Bowlful: Fresh and vibrant dishes from Southeast Asia by Norman Musa

Often I choose books that focus on a single cuisine but in the case of Bowlful by Norman Musa, I was drawn in by the promise of fresh and vibrant dishes from across Southeast Asia. Born in Penang,  Malaysia, experienced chef and author Musa has spent much of his life exploring the cultures and cuisines of the wider region, developing recipes based on the flavours, techniques and dishes he has encountered.

What appeals to me about this book is the prevalence of familiar favourites such as Pad thai, Gado gado salad, Massaman duck curry and Banh mi alongside dishes I’ve not eaten or cooked before, such as Javanese lamb curry, Pansuh baked chicken and Kacang pool three bean stew.

Bowlful: Fresh and vibrant dishes from Southeast Asia by Norman Musa

In his ‘Introduction’, Musa admires the way that Southeast Asian dishes are “packed with diverse ingredients, rich in herbs and spices, and have such exquisite flavours“. His collection of recipes focuses on the foods of Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and the Philippines. He discovered many similarities in the way the people of these countries cook and eat, not least the way that food is most commonly served and eaten in bowls, hence the book’s title.

In an essay on ‘Southeast Asian Cuisine & Eating Culture’, Musa underlines both the similarities and the differences in the cuisines of each country, not to mention the (occasionally contentious) examples of dishes that multiple countries claim to have originated! ‘The Bowlful Cupboard’ provides helpful guidance to 46 key ingredients, and is followed by a guide to solo bowls, communal bowls, signature bowls and tapas bowls.

Chicken Adobo

Chicken Adobo

Recipes are presented in three main sections for Salads, Curries and Stir-fries, and Noodles & Rice. Curries and Stir-fries is subdivided into Fish & Seafood, Meat & Poultry, Vegetarian and Plant-based chapters), and Noodles & Rice is split into Meat & Seafood, and Vegetarian and Plant-based categories.

At the start of each chapter is a list of all the recipes within, which makes it easy to find what you are looking for. This is supplemented by a decent index, though you won’t be able to search by original language names in most instances. Throughout the book recipe names are given only in English, often describing the key ingredients, and sometimes the cooking technique – gado gado, pad thai, and adobo are among the few exceptions. I’d love to also see original language names of dishes (transcribed into the roman alphabet) and to be told which country every recipe is from (which is the case for only some dishes).

Kalio Chicken Curry

Kalio Chicken Curry

In some of my cookbooks about Southeast Asian cuisines, recipes sometimes have a dauntingly long list of ingredients and a similarly extensive set of instructions. The recipes in Bowlful are nearly all short and sweet (I can find only 2 that spill into second pages) with the instructions often pared down to just 3 or 4 short paragraphs.

Not all recipes have an image but many do. Photos are bright, colourful and utterly tantalising, simple served in a varied selection of bowls (as you’d expect given the book’s premise), without the fussy styling or plating that can be discouraging in books aimed at the home cook.

Javanese Lamb Curry

Javanese Lamb Curry

So far we’ve enjoyed Musa’s Chicken Adobo, Kalio Chicken Curry and Javanese Lamb Curry, all of which were very straightforward and easy to make. We really appreciate that the 80 recipes in Bowlful are simple enough for beginners, work very well for weekday meals when time and energy are often limited, and offer a great way to bring delicious Southeast Asian flavours to the table.

Recipes from Bowlful

We have permission from Pavilion to share these three fantastic recipes with you from the book: [coming soon]

Kavey Eats received a review copy of Bowlful: Fresh and vibrant dishes from Southeast Asia by Norman Musa from publishers Pavilion. Book photography by Luke J Albert. 

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8 Comments to "Bowlful: Fresh and vibrant dishes from Southeast Asia by Norman Musa"

  1. Aaron (@1dish4the4road)

    Fabulous review, Kavey! I like the idea of descriptions on the 46 key ingredients, as well as the text explaining differences in food culture across the countries of the region – curious therefore why there isn’t a country identified for each recipe? Thanks again!

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    I don’t know whether the author assumed everyone would know the countries associated with each dish, or that readers wouldn’t want to know, or some other reason. It’s a little bit of information I’d really like to have though. I googled it for several recipes myself!

    Reply
  2. Shezza_t

    That’s a gorgeous looking book, one you couldn’t resist picking up if you saw it in a bookshop, thanks for reviewing it Kavey. The three recipes you describe are mouth-watering, but I’m most looking forward to the Javanese lamb curry. This sounds like a completely new recipe to me, and your photograph of the dish makes me want to eat it.

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    You made me giggle so much, I love that there is 3 minutes between your first and second comment in which time you’ve already ordered the book! 🤣🥰🥰

    Reply
    Shezza_t

    🙂 I had vouchers burning a hole in my pocket. Plus I’d been really good after Christmas and had a wee cookbook clear out, so I can totally justify buying this one.

    Reply

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