Connoisseur of aromas

One of Asia's leading chefs and food writers, Carol Selva Rajah has a knack for decoding every fragrance emanating from Asian kitchens. Every time she smells them, they evoke her childhood memories of the gentle aromas of a variety of Asian aromatic herbs such as lemongrass, galangal, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Her Cantonese amah plucked these fresh ingredients from the backyard garden, which was a jumble of fruits and herbs.

These were staple ingredients that ruled the kitchen of her colonial bungalow near Kuala Lumpur. Thanks to the early passion for cooking passed on by her amah, Rajah has acquired a "taste memory" - the ability to differentiate between aromas. 

"My childhood, spent in Malaysia and Singapore, abounded with memories that have inspired the recipes in my book and built up my appreciation for fragrant home-cooking," she says, referring to her tenth book, "Heavenly Fragrance", which was launched recently at Chinta Ria restaurant overlooking Sydney's Darling Harbour.

"Heavenly Fragrance", literally "the fragrance of the Asian kitchen", encourages readers to create new food memories with simple and delicious recipes from the vast rainbow of aromatic produce one finds in traditional Asian kitchens.

"The book is about the chemistry of aroma, something you take for granted. You put a little heat in it, you change it. Through the book, I want readers to recreate some of that magic in their hearts and heads," she says.

Lavishly illustrated, the book introduces Asian cooking with various types of ingredients: Asian herbs (basil, coriander leaves, lemongrass), fruits (mango, pineapple, pomelo), spices (cardamom, cumin, galangal) and with Asian seasonings (Chinese black vinegar, hoisin sauce, mirin, rice wines). The resulting recipes span Asia's culinary cultures, from China, Vietnam and Thailand to Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

The book reveals spices as the most important part of Asian cooking.

"Even in my mother's womb, I could sense the smells, for sure," she says, jokingly. But, it was her amah that introduced her to the combinations of Asian ingredients that produced mouth-watering aromas. "My amah was a natural cook, a master of flavour and aromatic patterns. She observed and learned the Jaffna Tamil and Malay influences of our country and added her own cooking and Chinese herbal lore. Every morning, I was instructed to pick and portion the herbs," she says.

Carol was particularly fascinated by her amah's secret of layering ingredients: add the garlic first and wait for it to release its smell. Then add the others in their turn, so that the oils and fragrances of each spice are released to build on the flavour of what came before.

Each Asian kitchen has its characteristic smell. Bali is best represented by the delicately perfumed ginger flower chopped into the babi guling (roast pork) salad, Thailand by the coriander, lemongrass and peppery chilli that make up the lemony tang of its tom yam soup and mee krob, and Vietnam by the herbal fragrance of perilla in its beefy pho soups.

Carol hopes "Heavenly Fragrance" will inspire more first-time cooks and has a word of advice. Read the recipe twice, she says, "because you might miss something".

For first-timers, Carol suggests two simple dishes: amah's chicken curry and any salad from her book. "It's so simple. Try making a paste on your own - they're better when fresh. It's better to never stop cooking. The main thing is to cook and have fun."

Remember, Asian cooking will ultimately inspire a load of friendship, she says.