special photography by Lisa Linder
London  New York  Munich
Melbourne  Delhi
Thanks go to my wife, Kylie Burgess Kime, for her ongoing love and support of our great life, and for being 
such an enthusiastic travel companion. To my mother, Helen, for being the inspiration behind my love of 
food; to my father, Robert, for igniting my love of travel and discovery; and to my sister, Hannah, for her 
ongoing curiosity and encouragement to pursue my goals. To my godchildren Frank, Alice, and Raphael, 
with whom I look forward to sharing many meals. To everyone who loves food and travel.
Project Manager and Editor  Managing Editor
Siobhán O’Connor Dawn Henderson
Photographic Art Direction and Design  Senior Art Editor 
Simon Daley Susan Downing
Food and Author Photography  Editorial Assistant 
Lisa Linder Ariane Durkin
Food Stylist  Production Editor 
Alice Hart Jenny Woodcock
Prop Stylist   Production Controller 
Rachel Jukes Mandy Inness
First American Edition, 2008  
Published in the United States by DK Publishing  
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014  
08 09 10 11 12   10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 
JD071—March 2008
Copyright © 2008 Dorling Kindersley Ltd  
Text copyright © 2008 Tom Kime  
All rights reserved
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced 
into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or 
otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. 
Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited 
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress 
ISBN: 978-0-7566-3384-4
DK books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, or educational use.  
For details, contact: DK Publishing Special Markets, 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014 or [email protected] 
Color reproduction by MDP, United Kingdom 
Printed and bound in China by Leo Paper Group
Discover more at 
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Contents
 
  8 Introduction
  14 Smoking hot
|
   Seared scallops with fresh chutney   Stir-fried greens with garlic 
|
Malaysian fried noodles   Stir-fried bean sprouts with chile bean 
| |
paste   Marinated grilled mackerel   Chinese barbecue spare ribs  
|  
Grilled beef patties with shallots and cumin   Keynotes Ginger  
| |
Spicy green beans with chile   Indonesian fried rice   Stir-fried beef 
|
with chile and onion relish   Spiced shrimp cakes on sticks of 
| |
lemongrass   Pork balls with garlic and pepper   Isaan-style grilled 
|   |
chicken   Keynotes Soy products   Sardines with green chile 
| |
sambal   North Vietnamese fish brochettes   Chinese barbecue  
| |
pork   Garlic and coriander naan   Sumatran duck sate   
Marinated barbecue beef
   54 Crisp and fiery 
|
Keralan spiced chickpea and lentil dumplings   Fried squid flowers 
| |
with ginger and spices   Scallion pancakes   Fried puffed potato 
| | |
bread   Turkish zucchini fritters   Crisp peanut wafers   Potato  
|  
and cauliflower pakoras   Keynotes Curry pastes and spice blends 
| |
Curried sweet corn fritters   Shrimp and chive spring rolls   Spicy 
| |
lamb-stuffed pancakes   Pork and cabbage dumplings   Sesame 
| |
tempura   Burmese turmeric fishcakes   Rice flour pancakes 
| |
Gujarati eggplant fritters   Keynotes Chiles   Happy crêpes  
|
Sumatran eggplant sambal   Burmese spiced split pea fritters
92 Hot and steamy 
|
Fried bean sprouts and clams   Miso soup with seven-spice chicken 
| |
Steamed shrimp wontons   Sichuan chicken dumplings   Steamed 
| |
barbecue pork buns   Keynotes Rice and noodles   Lamb pilaf with 
| |
saffron and nuts   Steamed green vegetable rolls   Mushroom pot-
| |
stickers   Scallion and chive flower rolls   Singapore coconut laksa  
|
Nonya pork, shrimp, and crab ball soup  Nonya-style spicy pork
  116 Fresh and aromatic 
|
Sesame chicken salad with white pepper   Chilled seared tuna with 
| |
ginger   Citrus dipping sauce   Cured shrimp with shredded lime 
| |
leaves   Fresh lettuce cups with chicken   Grilled eggplant salad  
|
Chilled soba noodles with seared salmon   Rena’s South Indian 
| |
mango pickle   Fresh coconut chutney   Crisp cabbage salad with 
| |
peanuts   Nonya bean curd salad   Keynotes Coriander, basil, and 
| |
mint   Asian salad with pea shoots and sprouts   Pickled daikon 
| |
salad with fried garlic   Sashimi of sea bass with hot dressing   Hot 
and sour green papaya salad
  146 Tangy and refreshing 
| |
Malay beef rendang   Sri Lankan smoky eggplant dip   Sichuan spicy 
| |
pickled cucumber   Vietnamese peanut dipping sauce   Tamarind 
| |
fried shrimp   Keynotes Preserved fish products   Roast pork with 
| |
fresh mint and peanuts   Spicy apricot chutney   Carrot pachadi
| |
Korean hot pickled cabbage   Spiced stuffed eggplant   Laotian 
| |
spice-pickled scallions   Sichuan peppered beef   Lemon and  
|
saffron chicken kebabs   Potato with turmeric and mustard seeds  
|
Keynotes Citrus and lemongrass   Fried eggplant with toasted 
| |
sesame seeds   Tomato chutney with green chile   Tamarind  
beef with peanuts 
  182 Sugar and spice 
|
Citrus and young coconut jelly   Yogurt and pistachio cake  
|
Keynotes Nuts and seeds   Persian rice pudding with cardamom  
| |
Afghan new year compote   Sour cherry sherbet   Pineapple with 
| |
caramelized chile   Elephant ear pastries   Pomegranate and  
|
blood orange fruit salad   Pear fritters with cinnamon honey syrup  
| |
Stuffed apricots   Keynotes Aromatic spices   Mangosteen, lychee, 
| |
and mango salad   Yogurt and mint drink   Saffron ice cream  
with pistachio nuts 
  212 Menu ideas
  218 Glossary
  219 Useful websites
  220 Index
  224 Acknowledgments
Introduction
It is often said that Asian people are always eating.  integral part of life. I refer to this as the “anthropology 
There seem to be so many opportunities to eat at  of food,” and it makes the connection between food 
any time of the day or night. For a chef and a writer  and travel in regions of Asia so enjoyable.
that makes Asia an ideal place to travel and sample  For example, the significance of rice throughout 
the wares. Ever present throughout the vastly  Asia goes much further than as a food staple. How it 
different countries and cuisines of Asia, with its many  is cooked is paramount to the success of an Asian 
hundreds of ethnic groups, is a healthy obsession  meal. Rice is a cultural cornerstone in many ancient 
with food. The constant grazing on freshly cooked  heritages that have formed over millennia across a 
ingredients allows visitors to experience a vast  land that covers thousands of miles. The importance 
wealth of flavors, textures, and taste combinations.  of rice lies not only in the food and eating etiquette, 
These in turn create layers of flavor and three- but also in the society as a whole: the art, literature, 
dimensional tastes that result in food with subtleties,  music, religion, spiritual superstitions, economics, 
contrasts, and nuances, so that no one ingredient  and politics of this vast continent. In many Asian 
stands out, overpowering the meal. cultures, the food that is eaten becomes a meal 
This same description can be applied to the  when eaten alongside rice; without it, the same food 
cultures of Asian countries. Asia is full of blends of  would just be a snack. In China, the phrase chi fan 
(“to eat rice”) also translates as 
“Asia is full of blends of people, beliefs, and religion,  “to eat.” In Thailand and Vietnam, 
with layers of migration, conquest, and history that  there are scores of phrases that 
use rice to describe aspects of 
work to highlight, complement, and contrast, forming 
society, such as generosity, love, 
countries with a wealth and depth of heritage.” and waiting a long time for 
something to happen—referring 
people, beliefs, and religion, with layers of migration,  to the cultivation of rice. In Thailand, the word for 
conquest, and history that work to highlight,  rice is khao; a common term of greeting is “Kin  
complement, and contrast, forming countries with a  khao laew reu yang?” (“Have you eaten rice yet?”). 
wealth and depth of heritage. This layering becomes  Another common greeting in Asia translates roughly 
even more interesting because, across the vast  as, “Hi, there. You must be hungry.” When greeted in 
continent of Asia, it is impossible to separate the  this manner, I cannot help but accept the generous 
connection of food and society. The styles of food  offer of more food, even if I have just eaten.
differ enormously from region to region, and the  The use of chiles is now synonymous with many 
ingredients and recipes change, but the significance  Asian cuisines, and it would be hard to imagine the 
of the food remains constant. The food of Asia is an  foods of Thailand, India, and Malaysia without this 
8
Description:Providing all the temptation of a tasting menu on a much more versatile scale, this is an eclectic trip through the cuisines of the vast continent of Asia-from Turkey and Afghanistan, through Pakistan and India, and on to Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan. The 90 recipes are clearly written wi