Tour of Southeast Asian cuisine via eclectic cookbooks

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The culinary tag ‘Southeast Asian’ has cachet in American foodie circles even though it has not yet achieved the all-purpose buzzword status of ‘Mediterranean.’ Books about the food of this vast and complex region are multiplying fast. Four current works on the subject all present their own trade-offs. Do you want the book that covers the largest number of countries (Michael Freeman’s ‘Ricelands’; Reaktion Books, $35), or that has the largest number of recipes (Rosemary Brissenden’s ‘Southeast Asian Food’; Periplus Editions, $30)?

The one that charges at the subject with the most irrepressible energy (Robert Danhi’s ‘Southeast Asian Flavors’; Mortar & Press, $45), or that gives cooks the most careful guidance (James Oseland’s ‘Cradle of Flavor’; W.W. Norton & Co., $35)? Each is bound to meet some expectations and thwart others. Read more here:

Photo credit: Reaktion Books