nwasianweekly.com
April 14, 2007

The Ethnic Paris Cookbook, by Charlotte Puckette and Olivia Kiang-Snaije. Published by DK Adult, 2007.

With not a single croque monsieur in sight, Francophiles might be taken aback by The Ethnic Paris Cookbook.

But anyone who has visited Paris knows that the City of Light is chock full of excellent ethnic restaurants from France’s former colonies of Indochine (comprising Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos) and North Africa. (However, I wouldn’t go so far as to say the best food in France is ethnic food, unlike some other countries across the Atlantic.)

Authors Charlotte Puckette and Olivia Kiang-Snaije have culled over 100 recipes inspired by Paris’ international chefs — many from former French colonies — to explore the culinary heritage of generations of immigrants. Each chapter focuses on a particular region, using quirky titles such as “Bo Bun Business,” “Waiting for Wagashi” and “Africa Sur Seine,” and leads off with a history of the region’s relationship to France and an overview of its cuisine.

The simple dishes in the book have easy-to-follow recipes (many family-based), in stark contrast to the precise regiments of French cooking. The chapter “Bo Bun Business” covers Indochine and China with familiar fare such as green papaya salad, spring rolls and steamed sea bass with ginger and spring onions — albeit injected with French flair.

In “Waiting for Wagashi,” an entire chapter has been dedicated to Japan, and for good reason. According to the book, the Japanese and French have developed a culinary relationship of mutual respect, and the French capital has been the axis of this relationship for more than 35 years. Many Japanese chefs in Paris have taken the liberty to integrate French and Japanese techniques and ingredients. One such chef, Mariko Ueno, even created a new concept she dubs “wa-fumi” — Japanese dishes adapted to French palates. Hence, the recipes in this chapter range from tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlets) to sea scallops with sake and soy sauce (sounding all the more elegant as “coquilles Saint-Jacques au sake”) and green-tea madeleines.

Although the layout is a little confusing at times, with ingredient lists placed in the middle of instructions, The Ethnic Paris Cookbook has many delights. Sidebars on popular ethnic restaurants, corner shops and markets, together with personal anecdotes and vignettes, add another dimension to Paris’ culinary landscape. The book is made all the more charming by original color drawings by Paris-based Lebanese illustrator Dinah Diwan.

Authors Charlotte Puckette and Olivia Kiang-Snaije will give a cooking class at Sur La Table, 90 Central Way, Kirkland, on April 20 at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call 425-827-1311 or visit www.surlatable.com/category/culinary.do.
For more information about the book, visit www.theethnicpariscookbook.blogspot.com.

Pat Tanumihardja can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

Send correspondence to:
Northwest Asian Weekly • P.O. Box 3468 • Seattle • WA  98114
Tel: 206.223.5559 •  Fax: 206.223.0626 • Email: info@nwasianweekly.com
Please bookmark this site: www.nwasianweekly.com.