“My mother always described me as a ‘good eater,’ unfussy and fearless in the face of all things weird and delicious,” writes Sarah Tiong in the introduction to “Sweet Savory Spicy: Exciting Street Market Food from Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and More” (Page Street, $25).
That’s the attitude I took as I crushed serrano chiles and garlic with fermented shrimp paste for Sambal Belachan, a powerfully pungent sauce that transformed a simple eggplant stir-fry into an umami-rich sensation. It served me equally well in making lettuce-wrapped Laotian Meatballs with Vietnamese Spicy Dipping Sauce and, on another night, Coconut Prawns (shrimp and noodle soup in a chile-spiked coconut broth) alongside Malaysian Turmeric Lace Pancakes.
Tiong grew up in Sydney, Australia, where she practices corporate law. But her passion is cooking for others, which she does a lot of these days at her pop-up market stall, Pork Party, inspired by happy memories of “eating tender satays off a stick or slurping down bowls of noodles” from roadside stalls, food carts, and hawker centers on frequent trips to Southeast Asia. Her mother, a Malaysian immigrant, did her best to replicate those flavors for her family in her adopted country, and Tiong continues that pursuit today.
In 2017, she entered the MasterChef Australia competition and placed sixth in the finals, winning over TV viewers with her vivacious personality and knowledge of this humble and largely hidden cuisine. That generous spirit carries over in the delectably photographed pages of this slim volume designed to help you satisfy a hunger for an authentic dining adventure without leaving home. Most recipes are quick and easy enough for a novice to pull off, if you can source all the ingredients. If you can’t, don’t let that stop you from improvising, as I did when I subbed some grated lime zest and juice for the lemongrass that wasn’t available at my supermarket.
The beauty of Southeast Asian cuisine, Tiong writes, is that it’s made for customizing according to your taste preferences and what you have to work with: “It is personal yet expressive and does not always play by the rules.”
Susan Puckett is a cookbook author and former food editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow her at susanpuckett.com.
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