Cradle of Flavor: Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore

by James Oseland

The first book to reveal the undiscovered jewels of Southeast Asian cuisine. Just when you thought you knew everything about Asian food, along comes James Oseland’s Cradle of Flavor . Oseland has spent two decades exploring the foods of the Spice Islands. Few can introduce us to the birthplace of spice as he does. He brings us the Nyonya dishes of Singapore and Malaysia, the fiery specialties of West Sumatra, and the spicy-aromatic stews of Java. Oseland culled his recipes from twenty years of intimate contact with home cooks and diverse markets. He presents them here in easily made, accessible recipes, perfect for today’s home cook. Included is a helpful glossary (illustrated in color in one of the picture sections) of all the ingredients you need to make the dishes and where and how to buy them. With Cradle of Flavor , fans of Javanese Satay, Singaporean Stir-Fried Noodles, and Indonesian curries can finally make them in their own kitchen.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, Asia, Reference, Travel

384 pages, Hardcover

First published August 28, 2006

About the author

James Oseland is an American writer, editor and television personality. He is the author and editor-in-chief of World Food, an acclaimed book series from Ten Speed Press. He served as editor-in-chief of the U.S. food magazine Saveur from 2006 to 2014. His memoir and cookbook Cradle of Flavor (2006, W.W. Norton) was named one of the best books of 2006 by the New York Times, Time Asia, and Good Morning America, among others. He has edited an array of bestselling and award-winning anthologies and cookbooks, notably Saveur: The New Comfort Food (2011, Chronicle), A Fork In the Road (2013, Lonely Planet), and Saveur: The New Classics (2014, Weldon Owen). His writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Gourmet, Vogue, and dozens of other media outlets. He was a judge from 2009 to 2013 on the Bravo television series Top Chef Masters.
Oseland is the author of Jimmy Neurosis (2019, Ecco Press), a critically acclaimed coming-of-age memoir set against the California and New York City punk rock movements of the late 1970s. Out called the book "nonstop entertainment," while Rolling Stone hailed it as a "vibrant coming-of-age memoir [told] in an instantly lovable voice."

Reviews

[Sarah Kowalski]

All the recipes we've tried so far have been fantastic. And I love the author's clear descriptions (complete with gorgeous color photos) of ingredients that would otherwise be unfamiliar to many western cooks. This is also clearly a very personal project for him -- his descriptions of memories of various events, friends, and meals in the region are well written and evocative. For anyone with an interest in Indonesian and Malaysian food, this is a must-own.

[Elizabeth]

"If you want to know what Indonesia tastes like, all you have to do is drive around [Jakarta] and eat." - Karma Alwi

What a wonderful book this is - full of recipes and detailed information about ingredients essential to cooking dishes from the Spice Islands.

A comprehensive look at the foods of these countries could fill a ten-volume set. Here, I can only present a collage of some of the dishes, people, and places I've grown to love from my visits. [...] I've also purposefully omitted certain difficult-to-make dishes, such as roti canai, one of my favorite Malaysian street foods, an Indian-style bread that requires a tricky, multistep sequence of letting dough rise and then kneading it to achieve the correct croissant-like texture. Instead, I've focused primarily on classic, easy-to-make home dishes, the heart and soul food of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.
[introduction, p.28]

And what a collage it is!! I confess we were disappointed that a recipe for roti canai is not included, but there are zillions of other really wonderful sounding dishes included in this large and comprehensive single volume.

There is a very good section about ingredients, including excellent photographs and tips (with a list of Asian names they may be called) on where and/or how to find the things that aren't necessarily in most supermarkets. One of the intriguing fruits listed in Chapter 3, "At the Market: Ingredients", is asam gelugor, a "sour-tasting, apple-sized, yellow fruit, native to Malaysia [that is] rarely eaten raw. Instead it is thinly sliced — skin, core, seeds, and all — thn left to dry in the sun". Apparently the dried fruit is added to savoury dishes as flavouring.

But what really caught our attention were James Oseland's beautifully written opening sections to each chapter.

We turned off the main road onto a smaller, bumpier one that wound its way toward Karma's home. A few minutes later we reached a one-story cement house tucked away in a grove of old eucalyptus trees. We parked in the driveway and walked to the front porch. The rain had stopped. The chirping of crickets filled the air. Karma sat on the porch in half darkness, his head buried in a small paperback book. [...] Tanya sat down in a nearby chair and indicated, with a subtle arching of her eyebrows, that I should do the same. Karma continued to read his book. [...] After a few more minutes of silence, Karma cleared his throat.
      "Indonesia is a riddle that will never be solved," he whispered in English. [...] He lit a clove cigarette. Its fragrant smoke curled around his head like a halo.
[7. Street Foods" Satays, Salads, and Snacks, p.139]
~ ~ ~ ~
When Rohati and I reached the outskirts of the market, the reason that she liked to arrive early was instantly clear. Even at seven o'clock, the place was already jam-packed with customers. After making our way through a maze of crates and untethered goats, we entered the main hall and climbed the stairs to the second flour. From this vantage point, the huge market extended like a vast tapestry. It was the most radiant display of vegetables that I'd ever seen. Mounds of chiles four feet high lay next to equally high piles of water spinach. Hundreds of vendors called out their offerings in an overlapping singsong that rose above the hall in what sound like a single chant. [...] [T]he display looked like a still life painted by a Dutch master. Baskets of spices spilled over onto bunches of kaffir lime leaves and fresh turmeric rhizomes just pulled from the ground.
[9. Vegetables, p.202]
~ ~ ~ ~
She proceeded to dip her hands into canisters and show me seemingly random amounts of spices: two handfuls of cumin seeds, three times as many coriander seeds, a satchel's worth of fresh turmeric, and so on. Like all the region's great cooks, Renny measured by agak-agak (instinct), not set amounts.
[11. Poultry, p.268]

There were a few things that gave us pause:

a.) the instruction on p.182 to discard meaty chicken pieces that have been used to make stock, or to reserve them "for another use". Why not suggest the other uses rather than condone throwing good food away?
b.) to keep cooked rice dishes warm by covering with aluminum foil rather than a plate, overturned bowl, or loosely fitting lid.
c.) the presence of so much sugar in both sweet and savoury dishes

immediately book-marked:
• crisp-fried shallots, p.84
• crisp jicama and pinapple salad Rojak, p.159
• lemongrass-scented coconut rice Nasi Uduk, p.176 (with the cautionary note: "Don't try to halve this recipe — that would result in the aromatics sitting on top of the rice rather than being submerged in it, yielding a poorly flavored dish".
• spiced Nyonya rice Nasi Kemuli, p.180
• virtually all of the vegetable dishes, p. 205-231
    ○ braised cabbage with dried shrimp Pow Choy Ha Mai, p.212
    ○ green beans with coconut milk Sambal Goreng Buncis, p.216 "a touchstone in Indonesian cuisine, as common as macaroni and cheese in the United States"
• chicken rendang with cinnamon and star anise Rendang Ayam, p. 278
• Mien's garlic fried chicken Ayam Goreng, p.283
• Nyonya-style spiced fried chicken Inche Kabin, p.285

[Sarah]

I'm sure this is a great book. But there are no pictures, and I just don't like cookbooks without pictures. Especially because... look at that gorgeous cover! What a letdown to open the book and only find tan pages. I am flipping through the sauces and condiments because I think those will be good to know.

[Kristine]

This is another winning ethnic cookbook I've featured on my blog. Everything I've made has been fantastic!

[cheryl]

Great reading! Didn't cook anything not very vegan

[A. J]

Will read this book again. Great recipes.

[Beth Polebaum]

Try the chicken on p. 287. Yum!

[Dray]

A delectable collection of regional recipes from Indonesia, Malaysia and area. Notes on culture, procurement, cooking etc. very enjoyable.

[Aasinathena]

Absolutely thrilled to finish this. Part anthology and part collection of mouthwatering recipes !

[Shane C]

this series are definitely pratice!!

[Dh]

Meh. I know this won the James Beard award and all, but I am underwhelmed. The stories and pictures are lovely. The recipes tend to be very challenging (for my skill level at least). Attempting two dishes requires an entire free weekend and trips to 4 asian grocery stores to find the appropriate ingredients.

[Karen]

My new favorite cookbook. A must have for anyone interested in South East Asian cuisines.A well stocked pantry is essential and Oseland provides very detailed descriptions of specialty ingredients right down to name brands to look for. With Oseland's guidance home cooks can easily reproduce the complex and intriguing flavor profiles that make this cuisine so delicious and addictive.

[Kat]

An extremely well-crafted cookbook with interesting recipes. As a baker, I particularly loved the dessert section. A few great drink recipes are also included. My only complaint is that it did not include a recipe for Hainanese Chicken Rice, a Singaporean staple that I have been missing since I moved away.

[Pepy Nasution]

The first time, I was pretty skeptical. "What the heck does this American guy know about my Indonesian cuisine?" However, I was totally wrong, this book followed a path to be authentic. For my western friends who want to learn Indonesian cuisine, I recommended this book to them.

[Happyreader]

The book provides a great education in Asian ingredients and cooking techniques while also providing interesting stories connected to the recipes. Was the basis of a fun and interesting potluck dinner party.

[Sara]

Nothing particularly wrong with it, but 90% of these recipes I've already found for free online. And there are very few pictures, so it isn't that interesting to look at, either. The anecdotes were pretty interesting, though.

[Lindsay]

kind of a difficult one to jump right into...

[Christie]

Three stars for now. You really need lots of specialty ingredients to pull these off. Buy and free kaffir lime leaves when you find them!

[Catherine Woodman]

Excellent cookbook with alot of innovative dishes and would love to spend some serious time cooking out of it, but need to wait until kids who don't eat this are not home

[Amy Elizabeth]

Very dense and packed with information. A master's thesis on Indonesian cooking techniques.