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I'm a bit of a cookbook junkie, so I have a bunch to recommend. I'm interpreting this as "good cookbooks from cuisines in Asia" so there are some that are native and others that are from specific restaurants in the US, but I would consider these legit both in terms of the food and the recipes/techniques. Here are a few of my favorites:


Pan-Asian

• Asian Dumplings - the masterpiece on all things dumpling
  
• Asian American - Dale Talde's (Top Chef) book with lots of Asian cultures' food in the US
  
• Asian Pickles - pickles and fermented foods from throughout Asia
  
• Lucky Rice - recipes from the Asian festival of the same name
  
• The Asian Grandmother's Cookbook - traditional cooking passed down to American cooks
  
  Burmese
  
  
• Burma:Rivers of Flavor - good focus on difference in Burmese cuisine from other regional
  
  Cambodian
  
  
• Num Pang - Cambodian sandwich restaurant in NYC
  
• Cambodian Cooking - GREAT book on Cambodian cuisine, supporting refugees
  
  Chinese
  
  
• Ken Hom Complete Chinese Cookbook - great primer for cooking Chinese food using ingredients commonly available in US
  
• China Moon - classic SF Chinese restaurant food
  
• Feeding the Dragon - modern culinary journey through all of China
  
• Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking - omnibus focused on the home chef
  
• Breath of a Wok - focus on wok technique at home
  
• Every Grain of Rice - wonderful Sichuan food for home cooks
  
  Indian
  
  
• Madhur Jaffrey Indian Cooking - actually, any of her cookbooks are wonderful for Indian cooking
  
• Savour Mumbai - looks at Indian cuisine as a melting pot in Mumbai
  
• The Indian Family Cookbook - modern South Indian food
  
• Indian Harvest - Vikas Khanna's family cookbook
  
• Made in India - classic Indian food, from street to home
  
  Indonesia
  
  
• The Food of Indonesia - everything you need for a rijstaffel!
  
  Japanese
  
  
• Japanese Farm Food - authentic rural Japanese cooking
  
• Preserving the Japanese Way - how to make awesome Japanese pickled vegetables
  
• Sushi Chef - not strictly speaking a cookbook, but "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" book in English
  
• The Japanese Grill - authentic hibachi and Japanese grill recipes
  
• Japanese Comfort Food - lots of traditional Japanese recipes
  
• Nanban - Japanese "soul food"
  
• Tokyo Cult Recipes - hip modern urban food from Tokyo
  
• Yum Yum Bento Boxes - updated modern take on bento boxes
  
• Ivan Ramen - traditional ramen for a Western audience
  
• Izakaya - traditional Japanese pub food & small plates
  
• Nikkei - emigrant Japanese food culture in South America
  
• Donabe - traditional Japanese hot pot recipes
  
• Kyotofu - very unique Japanese dessert cookbook
  
  Korean
  
  
• K Food - modern take on Korean street food
  
• Maangchi's Real Korean Cooking - great resource for Korean cooking in a non-pro kitchen
  
• Traditional Food - omnibus of four regions of Korean food
  
• Koreatown - authentic, approachable guide to Korean food in a US context
  
• Smoke & Pickles - Edward Lee's fusion of his Korean heritage and southern barbeque
  
• The Kimchi Cookbook - many, many recipes for kimchi...
  
  Malaysian
  
  
• Malaysian Cooking - good overview of Malay cooking
  
  Middle Eastern
  
  
• The New Persian Kitchen - modern Iranian food
  
• Ottolenghi - Israeli-Palestinian collaboration
  
• Persiana - dynamic modern recipes from throughout the Middle East
  
• Zahav - modern Israeli food
  
• Sweet Middle East - traditional and modern desserts
  
  Philippine
  
  
• Filipino Homestyle Dishes - good intro to classic Filipino dishes
  
  Russian
  
  
• Mamushka - focus on Ukraine
  
  Sri Lankan
  
  
• Hidden Kitchens of Sri Lanka - beautiful photo-cookbook on Sri Lankan cuisine
  
  Taiwanese
  
  
• The Food of Taiwan - um... food... from Taiwan
  
  Thailand
  
  
• Nong's Thai Kitchen - she beat Bobby Flay in pad thai
  
• Pok Pok - Portland's most AWESOME Asian restaurant
  
  Turkish
  
  
• Istanbul:Recipes from the Heart of Turkey - lovely focus on urban Turkish food
  
• Anatolia - wonderful approachable approach to Turkish cuisine
  
• Essential Turkish Cuisine - focus on history and evolution of Turkish food
  
  Vietnamese
  
  
• The Slanted Door - great Vietnamese restaurant cookbook
  
• Vietnamese Market Cookbook - focus on simple Vietnamese from fresh ingredients
  
• Into the Vietnamese Kitchen - traditional Vietnamese home cooking
  
• The Banh Mi Cookbook - the greatest sandwich in the world!
  
• Vietnamese Home Cooking - another great overview
  
  (edit: screwed up a couple links)

Asia's a big, ancient place. Even within each nation there are unique styles of regional and ethnic fare.

With that in mind, I'd love to see some recommendations here for awesome Indian, Filipino, Hmong, Uzbek, etc. cookbooks.

Japanese

Lets get beyond sushi and hibatchi.

Shizuo Tsuji's Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art is a great starting point. If you want to get technical you should check out Ando's Washoku or Hachisu's Preserving the Japanese Way.

If you want to start simple, Hachisu also has a great book on Japanese Farm Food. Ono and Salat have written a great noodle slurping opus in Japanese Soul Cooking.

Chinese

What we've come to think of as Chinese food in the US is a natural part of human appropriation of food styles, but with all due respect to Trader Vic's, crab rangoon and other buffet staples really aren't the real deal. Food in China is extremely regional. You don't have to go very deep to see the vast differentiation in spicy Schezwan recipes and Cantonese Dim Sum culture.

For your reading pleasure:

Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking Eileen Yin-Fei Lo.

Breath of the Wok by Grace Young and Alan Richardson.

Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees by Kian Lam Kho and Jody Horton.

All Under Heaven: Recipes from the 35 Cuisines of China by Carolyn Phillips.

Some people might freak out that I'm placing Erway's The Food of Taiwan under the Chinese category, but I'm not going to get into a political debate here. Taiwan has had a lot of different culinary influences due to migration / occupation and that is really the take away here.

Go forth, make bao.

Korean

Korea is having it's moment right now and if you want the classics, Hi Soo Shin Hepinstall's Growing up in a Korean Kitchen is a good baseline. It has all the greatest hits.

You also can't cook Korean food without kimchi. The only book I've read is Lauryn Chun's The Kimchi Cookbook which is kind of underwhelming considering the hundreds of styles of Kimchi that have been documented. The process of making kimchi (kimjang) even has a UNESCO world heritage designation. With that in mind, I think it's only a matter of time before we see a English book on the subject that has depth.

Given the cuisine's popularity, there are several other cookbooks on Korean food that have recently been published within the last year or so, I just haven't gotten around to reading them yet, so I won't recommend them here.

Thai

David Thompson's Thai Food and Thai Street Food are both excellent. /u/Empath1999 's recommendation of Andy Ricker's Pok Pok is excellent but it focuses on Northern Thai cuisine, so if you want to venture into central and southern Thai fare, Thompson's the other farang of note.

Vietnamese

Nguyen's Into the Vietnamese Kitchen provides a nice survey to Vietnamese cooking. Charles Phan also has a couple of cookbooks that are quite good but I'm sure that there are zealots out there who would bemoan authenticity in either Vietnamese Home Cooking or The Slanted Door, but seriously, who gives a shit, the dude has Beard Awards under his belt for fuck's sake.

TL;DR OP means well but its long past time to bury "Asian" as a catch-all for such a large and diverse part of a continent, no?

I love cookbooks, and have probably fifty in my collection.

The ones I keep going back to are:

• Anything by Yotam Ottolenghi - He's an Israeli-born chef in London, and his recipes are a great combination of creative, relatively easy, and unique. He has a knack for combining unusual flavors, and I've never disliked anything I've cooked from him. If you're relatively green, don't get Nopi (too advanced). His other three or four books are all great.
  
  
• Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless. Bayless has a PBS show and owns several restaurants in Chicago. He's a great chef and his recipes are accessible and fun.
  
  
• The Food Lab by u/J_Kenji_Lopez-Alt. I was skeptical at first, since Lopez-Alt's website is so comprehensive, but the book is absolutely beautiful and contains both recipes and explanations of technique and science.
  
  
• Modernist Cooking at Home - It's expensive and many of the recipes are challenging and/or require special equipment, but the book is truly groundbreaking and never fails to stoke my creativity. It's the home version of his 6-volume tome which many think is one of the most innovative cookbooks in the last 20 years.

The Tojiro bread knife is my hands down favorite bread knife ever. Runs about the same price, incredibly sharp, excellent for every loaf I've used it on. And it's $17 right now, I haven't seen it go above $25. When I was running a bakery I spent a really long time trying to find something sharp that would handle a crust at a good price point, this is it. I've heard good things about the Mercer, but haven't used one myself.

The Victorinox knife is absolutely solid, but I also love the ridiculously cheap Kiwi vegetable cleavers. I gave my chef's knife to a friend and own two Kiwi's and a carbon steel cleaver I had made that was supposed to be a better version of the Kiwi. It isn't, but it holds its edge longer.

Victorinox paring knives are fantastic, again, and not expensive. Little goddamn razors. Been relying on mine since a "pro" knife sharpener fucked up the edge on my Wusthof paring knife and I haven't had time to fix it yet.

I think most of us will agree that "low cost knife brand sets", or even "knife sets" aren't going to be the way to go.

I have a set of Epicurean natural fiber ones that I love. Like these https://www.amazon.com/Epicurean-Kitchen-Cutting-Board-11-25-Inch/dp/B000FDQVIC
Best boards I've ever owned. They clean easy and dry quickly and my knives stay sharp.

Thanks for the response!

I know cheaper knives can last a long time and it isn't necessary to spend so much (especially when you aren't working in a restaurant). It's something I really enjoy and have a strong interest in though! I was looking at wet-stones like this, but if that isn't the right style would love the feedback!

Thank you for the links as well!

EDIT: Formatting error

Kuhn Rikon makes a great peeler...I buy them in three packs and give them to people I care about.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001BCFTWU?pc_redir=1408081880&robot_redir=1

Also, no matter how prepped up you think you are, someone's probably going to hit you with some last minute stuff. Be ready for that and good luck!

http://www.amazon.com/The-Flavor-Bible-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400

I highly recommend this book, I think it's the followon to Culinary Artistry. Not only does it include optimal pairings, it "ranks" them in effectiveness (i.e. more people agree that apples pair well with cinnamon than the people who would pair apples with Bay). It's easily my favorite "cookbook".

The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs $23 hardcover on amazon brotha 👌

> Good quality and not crazy expensive.

I've had the notable displeasure of handling one of the Shogun line chef knives. The balance isn't great, the fit and finish is trash, the etching wears off rather quickly, the grinds are terrible, the saya is descent at least for being made of plastic.

​

I would recommend almost anything else, but to start:

​

Wusthof. Reliable German brand, stellar warranty service.

​

Mac. Well regarded in the industry, decent warranty, good track record.

​

Fujiwara FKM. Not a knife I have personal experience with, but generally a well regarded budget pick from the Japanese market.

​

For the sake of OP's $400 budget, I'd also recommend considering custom knives.

Skechers for Work Men's Flex Advantage Slip Resistant Mcallen Slip On, Black, 11 M US https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NQY20VY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ej.zyb9PSPS8T

I know they're sketchers but give em' a chance.
They're slip, grease, and electric resistant, and super comfortable, don't have to worry about laces either.they'll run you about 60-70$, and they're sold in-store at DSW. Water will NOT get inside these guys crazy enough.

I really like this one. It's the best I've had and it works great. It's a water stone, so don't use oils on it!

kuhn rikon peeler? theyre cheap but it will definitely be appreciated

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kuhn-Rikon-Original-Peeler-Multi-Colour/dp/B001BCFTWU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485647472&sr=8-1&keywords=kuhn+rikon+peeler

https://www.ebay.com/usr/sk2excellent has some great knives -- a lot of unstamped mac knives, too since they're made in the same place.

Compare this to this -- you can see some old threads around reddit, like this one.

I picked up this 200mm bad boy and love it.

Shuns are sharp, but chippy . i love my petty and parer but i got the 8 inch santoku and on my first slice at home taking ring of a melon it slipped and chipped on a nylon cutting board.


https://www.amazon.com/Masahiro-Gyutou-Knife-8-2-inch-210mm/dp/B004D29BOM is my favorite entry lvl japanese knife ive owned.

https://www.amazon.com/Plating-Gold-Dessert-National-Championships/dp/1118059840

I asked him and he said this is the book I was referring to. This other one is one I used back in high school. It's short, but teaches basic concepts pretty well.

https://www.amazon.com/Working-Plate-Art-Food-Presentation/dp/047147939X/ref=pd_sbs_14_img_1/138-5228499-9387854?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=047147939X&pd_rd_r=207ab7bf-9c80-49a0-93fa-37aed4a53a77&pd_rd_w=zS0nI&pd_rd_wg=sW6OI&pf_rd_p=5cfcfe89-300f-47d2-b1ad-a4e27203a02a&pf_rd_r=5WZZHFHKCRR9FBV5JWTR&psc=1&refRID=5WZZHFHKCRR9FBV5JWTR

Just buy a Japanese waterstone. They're really easy to use, and will sharpen anything to a razor edge. You don't need any kind of stand, just put it on a wet towel. 'King' brand are really good:
http://www.amazon.com/King-47506-1000-Combination-Waterstone/dp/B001DT1X9O/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1409343939&sr=8-3&keywords=waterstone

You sound a whole lot like me. Try: http://www.amazon.com/The-Flavor-Bible-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400 or http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0471287857/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1452484877&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=culinary+artistry&dpPl=1&dpID=51f2cXjryYL&ref=plSrch
They are amazing resources that teach you about flavors and how they complement each other.

Lots of buzz words and nonsense on that website.

For an 8" chef in VG-10 check out this tojiro DP gyuto. I personally owned one for awhile and its a good knife with great build quality for the price.

For a higher price point knife, check out this TS madam. The manufacturing is identical as the Mighty Mac at a fraction of its $160 price.

I have bought two knifes from that ebay seller including this one and have not been disappointed.

Hey dude.

First of all, congratulations on picking up a good nakiri. Tojiro's whole line of knives and cleavers are solid as hell and a great bang for your buck. The first knife I ever picked up for my wife when she started working in restaurants was a Tojiro, and it still gets used all the time.

If I were you, I'd do as /u/mangoforfeit said and get a King Stone. They're under $30 on Amazon right now, which is a steal, and it'll be all you need for a while.

I don't know who put the idea that using "German" vs "Japanese" steel on a stone is going to make a difference, but it won't. You can sharpen low HRC steel on the same stones you sharpen high HRC steel, but the higher the hardness of the blade, the longer it'll take you. I have an Aritsugu gyuto that I sharpen once a week, and that shit is a fucking work out 65 HRC and 11 inches. For that one, I go 1000 grit, 3000 grit, and then 6000 grit.

Korin has a great video series on how to use whetstones. If you want to practice before you start trying to get the angles right on your real knives, that's fine. But bear in mind that sharpening is a process, and you're not going to fuck up one of your knives with one or two errant strokes.

Basically, buy the stones, watch a few videos, and then get to it.

r/chefknives is probably the right place.

Any knife will last a time time if you take care of it but of course a higher end knife is going to offer better performance.

Keep in mind that if you are going to drop $200 on a knife you should also be looking to spend anywhere from $30-$100 on whetstones to maintain it.

The Tojiro DP is a common recommendation and a solid knife.

A gyuto will suit your needs. Here's a lot of them: http://www.chefknivestogo.com/gyutos210mm.html

This is super helpful—thank you so much. Do you know the names of the premium lines? It's a little confusing because Wusthof uses the term "pro" and "gourmet" a bit loosely. Is this the sort you're talking about?

Everyone is all about the victorinox knives, don't get me wrong they're great but the Tojiro DP is in another class for about $5 more.

a huge problem i've seen a lot of people have is they never know when to either stop adding shit or stop fucking with a component. it's really easy to absolutely destroy a great idea by doing either of those.

The Flavor Bible is an absolute must have if you're doing menus.