Fire and Spice

There's hot food, and then there's hotter still. Lovers of the latter should find Jackie Passmore's Fire & Spice a chile-fueled windfall. Passmore, an award-winning cookbook author, has traveled widely in Thailand, Malaysia, China, and India, tasting, cooking, and collecting recipes. More than 200 of these appear in this aptly titled book that celebrates Asian culinary exuberance.

Following a chile guide and an ingredient glossary listing everything from aamchur (ground dried green mango), to wasabi (the pungent Japanese root), Passmore divides the recipes among chapters such as "Soups and Salads," "Greens and Grains," and "Main Flavors: Beef and Lamb." Recipes for savory dishes, which include Singapore Chili Crab, Szechwan Piquant Chicken, and Thai Pork and Long Beans in Hot Chili Sauce, are followed by those for sweets, some chile-spiked but nonetheless cooling. The heat quotient of most of the recipes is indicated, as is their preparation time, and all are accessible. Small essays, like "Balinese Beginnings," are scattered throughout the text; they recount Passmore's evolving love affair with hot, while providing a cook's-eye-view of the countries where the incendiary is home. --Arthur Boehm