Title: Over simplified and bland
Product review: The book description says simplified for western kitchens, this is very true, too true in fact.I have made many recipes in this book yet they all seem to taste fairly bland and same. Everything seems like a different combination of onion, garlic, ginger, chilli, shrimp paste, coconut milk and a few spices. Throughout the book it also refers to ground galangal, lemongrass and tumeric but never says if its fresh or dried, just a tad of an oversight!!!It is a simple to follow book, but none of the recipes taste particularly authentic or anything like other indonesian cookbooks. However for an easy rijstaffel it would be good as many recipes can be made very quickly as most recipes have so many similar ingredients. I recommend 'the best of indonesian cooking' by Yasa Boga or culinaria south east asia for some great indonesian cooking, both may be a bit more involved but the results are so much better than this book has to offer.
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