Product Description: Each recipe is photographed as it is made, and is accompanied by pictures of techniques, equipment and ingredients, while stunning photographs shot on location in each country evoke their distinctive colour, cultures and histories. Explore one of the world's great cuisines from the Peking duck restaurants of Beijing, to the kitchens of Shanghai, through the tea gardens of Hangzhou to the dim sum chefs of Hong Kong.
Authentic recipes, gorgeous photographs, great production I lived in Taiwan for three years and traveled extensively around China, so I am frequently disappointed with restaurants in the United States that allegedly serve Chinese food. Most serve a very weak imitation of Chinese food that has been hopelessly compromised by humoring the American palate. The literature suffers from the same flaws: either painfully basic or elaborately contrived foods--never capturing the true cuisine and eating habits of ordinary Chinese people.
This book is a truly amazing reversal of that trend, and therefore, of course, it is out of print. Gorgeous, lush pictures beckon you in and expertly selected dishes described in pragmatic English keep your attention riveted. I cried out to see the turnip cakes that every street vendor in Taiwan offers for breakfast prominently featured in the first pages. Then dumplings! And steamed buns! Every chef in America that proports to do Szechuan cooking should be dragged kicking and screaming to inspect the simple and elegant recipe for Kung pao chicken on page 130.
Did I mention the gorgeous fold out pages? The treatment for Peking Duck describes in great detail the proper way to make the dish and gives a case study at Quanjude Restaurant. (Update: I've bought and gifted several copies of this book, and I was surprised and dismayed to discover that some copies of the book do not have the fold out pages. I was hoping to be able to mention different ISBNs so that readers could distinguish, but both copies that I have, one with the foldouts and one without, have the same ISBN #1-74045-284-4. You could ask the seller of the book if the pages following page 134 and page 190 have foldout sections. Or inspect yourself if you have the book in hand, of course. Very strange! Still a wonderful book, either way, but given a choice, the extra fold outs are well worth the effort.)
Speaking of gifts, I gave this book to a Shanghainese Chinese friend and she said that the recipes were very authentic. She said it was the first cookbook that she felt like she could make something out of and serve to her parents. That's a better endorsement than anything I could say.
This is truly a book created with love and knowledge. I am bewildered as to why it is out of print.
The food of China by Nina Somonds and Deh-ta Hsiung I originally purchased this book in Beijing to help me with my cooking when I lived there. I enjoyed it so much that I have since purchase 5 copies to give as gifts when I returned to the US. The ingredients are readily available both here and in China and the food is delicious, easy to prepare and traditional to China. I heartily recommend it, even to the novice chef. Most of the recipes have limited ingredients and are easy and quick to make and my friends always rave about the end product. The photographs make this look like an amazing coffee table book, but they are functional as well giving many step by step illustrations on techniques. Well worth the money and a must for people who enjoy Chinese food that is sensational.
Recipes taste like the real thing! We found this book to be a real gem. Each of the recipes we tried turned out like food we have ordered in good Chinese restaurants here in San Francisco. And the lush photographs, many of which accompany each recipe, are truly inspiring! We have plenty of Chinese ingredients on hand due to the plethora of Asian markets so finding ingredients was no challenge, but may be for people without Asian markets. There is no listing of resources for ingredients in the book. The seafood section is very extensive and varied and we have used many of the recipes because we are able to get a variety of fresh seafood here. Meat and vegetable sections are wonderful. Recipes are easy to follow, BUT PLEASE NOTE that quantities are given in grams, which require some calculations before you begin.....a minor setback when you consider the final product. We have bought copies of the book as gifts because we have been so delighted with it. We have at least 10 Chinese cookbooks but find that this is the only one we use. Finally, I am satisfied with Chinese cooking at home!
informative and beautifully photographed I have always had an affinity for cookbooks that are beautifully photographed with a number of easy to do recipies. This book is simply spectacular as it has a number of great spreads and a variety of recipies. In essence, this book provides insight into many of the cultural rituals that the Chinese have with food, such as dim sum and tea. I would definitely recommend this book not only for its recipies, but also as a gift for anybody interested in Chinese food and culture.
Unclear instructions I usually "test" any recipe book I bought by trying one of its recipes that I have not cooked or eaten before. In this way, I will not have any pre-conceived ideas of the dish. I picked the Yunan Chicken as it looked simple enough. However, even for a frequent cook which I am, I soon found the instructions unclear. For example, it was not clear whether the dates, spring onions and dong qui should be placed below or on top of the chicken. Also, I feel that the 1 litre of water to be added should be listed in the ingredients rather than hidden in the insrtuctions. The end state is also ambiguous as I do not know whether it was a soup, a stew or something else.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
