quick and easy

I own more cookbooks that any one could possibly use, but this is my favorite. I've tried many of the recipes and never had a flop. All are flavorful. I love having pictures for most of the recipes. Great ideas, descriptions of ingredients, and descriptions and recipes for the wrappers! Last week I bought all of her books. This week I'm ordering two copies for my friends. If you want to make healthful tasty meals, this is the cookbook for you. Be sure to try the Grilled Miso Salmon with Sweet-and-Sour Cucumbers!

One drawback about shopping for books online is the lack of tactile information, so first things first: this book looks and feels more like an art book than a cookbook. It is made of very heavy, glossy paper that displays the many photographs beautifully. Most of the book is laid out the way I much prefer - photo on one page and complete recipe on the facing page. Only a few longer recipes force you to turn the page mid-recipe - those are the ones that get decorated with most of the flour/soy sauce fingerprints.

The book doesn't just concentrate on fillings - there are instructions for making some of the most popular Asian wrappers from scratch - not many people will go that route, I suspect (I haven't as yet), but it is nice to have the option there.

Some of the recipes are nothing short of brilliant. I've always struggled with sesame oil - I love the flavour, but it is far too easy to swamp a recipe with it. Ms. Simond is a master of the stuff -- her sesame vinaigrette is alone worth the price of the book. She uses sesame oil in several of the filling recipes, too, and the results are always wonderful.

Some of her other recipes, while always interesting, exhibit some rather strange choices. The first time I make an unfamiliar recipe, I like to follow it exactly, because I can never be sure what its author intended. Only when I make the recipe again will start to incorporate my own ideas into it. I wouldn't advise doing that with this cookbook - if you are merrily cooking along, and read something that gives you pause, like adding ½ lb of frozen peas to an otherwise wonderful filling, or using "finely-chopped lemongrass" rather than "lemongrass pureed in a blender so that you don't have to hand toothpicks out to your guests," then by all means make the change immediately.

With that one caveat out of the way, I can highly recommend this cookbook.

Being a novice on the topic of asian wraps, I wanted to find a cookbook that was simple, well written and not costly, and I found all of the above in Nina Simonds "Asian Wraps". This cookbook is well written, the recipes are easy to understand, and the cost was very reasonable. I would recommend this cookbook to any of my family or friends who wish to add versatality to their menu's.