Cooking from the Heart
The Hmong Kitchen in America
Scripter, Sami
Yang, Sheng
Hardcover
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BOOK SUMMARY
The first cookbook of Hmong-American cuisine, filled with unique recipes and stories.
Submit a book reviewBOOK SYNOPSIS
Simple, earthy, fiery, and fresh, Hmong food is an exciting but still little-known South Asian cuisine. In traditional Hmong culture, dishes are created and replicated not by exact measurements but by taste and experimentation-- for every Hmong recipe, there are as many variations as there are Hmong cooks-- and often served to large, communal groups. Sami Scripter and Sheng Yang have gathered more than 100 recipes from Hmong-American kitchens, illustrated them with color photos of completed dishes, and provided descriptions of unusual ingredients and cooking techniques.
Cooking from the Heart is the first cookbook to clearly set out the culinary traditions of the Hmong people as well as the cultural significance such traditions hold. The recipes are accompanied by anecdotes, aphorisms, and poems that demonstrate the importance of food and cooking in Hmong culture and offer a dramatic perspective on the immigrant experience. Scripter and Yang outline diet restrictions and taboos as well as how herbs and foods are traditionally used for healing purposes. The dishes featured in Cooking from the Heart range from well-known items such as egg rolls and green papaya salad to more unfamiliar dishes such as Nqaij Qaib Hau Xyaw Tshuaj (Chicken Soup for New Mothers) and Dib Iab Ntim Nqaij Hau Ua Kua (Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup).
The oral tradition by which these recipes have been passed down has meant that Hmong cooking has not yet reached a wide audience in the United States. While designed for an American kitchen, Cooking from the Heart encourages readers to seek out Hmong herbs and vegetables only recently introduced in the United States. After all, the authors say, the essence of Hmong cuisine is cooking with an adventurous and creative spirit-- from the heart.
AUTHOR BIO
Sami Scripter, a retired educator, lives in Portland, Oregon.
Born in Laos, Sheng Yang now lives in Sacramento, California, where she works as a medical assistant.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface Ncauj Lus
Acknowledgments Nco Txiaj Ntsim
Introduction: Welcome to Our Dinner Gathering Zoo Siab Tuaj Koom Peb Rooj Mov
Traditional Hmong Gatherings
Eating Habits
In a Hmong Kitchen Hmoob Kev Npaj Noj Haus
Slices with a Hmong Knife
Hmong Herbal Medicine
Rice Mov
Rice Rain
Vegetables and Herbs Zaub thiab Tshuaj Ntsuab
Chicken Nqaij Qaib
Using Food to Heal
A Hmong Wedding
About Larb
Eggs Qe
New Year’s Eggs Tais Qe Hu Plig
Pork Nqaij Npuas
Hosting aShaman Ritual in America—A “Jingle-Bell Party”
Pork or Chicken Blood Pudding ("Live Blood") Ntsha Npua los yog Ntsha Qaib Teev
Beef and Water Buffalo Nqaij Nyuj thiab Nqaij Twm
Hmong Funerals Hmoob Nteeg Tuag
About “Oh-La”
Ka’s Journal
Fish and Game Ntses thiab Nqaij Nruab Nrag
Catching Crabs in Laos
Beverages and Desserts Dej Qab Zib thiab Khoom Txom Ncauj
Distilled and Brewed Alcohol Cawv Cub
Cakes by Fhoua
Chasing a Hmong American Dream
Cooking for a Crowd Npaj Ib Pluag Loj
Hmong New Year Xyoo Tshiab
The Year My Family Decided Not to Have Papaya Salad and Egg Rolls for Thanksgiving
Index Kev Teeb Txheeb Ntaub Ntawv Raws ABC
BOOK REVIEWS
"This is a gem, a superb illustration of a piece of wisdom from long ago—to begin to understand a people you must first eat with them. Any serious collector of food books and anyone intrigued by the nearly unknown Hmong ways with food will want this book. The recipes draw you in, but it is the stories and the cultural portraits that keep you turning pages."
—Lynne Rossetto Kasper, Host, The Splendid Table®, public radio's national food show from American Public Media
"Designed for the American kitchen and written to honor this unique culinary tradition, Cooking from the Heart is a spirited, valuable book."
—Star Tribune
"A glorious book."
—A Closer Look at Flyover Land
"Cooking from the Heart is an excellent first look at this 'simple' cuisine and complex culture."
—Asian Pages
"Summer is the perfect time to try Hmong cuisine. With Cooking from the Heart and a visit to the Hmong vendors at your local market, you'll be on your way to a wonderful tasting experience."
—Edible Twin Cities
"Gracefully, intelligently written, Cooking from the Heart documents the way traditional Hmong dishes are made in America and also includes new recipes that feature both Asian and American regional ingredients."
—Isthmus
FOR RELATED BOOKS
Cooking Books :: Regional & Ethnic Books :: Asian Books
MORE BOOK INFO
ISBN: 0816653267
ISBN(13-digit): 9780816653263
Dewey Decimal: 641.595
Library of Congress: 2009007778
Book Publisher: Univ of Minnesota Pr
Language: ENG
No. of Pages: 276
Illustrations (B&W): 30
Illustrations (Color): 12
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