Seductions of Rice (Alford/Duguid)

[MMRuth]

On some other threads, posters asked what I've cooked from this book, so here's the list. I recall liking everything I've made, but made some comments as well.

Cucumber-Sesame Salad
Spicy Greens Salad
Spicy Cucumber Surprise (I recall this being particularly good.)
Steamed Fish Heaped with Scallions and Ginger (excellent)
Grilled Eggplant Salad (really liked this too)
Red Chicken Curry
Classic Thai Fried Rice
Spicy Yogurt Sauce with Ginger
Gita’s Dal
Stir-fried Shrimp, Kerala Style
Special Everyday Persian Rice (chelo)
Baked Persian Rice with Chicken (a favorite – made it for an Iraqi friend who was, well, just so happy with it)

[karykat]

How were the persian rice dishes? My brother married a persian woman and so we've been able to try some of the persian rice dishes which I love. My sister in law's mother makes a persian rice with barberries -- kind of a red tart small dried berry. And these dishes have a wonderful crusty layer. Anything like that in the book?

[MMRuth]

Both of the Persian rice dished have that wonderful crusty layer.

[dkennedy]

Thanks for your list MMRuth,

I am going to try the Steamed Fish Heaped with Scallions and Ginger based on your recommendation.

[MMRuth]

TDQ asked on another thread if there are lots of non-rice recipes, and there are. Also, there are whole chapters that I've not cooked from - African, Japanese, European and U.S./Latin America.

[The Dairy Queen]

Is the premise that these seemingly non-rice recipes are meant to accompany a bowl of rice?

~TDQ

[pitu]

What I love about this book is the juxtaposition of the ways rice is used all over the world -- flip the light switch that links jambalaya and paella and congee and on and on.
Not so much what goes *with* rice.

[The Dairy Queen]

That does sound interesting. But, are there a lot of non-rice recipes in the book? Only a couple of the ones MMRuth listed seem to be rice recipes.

~TDQ

[MMRuth]

I'll take another look, but I think that maybe 75% of the recipes are with rice.

[The Dairy Queen]

No need to look again (unless you want to). 75% is close enough. ;) I was just a little confused, but that's a general state of affairs for me, really. I shall put this book on my ever-expanding wishlist. Sounds interesting.

~TDQ

[MMRuth]

I bought the book in 1998 for my husband, since he sells rice, and at that point I (we) had A LOT fewer cookbooks.