Books -- Chinese Cooking

Chinese Cooking

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Gordon Ramsay's Fast Food: Recipes from " The F Word "

Release Date: 2007-05-03

Sales rank: 2344556

Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking

Sales rank: 7658

The Chinese call the province of Sichuan in southwest China "the land of plenty" and "the place for flavor." Although it is mostly known in the West for its hot-and-spicy dishes, the Chinese love Sichuan food for its inventive use of seasonings and its many styles of preparation. Fuchsia Dunlop immersed herself in Sichuanese cooking and culture for two years, gathering from regional chefs and home cooks a full range of recipes from soups to desserts. She provides glossaries of Sichuan's ingredients and cooking methods, and Chinese characters for and definitions of the twenty-three flavors at the heart of the Sichuanese culinary canon. Equally valuable for novices and experts, Land of Plenty teaches everything from how to wield a cleaver to how to make delicious Kung Pao chicken, offering a unique user-friendly introduction to one of China's richest cuisines. 16 pages of color photographs.Elizabeth David had it easy. All she had to do was eat her way through France and Italy and translate the essence of the encountered cuisines for a ravenous, literate, English-speaking public. Fuschia Dunlop, on the other hand, went to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan in China, where she ended up the first foreign student enrolled at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine. That was nearly 10 years ago. After annual return visits and endless research she has produced, in English, a magnificent introduction to the food and foodways of Sichuan. She is in every way the dharma inheritor of Elizabeth David.

You too may start to salivate halfway through the introduction to Dunlop's magnificent Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking. Perhaps it begins when she explains xian, "one of the most beautiful words in the Chinese culinary language." It describes an entire range of flavor and sensation, "the indefinable, delicious taste of fresh meat, poultry, and seafood, the scrumptious flavors of a pure chicken soup..." Before you know it you are running headlong into a world of 23 distinct flavors and 56 cooking methods (they are all listed at the end of the book). Sichuan is the place where "barbarian peppers" met up with a natural cornucopia and a literary cooking tradition stretching back to the fifth century A.D. Innovation with cooking technique and new and challenging ingredients remains a hallmark of Sichuan. After describing basic cutting skills and cooking techniques, Dunlop presents her recipes in chapters that include "Noodles, Dumplings, and Other Street Treats"; "Appetizers"; "Meat"; "Poultry"; "Fish"; "Vegetables and Bean Curd"; "Stocks and Soup"; "Sweet Dishes"; and "Hotpot." Yes, you will find Gong Bao (Kung Pao) Chicken with Peanuts--Gong Bao Ji Ding. It's named after a late 19th-century governor of Sichuan, Ding Baozhen, which brought on the wrath of the Cultural Revolution for its imperial associations. Until rehabilitation, the dish was called "fast-fried chicken cubes" or "chicken cubes with seared chilies."

Land of Plenty is literary food writing at its best, as well as a marvelous invitation to new skills and flavors for the home cook. Read it. Cook it. Eat it. And take pleasure in the emerging career of Fuschia Dunlop, a big new voice in the world of food. --Schuyler Ingle

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food

Sales rank: 15942

If you think McDonald's is the most ubiquitous restaurant experience in America, consider that there are more Chinese restaurants in America than McDonalds, Burger Kings, and Wendys combined. New York Times reporter and Chinese-American (or American-born Chinese). In her search, Jennifer 8 Lee traces the history of Chinese-American experience through the lens of the food. In a compelling blend of sociology and history, Jenny Lee exposes the indentured servitude Chinese restaurants expect from illegal immigrant chefs, investigates the relationship between Jews and Chinese food, and weaves a personal narrative about her own relationship with Chinese food. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles speaks to the immigrant experience as a whole, and the way it has shaped our country.

Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Travels in the Other China

Sales rank: 12664

A bold and eye-opening new cookbook with magnificent photos and unforgettable stories.

In the West, when we think about food in China, what usually comes to mind are the signature dishes of Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai. But beyond the urbanized eastern third of China lie the high open spaces and sacred places of Tibet, the Silk Road oases of Xinjiang, the steppelands of Inner Mongolia, and the steeply terraced hills of Yunnan and Guizhou. The peoples who live in these regions are culturally distinct, with their own history and their own unique culinary traditions. In Beyond the Great Wall, the inimitable duo of Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid—who first met as young travelers in Tibet—bring home the enticing flavors of this other China.

For more than twenty-five years, both separately and together, Duguid and Alford have journeyed all over the outlying regions of China, sampling local home cooking and street food, making friends and taking lustrous photographs. Beyond the Great Wall shares the experience in a rich mosaic of recipes—from Central Asian cumin-scented kebabs and flatbreads to Tibetan stews and Mongolian hot pots—photos, and stories. A must-have for every food lover, and an inspiration for cooks and armchair travelers alike.

Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China

Sales rank: 30077

As a freelance journalist and food writer living in Beijing, Jen Lin-Liu already had a ringside seat for China’s exploding food scene. When she decided to enroll in a local cooking school—held in an unheated classroom with nary a measuring cup in sight—she jumped into the ring herself. In Serve the People, Lin-Liu gives a memorable and mouthwatering cook’s tour of today’s China as she progresses from cooking student to noodle-stall and dumpling-house apprentice to intern at a chic Shanghai restaurant. The characters she meets along the way include poor young men and women streaming in from the provinces in search of a “rice bowl” (living wage), a burgeoning urban middle class hungry for luxury after decades of turmoil and privation, and the mentors who take her in hand in the kitchen and beyond. Together they present an unforgettable slice of contemporary China in the full swing of social and economic transformation.

Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China

Sales rank: 14650

A new memoir by the most talented and respected British food writer of her generation.

Award-winning food writer Fuchsia Dunlop went to live in China as a student in 1994, and from the very beginning she vowed to eat everything she was offered, no matter how alien and bizarre it seemed. In this extraordinary memoir, Fuchsia recalls her evolving relationship with China and its food, from her first rapturous encounter with the delicious cuisine of Sichuan Province to brushes with corruption, environmental degradation, and greed. In the course of her fascinating journey, Fuchsia undergoes an apprenticeship at China's premier Sichuan cooking school, where she is the only foreign student in a class of nearly fifty young Chinese men; attempts, hilariously, to persuade Chinese people that "Western food" is neither "simple" nor "bland"; and samples a multitude of exotic ingredients, including sea cucumber, civet cat, scorpion, rabbit-heads, and the ovarian fat of the snow frog. But is it possible for a Westerner to become a true convert to the Chinese way of eating? In an encounter with a caterpillar in an Oxford kitchen, Fuchsia is forced to put this to the test.

From the vibrant markets of Sichuan to the bleached landscape of northern Gansu Province, from the desert oases of Xinjiang to the enchanting old city of Yangzhou, this unique and evocative account of Chinese culinary culture is set to become the most talked-about travel narrative of the year.

'Not just a smart memoir about cross-cultural eating but one of the most engaging books of any kind I've read in years.'—O Magazine

'Insightful, entertaining, scrupulously reported... and a swashbuckling memoir studded with recipes... a distinguished contribution to the literature of gastronomy.'—New York Times

'Delightful.'—Jeffrey Steingarten in Vogue

'An autobiographical food-and-travel classic.'—Publishers Weekly

'Literary, entertaining and almost anthropological.'—Seattle Post-Intelligencer

'Fuchsia Dunlop's brilliant new food memoir.'—Wall Street Journal

'Painstakingly researched, beautifully written and impossible to put down, Dunlop takes us on a tantalizing tour through China in what's sure to be the gastronomic book of the year.'—Inside Toronto

'Shows the rare insight and compassion that... Fuchsia Dunlop has been demonstrating for 15 years...Dunlop's grasp of Chinese culture and cuisine run deep.'—Toronto Globe and Mail

'Destined... to become a classic of travel writing.'—The Observer

'Marvellous and mesmerising.'—The Daily Mail

'As much a memoir and a superlative example of travel writing as it is a book about food... funny, honest and illuminating.'—London Lite

'Dunlop is now an expert on Chinese cuisine, but she's also a fantastically witty storyteller... Dunlop will charm and delight you with her enthralling anecdotes.'—Wanderlust
'More than just a delicious memoir of extraordinary meals... an erudite, nuanced look at Chinese culinary culture, its history, and China's development over the last decade.'—China Daily

'[Dunlop] writes of China's familiar culinary faces...with an outsider's eye, an insider's palate, and a lover's affection. The best food book I've read so far this year.'—Straits Times, Singapore

'A sensual feast of a book... Fuchsia Dunlop is a star in the world of food writing, but she's never preachy in this Oriental food odyssey.'—The Times of South Africa

'This charming, informative textbook/memoir/travelogue, one of the more noteworthy recent food studies. Readers definitely won't be hungry an hour after finishing this satisfying history from a witty Chinese food authority.'—Kirkus Reviews

Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Wartime SarajevoRevised Edition

Sales rank: 78733

When Zlata’s Diary was first published at the height of the Bosnian conflict, it became an international bestseller and was compared to The Diary of Anne Frank, both for the freshness of its voice and the grimness of the world it describes. It begins as the day-today record of the life of a typical eleven-year-old girl, preoccupied by piano lessons and birthday parties. But as war engulfs Sarajevo, Zlata Filipovi´c becomes a witness to food shortages and the deaths of friends and learns to wait out bombardments in a neighbor’s cellar. Yet throughout she remains courageous and observant. The result is a book that has the power to move and instruct readers a world away.

Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges

Release Date: 2007-10-23

Sales rank: 16303

Jean-Georges Vongerichten, chef and owner of 18 restaurants around the world, pioneered Asian-fusion cuisine and cooks this food better than anyone on the planet. In Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges, he presents dozens of recipes for reproducing the dishes that have made his restaurants--Vong, Spice Market, and 66--the hottest dining destinations in New York City.

Jean-Georges began his love affair with Asian food when he became the chef de cuisine at the renowned Oriental Hotel in Bangkok at the age of twenty-three. His trips to the markets of Bangkok sparked a lifelong obsession with ingredients like ginger, lemongrass, curry pastes and powders, and all kinds of exotic fruits and vegetables. In 1992, when he came to New York to cook at Lafayette in the Drake Hotel, he was the first to combine the flavors of Thailand with French technique. The restaurant was a sensation, immediately earning four stars from the New York Times, and launching his dazzling career in the United States.

In 1997, he opened an outpost of Vong in Hong Kong and discovered the world of authentic and refined Chinese cooking and ingredients. As he says, “Every meal in Hong Kong contain[s] a thousand flavors.” He opened 66 in New York to showcase his newfound passion for the Chinese kitchen.

And then in 2003 he opened Spice Market, his homage to Asian street food, after five years of research and extensive travels through Southeast Asia (documented in the photos in this book). Once again, he translated Asian cuisine through a French sensibility for American diners. Spice Market instantly became his most popular restaurant and remains one of New York’s most sought-after reservations.

Now Jean-Georges has brought together the best of his pan-Asian recipes in one exciting cookbook. The recipes reflect Jean-Georges’s extraordinary talent for creating intensely flavorful dishes inspired by simple home cooking and street food. The secret is his subtle and surprising combinations, which, as in his restaurants, introduce Asian flavors to traditional Western-style dishes and cooking techniques. His special approach comes deliciously to life in such main courses as Grilled Chicken with Kumquat Lemongrass Dressing, Black Pepper Shrimp with “Sun-Dried” Pineapple, Cod with Malaysian Chili Sauce, and Lamb Shank Braised with Green Curry and Vegetables. Unusual side dishes include Steamed Spicy Eggplant and Coconut Sticky Rice. For dessert, there are treats like Chocolate and Vietnamese Coffee Tart or a Seasonal Fruit Plate with Lime-Spiced Salt. Each recipe is laid out in a clear, easy-to-follow style, and throughout the book invaluable tips are offered for streamlining preparation and cooking.

From taste-tempting appetizers, soups, and salads, to irresistible fish, meat, poultry, and vegetable dishes, to special sauces and one-of-a-kind sweets, the recipes in Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges promise to make dining at home as exciting as an evening out at one of Jean-Georges's fabulous restaurants.

Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province

Sales rank: 13333

Authentic recipes and fascinating tales from one of China's most vibrant culinary regions.

Fuchsia Dunlop is the author of the much-loved and critically acclaimed Sichuanese cookbook Land of Plenty, which won the British Guild of Food Writers' Jeremy Round Award for best first book and which critic John Thorne called "a seminal exploration of one of China's great regional cuisines." Now, with Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook, she introduces us to the delicious tastes of Hunan, Chairman Mao's home province.

Hunan is renowned for the fiery spirit of its people, its beautiful scenery, and its hearty peasant cooking. In a selection of classic recipes interwoven with a wealth of history, legend, and anecdote, Dunlop brings to life this vibrant culinary region. Look for late imperial recipes like Numbing-and-Hot Chicken, Chairman Mao's favorite Red-Braised Pork, soothing stews, and a myriad of colorful vegetable stir-fries. 65 color illustrations.

Simple Chinese Cooking

Sales rank: 51440

Cooking Chinese food at home has truly never been easier--all you need is this book, a wok, and a quick trip to the supermarket

Simple Chinese Cooking offers Kylie Kwong’s philosophy of marrying the freshest ingredients and the simplest techniques to create amazing flavor. Kylie grew up devouring the mouthwatering heartiness of her mother’s traditional Cantonese cuisine. Armed with the fundamental techniques, she set out to give ancient tradition a modern twist and bring the joys of Chinese cooking to all. Now, people from all over the globe flock to her popular restaurant in Sydney, billy kwong. But in this book, she brings her delicious recipes to Chinese food lovers everywhere.

Simple Chinese Cooking demystifies the preparation of Chinese cuisine—with ingredients that are readily available in any grocery store, and recipes that are friendly and easy-to-follow. From soy sauce chicken and steamed fish fillets with ginger and spring onions, to prawn wonton soup, this book offers delicious everyday meals, as well as dishes that are perfect for entertaining. With succulent 4-color photographs throughout and step-by-step instructional pictures, Simple Chinese Cooking will guide anyone to create a delectable feast.

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