Rating: 
Summary: East meets West
Review: As Ming Tsai likes to put it, his cuisince is all about East meets West. His recipes are grounded by the Chinese influences of his youth. He has taken that and broadened it with his training in various kitchens which taught him "traditional" Western techniques. The end result is imaginative takes on traditional Eastern (e.g. various "dim sum", summer rolls, pho) and Western foods (e.g. osso buco, risotto).The book is organized into sections so you can easily design a multi-course meal from first course to dessert. I have tried his Hoisin Marinated Pork and Curry Braised Lamb Shanks. Both are wonderful main courses. He also has numerous excellent sides like Three Onion Cous-Cous and Napa Cabbage Slaw. For the adventerous, there is section called "Over the Top" for that magnificent foodie experience. I recommend this book to the serious foodie. You will want/need a well stocked pantry with "unusual" ingredients like oyster sauce, fish sauce, hoisin sauce, black beans, sambal olek, wasabi, etc. However, you won't be disappointed with the results. My copy is already stained with various sacues/marinades and wrinkled by water.
Rating:
Summary: East meets West
Review: As Ming Tsai likes to put it, his cuisine is all about East meets West. His recipes are grounded by the Chinese influences of his youth. He has taken that and broadened it with his training in various kitchens which taught him "traditional" Western techniques. The end result is imaginative takes on traditional Eastern (e.g. various "dim sum", summer rolls, pho) and Western foods (e.g. osso buco, risotto). The book is organized into sections so you can easily design a multi-course meal from first course to dessert. I have tried his Hoisin Marinated Pork and Curry Braised Lamb Shanks. Both are wonderful main courses. He also has numerous excellent sides like Three Onion Cous-Cous and Napa Cabbage Slaw. My guests have always showered praise for the dishes I have prepared from the cookbook. For the adventerous, there is section called "Over the Top" for that magnificent foodie experience. I recommend this book to the serious foodie. You will want/need a well stocked pantry with "unusual" ingredients like oyster sauce, fish sauce, hoisin sauce, black beans, sambal olek, wasabi, etc. However, you won't be disappointed with the results. My copy is already stained with various sacues/marinades and wrinkled by water.
Rating:
Summary: Takes real talent to make this kind of cuisine happen!
Review: Blending the three cuisines of American, European and Asian as Ming Tsai does so creatively and succulently is true talent honed by development and passion. This book is well laid out, with some four-color offerings of serving suggestions. An outstanding feature of this cookbook as well as his show is the nice wine/drink recommendation with most courses. Wild about those I've tried so far, with so many more waiting in the wings: Achiote Duck Breasts with Sweet Potato Puree, Asian Marinated Pork Loin with Gingered Sweet Potatos and Five Spice Apples, Spinach Tofu Napoleons with Miso Dressing, Aromatic Braised Short Ribs with Napa Cabbage Orzo Stew. My favorite however which is a knockout dish is Asian Lacquered Poussin with Hoisin Lime Sauce, and Green Tea Mousse with Sake Marinated Dried Cherries. Exquisite food with a kick! Included is an excellent pantry section which helps those unfamiliar with Asian products as well as sufficient Mail Order Sources.
Rating: 
Summary: Ming Tsai's wonderful cooking in your own home.
Review: Every so often, you find a chef who has a genuine passions for food, and a passion to be innovative with his/her approach. Ming Tsai is one of those rare chefs that can make complicated dishes easy to grasp and prepare, as well as show his passion for exotic and innovative dishes. Chinese food is without a doubt my favorite, but even better so when it is something new. Much as I love Dim Sum, sometimes you get sick of the same old thing. Tsai's dishes combine traditional Asian influences with American style, such as spicy southwest or popular dishes like fried chicken and pork tenderloin. The recipes are easy to follow, give accurate details of how much of what ingredient is needed, and Tsai's insights and stories are interesting and fun to read. Best of all, when I prepared the dishes in his book, I didn't mess up once. Not once did I overcook the fish, burn the rice, or broke an aoli, which for me is an accomplishment. Having seen Ming Tsai many times on the Food Network, I have a great deal of respect for the man and his style of cooking. As an aspiring chef myself, I can appreciate the importants of being innovative and different with cooking approaches. Not all of his dishes are for people watching their wasteline, but when the dishes work, they are excellent. I would gladly recommend this book to anyone who wants to try something new in their kitchen.
Rating:
Summary: absolutly fabulas
Review: I can't think of any other way to describe the book than fantastic!!!
Rating:
Summary: fun and adventurous
Review: I purchased this cookbook last year. I am a huge fan of preparing asian cuisines and many european as well, enjoying the creative outlet it provides me, so this book appealed to my exploritive cooking nature. It is, I have found, easy to follow and very unique in its combinations. I have had only one bad turn out on a recipe, which I will blame on too much "help" from my dinner guests. Word to the wise, this is not some mainstay anchor for your basic cookbook collection. this book was meant for people who, like me, enjoy cooking for the creation, because this book is exactly what it purports to be, east meets west cuisine. some of the over the top recipes this book has that I have loved are: the Thai hot and sour soap /w shrimp toast, smoked salmon and jicama maki sushi, the ahi tuna parfait with two caviars, savory braised oxtail, and crispy scallops with carrot-star anise syrup. the desserts are fantastic too. to some of the naysayers, yes some of the ingredients are not something that you may use regularly, but if you cook, you can find uses for the leftovers. and I live in the middle of north dakota, if I can find the called for ingredients, anyone can. I hope that this book brings as much joy to your cooking as it has to mine.
Rating:
Summary: The Master of fusion cooking has arrived!!!!!
Review: My favorite chef of all time has written a cookbook which will not disappoint! Follow his instructions to prepare a superb meal to impress that special person in your life, or to dazzle anyone. I reccomend this book to anyone from beginning cooks to the most experienced chefs. I'll never let go of my copy.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous!
Review: My husband and I love Ming Tsai's style of cooking. We were printing recipes off the Food TV site before this cookbook came out. So you can imagine our disappointment when we tried a few recipes out of this cookbook and found them riddled with typos, errors in ingredient amounts, and poor editing. The writer of the cookbook, Boehm (?), seems to have done slapdash work in the testing department: the translation of a restaurant-level preparation to that of the home cook is poor. We have had to do a great deal of juggling and rewrites to make the recipes come out right. Ming, please hire a new collaborator for your next cookbook! Your recipes are too good to be messed up by poor editing!
Rating: 
Summary: Worst cookbook I have ever used
Review: The recipes in this book seem interesting, the dishes delectably presented by beautiful photos. Too bad they just don't work. I don't know who tested the recipes in this volume before they were published, but that person should be fired and never, ever, ever hired by any other cookbook publisher ever again. Few, if any of the recipes in Blue Ginger actually turn out if you follow them to the letter. In executing the savoury dishes, I had to make severe adjustments -- not just to the amount of each ingredient -- but also to the cooking method. Some recipes LOOK wrong even before you attempt them: The Lemongrass Parfait, which calls for some insane number of egg yolks (18, I believe) are a total flop. The so-called Asian Gazpacho tastes good only if you add about a half dozen more of your own ingredients, and jack up the amounts apparently recommended by Ming Tsai. And I can go on... In short, this is con-fusion cooking at its worst. If only I could get my money back for this sorry collection of recipes. Unfortunately, having been repeatedly hurled against the kitchen wall in frustration, my copy of this book is in no shape to be returned.
Rating:
Summary: A Ming fan
Review: This cookbook contains all the recipes Ming Tsai created for his restaurant, Blue Ginger, and delivered on his show from his early episodes on the Food Network. Pros:
- Take the time to make these recipes and one will not be disappointed.
- Rather then traveling to Ming's high-end restaurant, save $$$ and eat the same dishes at home.
- This is one of the very few cookbooks that produces fantastic results with every attempt. Recipes I've tried and would make again:
- Smoky Turkey Shu Mai in Sweet Pea Broth
- Traditional Mandarin Fried Rice (already lost count how many times I've made this)
- Grilled Ponzu-Marinated Snapper with Ginger Pea Sprout Salad (4x and counting...)
- Turkey Breast with Three-Pea Fried Rice (3x)
- Asian-Marinated Pork Loin with Gingered Sweet Potatoes and Five-Spice Apples (too many to count!)
- Gingered Beef with Leeks and Asparagus (lost count on this one too!)
- Five-Peppercorn Grilled Rib-Eye Steaks
- Rice Paper-Wrapped Halibut with Foie Gras Mousse and Gingered Spaghetti Squash
- Glutinous Rice with Coconut and Mango
- Savory Braised Oxtail with Preserved Lemon Polenta (Oxtail was very good, but don't like polenta. Tried the polenta anyway, and, of course, didn't like it. -Just personal taste.) Cons:
- All of these recipes are available on the Food Network site (with a little digging). While printing them from the website is at no cost (compared to the purchase price of this book), the book offers organization and color photos within bound material which fits much better on the bookshelf then the wad of papers one will end up with after printing all the recipes from the net.
- Novice cooks will find these dishes challenging if one has missed the presentations he provides on his show.
- A lot of the dishes are quite time consuming as many have 3 and 4 separate recipes to make one entire meal. Overall:
As with anything, you reap what you sow. These recipes are unique, scrumptious and well worth the effort! I had the opportunity to meet Ming and he was gracious enough to sign this cookbook as well as pose for photos. Just like on the show, Ming came off as the same professional, down-to-Earth guy anyone would want to know. Amazon.com ratings scale: 5 stars = Outstanding
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