I’m a big fan of acclaimed Australian/Sri-Lankan cookbook author, Charmaine Solomon.
The woman can really cook. And she can write, too, having trained as a journalist many moons ago. To date, she’s published over 30 books.
I’ve cooked a number of dishes from Charmaine’s books over the years and her recipes are always authentic, unfussy and delicious. People lucky enough to be fed the results inevitably ooh and ahh.
It’s not surprising really, because very single recipe I’ve ever tried works. I haven’t found a dud yet and I certainly can’t say that about every cookbook I own.
I was introduced to Charmaine’s cookbooks when I was a teenage by my mum, who had her 1980 Curry Cookbook. It was one of the first cookbooks I ever read for pure pleasure, especially enjoying the comments on individual recipes by Charmaine and Rueben, her husband and co-author.
Much later, I put Charmaine’s The Complete Asian Cookbook on my wedding registry and was delighted to receive it as a wedding present from my ex colleagues at Chunky Move. It was one of those cookbooks I instinctively felt I would refer to time and time again.
I was not wrong. The Complete Asian Cookbook is one of the important Australian cookbooks, right up there with Stephanie Alexander’s The Cook’s Companion, and Margaret Fulton’s eponymous cookbook which I also often refer to.
It’s not just important from an Australian cookery point of view either – The Complete Asian Cookbook has sold well over one million copies since its first release in 1976 and is the most authoritative Asian cookbook available today.
