Marie Wilson - The Good-For-Your-Health: All-Asian Cookbook

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge my indebtedness to the many writers and cooks who brought me closer to the cultures and cooking of Asia, and to those in the fields of health and medicine whose writings helped me to understand more fully the connection between diet and health. Reading their works started me on long and pleasurable journeys of experimentation, and without their help this book would not have been possible. Their names and works are listed in the bibliography.

I am also grateful to the University of California East Asiatic Library and the South/Southeast Asia Library in Berkeley, from whose collections the drawings for this book have been derived.

My special thanks also go to those who helped with the following chapters: China: Zhang Yaqi, an exchange teacher from Hunan Teachers University, who demonstrated to me that large quantities of soy sauce are not necessary to prepare good-tasting Chinese food; India: Amrita Sengupta; Indonesia: Tati Conomondo and Krishni Simanjuntak; Japan: Masayo Watanabe Wilson, my very dear daughter-in-law and friend; Korea: Clare You, who introduced me to Korean food and who gave so generously of her time; Pakistan: Naheed Aftab; and Vietnam: Chanh Nguyen. For professional advice about the nutrient analysis of foods, thanks to Carol Lynn Carr, R.D., Helen Black, R.D., Nan Moon, R.D., and to Teresa Chew, R.D., for the use of her work on Chinese condiments in sodium-restricted diets. Her article is also listed in the bibliography. Thanks are also due to Jack and Mary Murchio for advice on weights and measures and for the use of their art library, to Barbara Phillips for her editing skills, and to Stephen Comee for his. My thanks to him also for six of the recipes. I could not have been luckier. I am deeply grateful to all, but I alone am responsible for any mistakes.

Acknowledgment is also due to The Centre, a meeting place for families from all over the world who are visiting the United States as students and scholars at the University of California at Berkeley. They came together and generously shared their customs and foods.

My biggest debt is to my children, Elizabeth and Stephen, who spent a significant part of their formative years in Thailand and Japan, for their professional advice, gentle encouragement, and unflagging support. No words of thanks will ever be enough. As medical practitioners, talented cooks, and loving children, they both sustained me to a degree that only I can appreciate.