A very yummy group of recipes and a heartwarming story sure to nourish the belly and heart of any family

Lovely cookbook. Amazing photos. None of the recipes are very hard. Simple ingredients. I’m sure I will make many of these.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a copy of Maricel’s Simply Asian Cookbook. This is a great book for those wishing to expand their cooking skills more. I loved that a variety of meats and veggie options were used across a range of Asian cuisines. The pictures that go alongside the tecipies look delicious and the steps are broken down really well and are easy to follow.

Maricel’s Simply Asian Cookbook is a chatty, inviting, engaging, and well curated cookbook/recipe collection with cross cultural recipes (Thai, Filipino, Cantonese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Korean) by Maricel Gentile. Due out 1st May 2025, it's 231 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

This is a solid -general- Asian cookbook which is beginner friendly and starts at a very basic level, with an overview over the similarities and differences in Asian cuisines. The author has included a basic primer on rice (and what to buy and why) as well as a wonderful, photo filled, chatty background on her personal journey in food, and her family. It felt more like a visit with a chatty friend than a tutorial guide.

The primers and beginning general introductions (about 25% of the content) are followed by recipes arranged by cuisine: Filipino, Cantonese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Korean. Each recipe contains an English title with transliterated name from the original language, yields, prep time, cooking time, and servings. Ingredients are given in a sidebar bullet list, followed by step-by-step cooking directions. Many of the recipes also include QR codes which link to online content and tips from Chef Maricel.

Ingredient measurements are given in imperial (American) units only. Nutritional info is not included. Each recipe contains one or more clear color photos and the photography is one of the high points of the collection. Food presentation is attractive, appetizing, and appropriately (professionally) styled.

Four and a half stars. It's not the -best- or most comprehensive single cuisine cookbook out there, but it might be the best overall general/fusion beginner friendly Asian cookbook, and is up to date and highly recommended. The emphasis is on real, fresh ingredients, and family-friendly non-pretentious good food.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Maricel's Simply Asian Cookbook is honestly such a wonderful representation of Asian cuisine. Maricel walks you through the foundations of Asian cooking in a way that's informative and beginner-friendly. The book is structured in a clear manner. It starts with the Asian cuisine fundamentals and then dives into six core cuisines - Filipino, Cantonese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Korean. Each section has its own lovely selection of yummy, authentic recipes. In the end, the book highlights essential staples for your pantry and specific pantry items per each cuisine. The recipes are easy to follow and there's a healthy balance of classics and more adventurous meals.

If you’re looking for a cookbook that makes Asian cooking feel fun and more achievable, this is one you’ll want to add to your collection. Definitely a go-to if you're a beginner or if you know your way around a kitchen!

I love the Asian cuisine, so I definitely look forward to trying some of those recipes. As Asia is huge continent there is a high variety of dishes and I think it shows in this book, that there is anything from most of those countries. I like the structure of the book as well as there are easy recipes for beginners as well as more challenging for more experienced cooks.

Thank you Netgalley, PUBLISHER, IBPA , and Maricel Gentile for sending me this advanced review copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.


This cookbook is lovely, and the author's writing is pure joy to read. You can tell she is a teacher that absolutely loves what she does, and I would love to take one of her classes someday.

I love the wide variety of Asian recipes, and how varied they are. Overall they are fairly authentic, with some modifications to account for harder to find ingredients.

It was great to see the regional differences between the different countries explained, and also a detailed explanation of the individual ingredients and tools as well.

The recipes were written well, and were very easy to understand and follow. The page layout was easy to read, and simple to tell at a glance where you are in the recipe. The ingredients would be fairly easy to find if you have an Asian Grocery nearby, but you can also order most of the shelf stable ones online as well.

The QR codes with tips on many of the recipes was helpful, and quite a nice touch.

This would be a great cookbook for a beginner! As someone who cooks Asian food on a regular basis, I can see this becoming a staple cookbook in my collection too.