What do you think?
Rate this book
Cooking Without Borders
To Anita Lo, all cooking is fusion cooking. Whether it’s her slow-poached salmon, smoked paprika, spaetzle, and savoy cabbage from annisa , or the smoked chanterelles with sweet corn flan that trumped Mario Batali on Iron Chef America , Anita Lo’s food can always be distinguished by its strong multicultural influence. Inspired by the flavors and textures she’s tasted throughout the world, Lo creates food that breaks down preconceived notions of what American food is and should be. In Cooking Without Borders , she offers more than 100 recipes celebrating the best flavors from around the globe, including chapters on appetizers, soups, salads, main courses, and desserts. These recipes show home cooks everywhere how easy it is to think globally and prepare creative and delicious food. Now that we have greater access than ever before to ingredients from all corners of the world, there’s no better time to enjoy these flavors at every meal, presented by one of our country’s most innovative chefs.
Praise for Cooking Without Borders : “Uncompromising, inspiring, and great to cook from.” —Beth Kracklauer, Saveur
"Anita Lo has continued her innovative, inspirational and creative approach to food in her new book Cooking Without Borders . I have been eating Anita's delicious dishes since the early 90s and have always been surprised, entranced and above all, pleased."
-Martha Stewart
"Anita is one of the most natural and intuitive cooks I have ever met, and Cooking Without Borders captures her fascination with both the thoughtful and the delicious in a way that makes me want to cook every single recipe. This book is beautiful to read, to cook from and to look at, and is destined to live on the 'dog-eared pages shelf' of the cookbooks I use the most for true inspiration."
-Mario Batali
“The book features dishes and flavors that we’re excited to discover on a lazy Sunday when we’ve got some time to experiment in the kitchen.”
—Village Voice Fork in the Road blog
“Anita Lo is one of those rare chefs who has a way with blending the unexpected, making a name for herself through a style of cooking not dictated by boundaries, geographical, culinary, or otherwise. Lo’s first cookbook, Cooking Without Borders , explores her one-of-a-kind approach—French technique applied to a global palette of ingredients.” — Serious Eats
“The book is a combination of recipes from her Michelin-starred restaurant, annisa, and recipes for the home cook. Each chapter is dedicated to a different source of inspiration, from her backyard to her mother, who was from Malaysia. several photos of avid fisherwoman Lo armed with net and fishing poll by the ocean.”
—Eater.com
“An extraordinary collection of recipes.” — Today’s Diet and Nutrition
Praise for Cooking Without Borders : “Uncompromising, inspiring, and great to cook from.” —Beth Kracklauer, Saveur
"Anita Lo has continued her innovative, inspirational and creative approach to food in her new book Cooking Without Borders . I have been eating Anita's delicious dishes since the early 90s and have always been surprised, entranced and above all, pleased."
-Martha Stewart
"Anita is one of the most natural and intuitive cooks I have ever met, and Cooking Without Borders captures her fascination with both the thoughtful and the delicious in a way that makes me want to cook every single recipe. This book is beautiful to read, to cook from and to look at, and is destined to live on the 'dog-eared pages shelf' of the cookbooks I use the most for true inspiration."
-Mario Batali
“The book features dishes and flavors that we’re excited to discover on a lazy Sunday when we’ve got some time to experiment in the kitchen.”
—Village Voice Fork in the Road blog
“Anita Lo is one of those rare chefs who has a way with blending the unexpected, making a name for herself through a style of cooking not dictated by boundaries, geographical, culinary, or otherwise. Lo’s first cookbook, Cooking Without Borders , explores her one-of-a-kind approach—French technique applied to a global palette of ingredients.” — Serious Eats
“The book is a combination of recipes from her Michelin-starred restaurant, annisa, and recipes for the home cook. Each chapter is dedicated to a different source of inspiration, from her backyard to her mother, who was from Malaysia. several photos of avid fisherwoman Lo armed with net and fishing poll by the ocean.”
—Eater.com
“An extraordinary collection of recipes.” — Today’s Diet and Nutrition
240 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2011
16 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 4, 2017
I've had the luck of eating at Anita Lo's restaurant and loved every bite.
This is a BEAUTIFUL cookbook.
As far as cooking from this book I found very few dishes I could or would make at home. They were way to intricate for my simple little kitchen. What I loved about the book was the explanation and personal input and the development and history of each dish. That was delightful and worth the read.
This is a BEAUTIFUL cookbook.
As far as cooking from this book I found very few dishes I could or would make at home. They were way to intricate for my simple little kitchen. What I loved about the book was the explanation and personal input and the development and history of each dish. That was delightful and worth the read.
no-finishers
December 16, 2020Started reading these but the recipes were just way too complicated for pandemic days, or probably ever for me. And while I am not vegetarian/vegan, I am also not interested in reading books that defend foie gras or include a lot of recipes involving duck carcasses.
October 10, 2018
I'm not much for fish and while I like seafood, I don't trust getting fish in the middle of Canada. I guess local fish would be good but still. Anita Lo has a great love for fish and seafood. Her cookbook is a joy to read. I read all the headnotes and often read the recipes. The instructions are great. There are hints and it almost feels as if someone is looking over your shoulder and giving you a nudge as you move along through the recipe.
The style is conversational and authoritative while still maintaining a sense of personality. If she didn't do most of the writing then she has one great ghostwriter who has captured something really good.
Examples of this include a few dirty jokes and a slightly off colour joke where drunkenly a cocktail that they dubbed an Asian White Russian as Light Lussian and decided the next morning that name shouldn't stand.
She always suggests alternatives that are less expensive and less time consuming and makes the reader feel as if they can and should cheat in order to make the best dish that they can without feeling any shame.
Pro foie gras, skeptical of vegetarianism while loving vegetables and basically saying that all puree soups are the same are why I love the tone of her book. She has a point of view that is thought out and considerate. She believes in little waste and being creative with what you have. Some of that is rooted in her French cooking and others come through stories of her travels. These are all here and on display.
For the cooking portion...it just isn't for me. I did see the salted eggs but there is no recipe for it. She suggests buying them. There is also the idea of stuffing baby potatoes with escargots and mushrooms being a decent substitution which gave me an idea for doing something with potatoes. Not sure it will happen but the idea of a new baby potato being restuffed with something on top is something that I think my kids would get a kick out of. It is also a little fussy for a Tuesday night.
Regardless, I enjoyed this cookbook as a read. I wish that more chefs would be able to produce something this entertaining.
The style is conversational and authoritative while still maintaining a sense of personality. If she didn't do most of the writing then she has one great ghostwriter who has captured something really good.
Examples of this include a few dirty jokes and a slightly off colour joke where drunkenly a cocktail that they dubbed an Asian White Russian as Light Lussian and decided the next morning that name shouldn't stand.
She always suggests alternatives that are less expensive and less time consuming and makes the reader feel as if they can and should cheat in order to make the best dish that they can without feeling any shame.
Pro foie gras, skeptical of vegetarianism while loving vegetables and basically saying that all puree soups are the same are why I love the tone of her book. She has a point of view that is thought out and considerate. She believes in little waste and being creative with what you have. Some of that is rooted in her French cooking and others come through stories of her travels. These are all here and on display.
For the cooking portion...it just isn't for me. I did see the salted eggs but there is no recipe for it. She suggests buying them. There is also the idea of stuffing baby potatoes with escargots and mushrooms being a decent substitution which gave me an idea for doing something with potatoes. Not sure it will happen but the idea of a new baby potato being restuffed with something on top is something that I think my kids would get a kick out of. It is also a little fussy for a Tuesday night.
Regardless, I enjoyed this cookbook as a read. I wish that more chefs would be able to produce something this entertaining.
May 24, 2022
Inspiring! Wonderful cookbook with so much creativity.
July 3, 2016
I was looking forward to reading her book, and it's chockful of all the stuff I love about her cooking and her personality. Great stories, beautiful photos, intelligent recipes. Just what you want from a top chef's cookbook and memoir.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews