Chinese Cookbooks

[liuzhou]

 

I hope that I will be able to look at the 2nd Bite. Is an English version available on the web?

 

Not yet, but I'm sure it will be.

 

 

Liuzhou writes “Another problem is that many Chinese recipes are vague in the extreme.” Is that true of most cookbooks in Chinese? I have been trying to learn to read Chinese so as to be able to find some good recipes. Is this hopeless?

 

Yes. It is generally true. All my Chinese friends who know English are waiting in line to borrow my Fuschia Dunlop books. As one friend said in awe, "It tells you how to cook the dishes!" 

Is it hopeless? Not entirely. They point in the correct direction. They are just short on detail. As I've already mentioned, you get instructions like" add enough vinegar" and "cook until cooked". With experience they are sometimes usable.

 

By the way, some of the recipes you refer to are only "similar" to what is in the book. Dunlop is usually on target. Ken Hom is known to my local friends as "Sugar Man" and they regard his shows as comedy sketches.

If I have time in the next few days I'll do a detailed comparison of one or two and post it.

 

Edited June 27, 2014 by liuzhou (log)

[udscbt]

Hi Liuzhou,

 

Yes, I realize that "By the way, some of the recipes you refer to are only "similar" to what is in the book." 

 

In particular, there are these differences In the names

 

红烧狮子头 Red-Cooked Lion's Head Meatballs/344, the first character is different in Kuo: 沙锅狮子头first (braised è casserole?)  

 

西湖草鱼 West Lake Grass Carp /354, the 3rd character is replaced by two characters in Pei Mei 西湖醋鲤鱼 (grass è vinegar?)

 

And perhaps others …

 

ps. I don't appreciate Hom either but why "Sugar Man"?

[liuzhou]

红烧狮子头 Red-Cooked Lion's Head Meatballs/344, the first character is different in Kuo: 沙锅狮子头first (braised è casserole?)  

 

Actually the first two characters are different. Different cooking methods. Different dish.

 

红烧狮子头 means Red-cooked Lion's Head Meatballs I.e braised in soy sauce.

 

沙锅狮子头 means Sand Pot Lion's Head Meatballs. This is more like baked or casseroled. Usually served over rice. Here is a sandpot. 

 

 

西湖草鱼 West Lake Grass Carp /354, the 3rd character is replaced by two characters in Pei Mei 西湖醋鲤鱼 (grass è vinegar?)

 

No. They are just alternative names for what is essentially the same dish. "Grass Carp" is a specific type of carp. The Pei Mei recipe doesn't specify, but just says 鲤鱼, meaning carp in general. 

 

 

ps. I don't appreciate Hom either but why "Sugar Man"?

 

Because he seems to put sugar in every dish. At least on the video we watched.

Edited June 28, 2014 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

 

If I have time in the next few days I'll do a detailed comparison of one or two and post it.

 

OK. Here goes. i will take one or two at a time, as I found it gets complicated in places.

 

 

干煸牛肉丝 Dry Fried Beef /328 e Chiang, p.139

Chiang Jung-feng et Ellen Schreiber, Mrs. Chiang’s Szechwan Cookbook, ISBN

0-06-013803-0, 1976

 

Chiang's recipe is online here. 

 

It is very similar to the one in the Bite of China (BOC) book. The only slight differences is that BOC also includes daikon radish alongside the carrot and celery, and specifies that it should be Chinese celery rather than the western celery.

Even closer is Fuchsia Dunlop's recipe in the highly recommended (and much better written) "Sichuan Cookery" (UK title) / "Land of Plenty" (US title). Don't buy both; they are localised versions of the the same book. ISBN 0-140-29541-0 / 978-0393051773. The recipe is  also in her "Every Grain of Rice." ISBN 978-1408802526

 

It's here, too

Edited June 29, 2014 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

 

 

毛式红烧肉 Chairman Mao's Red-Cooked Pork Belly/339 è Dunlop/Hunan, p.78

Dunlop, Fuchsia, Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook, ISBN 0-393-06222-8, 2006

 

Dunlop's recipe can be seen here. It is essentially the same as that in the Bite of China book. She is usually on the mark.

 

The only real difference I can see is that she calls for "1lb. pork belly (skin optional)“ Skin wouldn't be optional in Hunan; it would be essential. The BOC book specifically calls for 带皮五花肉, which, to cut a long story short, means fatty pork belly WITH skin. Bizarrely, the recipe also throws in some fish balls, something I've never come across. I spent two years living in Hunan and saw and ate a lot of Mr. Mao's favourite, but don't recall a single fish ball.

 

 

[liuzhou]

干煸四季豆 Dry Fried  (Jinsha) Green Beans /341è Chiang, p.259

 

 

I’m confused. You seem to be conflating two different dishes into one. Page 341 contains two bean recipes:

 

干煸四季豆 Dry Fried Green Beans /341

金沙四季豆 Golden Sand Green Beans /341

 

Jinsha (金沙) means “Golden Sand”.  They are very different dishes, apart from both containing beans.

 

Anyway, I have no access to the Chiang recipe, so I can't say anything about it.

 

Once again, Fuchsia Dunlop has a very good recipe for Dry Fried Green Beans in her Sichuan book. Actually two. A traditional non-vegetarian version (available here) and a vegetarian version (here). She doesn't do the golden sand recipe.

 

However, the recipe in Bite of China is very different from anything I've ever seen described as dry-fried green beans.  It is vegetarian and includes oyster sauce and dried chillies rather than the pork and Sichuan preserved vegetables used in the classic dish.

 

Ingredients: 400g green beans, 3g salt, 2g MSG, 2g chicken extract, 10g oyster sauce, 15g Sichuan peppercorn oil, 3 cloves garlic, 10g scallion, 20g dried chilli peppers.

 

The cooking method is similar to other recipes.  The beans are fried separately until cooked then are set aside. The other ingredients are combined and fried, then poured over the beans, then served.

 

TIger skin peppers and dry-fried green beans (Fuchsia Dunlop recipes)

[liuzhou]

 

 

红烧狮子头 Red-Cooked Lion's Head Meatballs/344 è Kuo p.331; Yan-Kit p.236;

http://www.bbc.co.uk...meatballs_89292 ;

http://chinesefood.a...onsheadpork.htm

Kuo, Irene, The Key to Chinese Cooking, ISBN 0-394-49638-8, 1977

So, Yan-Kit, Yan-Kit’s Classic Chinese Cookbook, ISBN 0-7566-2351-0, 2006

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/lionheadmeatballs_89292

 

The Huang Ching-He recipe is nearest to the BOC recipe in terms of ingredients except that she makes one drastic deviation from the traditional recipe by using beef instead of pork. I can’t see that going down well in Shanghai. But she is always doing things like that.

Also her cooking method is western rather than Chinese. The balls are fried then baked rather than steamed then fried as they would be in China. She finishes them in an oven; something very few Chinese households (or even restaurants) possess.

 

http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/603878

 

This is actually for a slightly different dish – lion’s head soup. And, oh dear. Mr Rhodes, as ever, complicates the dish out of all recognition. Delicious it may be, but it isn’t Shanghai lion’s head soup in any form I’ve ever come across. Also steaming for three and half hours? 

 

Does he mean crab meat as mentioned in the introduction or crab roe as in the recipe listing?

 

Also he suggests using pork leg mixed with pork fat. The traditional Shanghai method is to use fatty pork belly五花脯肉 (wǔ huā pú ròu).

 

 

http://chinesefood.about.com/od/pork/r/lionsheadpork.htm

 

 

To my surprise, the recipe here is very close to BOC. I’ve always been very unimpressed by this site’s coverage of Chinese food (and other aspects of China). Again the choice of meat is unspecified – just ground pork. Most recipes, including BOC specify fatty pork belly. Much ground meat as sold in supermarkets will not be fatty enough, making the meatballs dry.

 

Kuo, Irene, The Key to Chinese Cooking, ISBN 0-394-49638-8, 1977

 

So, Yan-Kit, Yan-Kit’s Classic Chinese Cookbook, ISBN 0-7566-2351-0, 2006

 

Sadly, I have no access to these two books, so can’t comment.

 

The BOC recipe includes the fatty pork belly, chopped water chestnut, shiitake mushroom, boy choy, egg, oyster sauce, salt, MSG, sugar syrup, and ginger.

 

The pork is ground with the ginger and salt and the water chestnut finely diced. These are combined with egg and mixed until sticky, then formed into large balls.

 

The meatballs are steamed for an hour, then fried until golden brown, drained and plated. The cleaned mushroom and bok choy are boiled in seasoned, oiled water until cooked, then poured over the balls.

Edited July 1, 2014 by liuzhou (log)

[udscbt]

 Hi Liuzhou,

 

Looks like you have been working overtime! All that information is quite impressive and useful.

 

I have looked at the Index for the 1^st cookbook of Bite of China (BOC1) and I think I have found some more relevant recipes.

 

There is some overlap between the 1^st and 2^nd BOC cookbooks though sometimes with somewhat different names. I have compared the indices of both cookbooks and found the following, BOC1 at first :

 

麻婆豆腐 - Mapo Tofu /014 (BOC2 /512) also see a recipe in Kuo, Irene, The Key to Chinese Cooking, ISBN 0-394-49638-8 (1977) p.405

蒜泥白肉 - Garlic Boiled Pork /016 (BOC2 /561 Mashed Garlic Pork)

夫妻肺片 - Man and Wife Lungs /018 (BOC2 /386)

西湖醋鱼 - West Lake Sour Soup /035 (BOC2 /356 West Lake Vinegar Fish)

钟水饺 - Boiled Dumplings (Jiaozi) /037 (BOC2 /430 "Clock" Boiled Dumplings)

川北凉粉 - North Sichuan Bean Jelly /044 (BOC2 /513)

毛家红烧肉 - Chairman Mao's Family Red-cooked Pork Belly/050 (BOC2 /339&522)

梅菜扣肉 - Pickled Mustard with Steamed Pork Belly/078 (BOC2 /371 Dried Mustard Green Pork Belly)

贵妃鸡 - Highest Ranking Concubine Chicken /095 (BOC2 /588 Highest Ranking Concubine Chicken Wings with an additional character in the name: 贵妃鸡翅)

咸烧白 - Salt Roasted Pork Belly /120 (BOC2 /521 Stewed Salt Pork Belly)

火焙鱼 Baked Fish /138 (BOC2 /513 Hunan Flavour Baked Fish with 2 additional characters in the name: 湘味火焙鱼)

重庆烧鸡公 Chongqing Stewed Chicken /146 (BOC2 /596 Chongqing Chicken Hot Pot with 2 additional characters in the name: 重庆烧鸡公火锅)

东坡肘子 Dongpo Pork Elbow /174 (BOC2 /541 Meizhou East Slope Pork Elbow with 2 additional characters in the name: 眉州东坡肘子)

宫保鸡丁 Gongbao (Kungpo ) Chicken /178 (BOC2 /535 Sichuan Kungpo Chicken with 1 different character in the name: 宫爆鸡丁)

左宗棠鸡 General Tso's Chicken /199 (BOC2 /360) also see a recipe in http://chinesefood.about.com/od/poultryreceo/r/generaltso.htm

湘西土匪鸭 Hunan Bandit Duck /217 (BOC2 /520 West Hunan Bandit's Duck)

四喜丸子 Four Happiness Meatballs/240 (BOC2 /357 Four Happiness Balls)

咕噜肉 Whispering Pork /302 (BOC2 /512 Pork Whispers)

回锅肉 Twice Cooked Pork /304 (BOC2 /380 Twice-Cooked Pork with Pickled Vegetables with 2 additional characters in the name: 泡菜回锅肉)  also see recipes in Chiang Jung-feng et Ellen Schreiber, Mrs. Chiang’s Szechwan Cookbook, ISBN 0-06-013803-0 (1976) p.94, Dunlop, Fuchsia, Land of Plenty, ISBN 0-393-05177-3 (2001) p.194 and Kuo p.334

冬笋腊肉 Winter Bamboo Shoots with Cured Meat /334 (BOC2 /370 Winter Bamboo Shoot Cured Pork)

热干面 Hot Dry Noodles /337 (BOC2 /449 Hot Dried Noodles)

 

And here are some new dishes with possible recipes:

 

佛跳墙 - Buddha Leaps the Wall /026 è Fu Pei Mei, Pei Mei’s Chinese Cook Book, Volume III, ISBN 986-7997-67-0, p.257 and Eileen Yin-Fei Lo(?), http://chinesefood.about.com/library/blrecipe078.htm)

龙井虾仁 - Dragon's Well Shrimp /096 è Rhodes, http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/603865

东坡肉 - Dong Po Pork/102 è http://www.eatingchina.com/recipes/dongpo-pork.htm (uses traditional characters  東坡肉)and http://rasamalaysia.com/braised-pork-belly-dong-po-rou/

棒棒鸡 - Bang Bang Chicken/117 è Chiang Jung-feng et Ellen Schreiber, Mrs. Chiang’s Szechwan Cookbook, ISBN 0-06-013803-0 (1976) p.163 and Ching-He Huang http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/517217

东安子鸡 Dong'an Chicken/170 è Dunlop/Hunan p.114 (http://leitesculinaria.com/5405/recipes-chinese-chicken-with-chiles-and-rice-vinegar.html)

 

Have a good day, G

 

ps. the BOC1 video was so visually incredible and informative (especially concerning ingredients) that I wonder if you happen to know where I can find the BOC2 video even in Mandarin.

[liuzhou]

Just be glad I didn't do the other 9 books.

 

Of course there are overlaps.  It is just blatant cashing in on the success of the shows.

 

The slight variations in names is nothing. In China, there are always many names for the same dish. Even on the same street. Even in the same restaurant. Same happens in English, but probably more so here..

 

BOC2 has not yet been officially released. If it follows the pattern of BOC1, it could still be a year away and the English longer.

(I do have it though.  )

Edited July 5, 2014 by liuzhou (log)

[flippant]

Great thread!

 

I did a 3-month course at SHIC (四川烹饪高等专科学校, now, it seems renamed to the more general 四川旅游学院) in Chengdu. The curriculum was comprised of three books: 川菜烹调技术 上 and 下, as well as a book on baking I can't for the life of me find right now.

 

The Shang (上) volume is concerned with technique and history, while Xia (下) is a recipe book.

 

The recipes are very well explained: the quantity of each ingredient in grams; what size and shape to cut things in; what heat to have the wok at; what order to cook the dish; variations, etc.

 

The downside is that there are no photos, except for the cover and 8 or so very uninspired ones inside the cover.

 

However, I find them excellent starting points.

[CeeCee]

So, Yan-Kit, Yan-Kit’s Classic Chinese Cookbook, ISBN 0-7566-2351-0, 2006

 

Sadly, I have no access to these two books, so can’t comment.

 

Thank you for starting this topic, very interesting read!

If you would like to compare, I can take a picture of the recipe in this book and email it you?

[James G]

Thank you so much for posting this. Whenever I am in China I always look for interesting cookbooks (I read Chinese and spent many years there) but have always found that they are not terribly good at presenting the instructions in a coherent way. There is also a terrible lack of comprehensive regional cookbooks for some obscure regions (I'd kill for a Guizhou cookbook, for instance). This book looks like one I'd be interested in; wonder if Taobao sells it since I doubt it'll show up in my local PaperPlus anytime soon.

 

A few weeks ago I bought a copy of this cookbook which is a best-selling spin off from the highly successful television series by China Central Television - A Bite of China as discussed on this thread.   .

 

cover.jpg

 

The book was published in August 2013 and is by Chen Zhitian (陈志田 - chén zhì tián). It is only available in Chinese (so far). 

 

There are a number of books related to the television series but this is the only one which seems to be legitimate. It certainly has the high production standards of the television show. Beautifully photographed and with (relatively) clear details in the recipes.

 

Here is a sample page.

 

sample page.jpg

 

Unlike in most western cookbooks, recipes are not listed by main ingredient. They are set out in six vaguely defined chapters. So, if you are looking for a duck dish, for example, you'll have to go through the whole contents list. I've never seen an index in any Chinese book on any subject. 

 

In order to demonstrate the breadth of recipes the book and perhaps to be of interest to forum members who want to know what is in a popular Chinese recipe book, I have sort of translated the contents list - 187 recipes.

 

This is always problematic. Very often Chinese dishes are very cryptically named. This list contains some literal translations. For some dishes I have totally ignored the given name and given a brief description instead. Any Chinese in the list refers to place names. Some dishes I have left with literal translations of their cryptic names, just for amusement value.

 

I am not happy with some of the "translations" and will work on improving them. I am also certain there are errors in there, too.

 

Back in 2008, the Chinese government issued a list of official dish translations for the Beijing Olympics. It is full of weird translations and total errors, too. Interestingly, few of the dishes in the book or on that list.

 

Anyway, for what it is worth, the book's content list is here (Word document) or here (PDF file). If anyone is interested in more information on a dish, please ask. For copyright reasons, I can't reproduce the dishes here exactly, but can certainly describe them.

 

Another problem is that many Chinese recipes are vague in the extreme. I'm not one to slavishly follow instructions, but saying "enough meat" in a recipe is not very helpful. This book gives details (by weight) for the main ingredients, but goes vague on most  condiments.

 

For example, the first dish (Dezhou Braised Chicken), calls for precisely 1500g of chicken, 50g dried mushroom, 20g sliced ginger and 10g of scallion. It then lists cassia bark, caoguo, unspecified herbs, Chinese cardamom, fennel seed, star anise, salt, sodium bicarbonate and cooking wine without suggesting any quantities. It then goes back to ask for 35g of maltose syrup, a soupçon of cloves, and "the correct quantity" of soy sauce.

 

Cooking instructions can be equally vague. "Cook until cooked".

 

A Bite of China - 舌尖上的中国- ISBN 978-7-5113-3940-9 

[liuzhou]

Thank you so much for posting this. Whenever I am in China I always look for interesting cookbooks (I read Chinese and spent many years there) but have always found that they are not terribly good at presenting the instructions in a coherent way. There is also a terrible lack of comprehensive regional cookbooks for some obscure regions (I'd kill for a Guizhou cookbook, for instance). This book looks like one I'd be interested in; wonder if Taobao sells it since I doubt it'll show up in my local PaperPlus anytime soon.

 

 

Yes, It's on Taobao here.

Edited August 18, 2014 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

Came across this today. An annotated translation of 18th century Chinese book on cooking. 

 

 

Suiyuan Shidan  (随园食单) by Yuan Mei (袁枚) 1716-1797.

 

Free to read here (in English).

 

Yuan Mei (Public Domain image via Wikipedia)

Edited December 23, 2014 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

The same website also has an interesting article on Origins of Chinese Food.

[liuzhou]

We love our seafood round here and so I recently picked up this book.

 

It is unusual in that 

 

a) The ingredients and method are in both Chinese and (reasonably good) English.

b) The method is clear and quantities precise - No "enough ginger" or "cook until cooked".

 

 

It also comes with some fine photography.

 

Random page:

 

Although they have translated the ingredients and methods, they haven't translated the dish names, so this is my translation.

 

 

青芒果盐蟹沙律    Green Mango and Salty Crab Salad

盐焗蟹                   Salt Baked Crab

古法蒸蟹钵           Traditional Steamed Crab Bowl

鸡油蒸腌仔蟹       Mud Crab with Salt and Chicken Fat

胡椒炒蟹               Pepper Fried Crab

蒜茸辣椒抄蟹       Garlic and Chilli Fried Crab

咖喱抄蟹               Curried Crab

酥炸软壳蟹           Crisp Fried Soft Shell Crabs

香菇蟹海鲜汤       Shiitake, Crab and Mixed Seafood Soup

蟹肉扒泰国菇       Braised Crab with Thai Mushrooms

蟹肉素翅羹           Crab and Vegetarian Sharks’ Fin Soup

大虾苹果沙律       King Prawn and Apple Salad

冬荫海鲜汤           Winter Seafood Soup

天妇罗                   Tempura Shrimp

椒盐虾                   Salt and Pepper Shrimp

麦皮虾                   Oatmeal Shrimp

鲜虾油豆腐           Fresh Shrimp with Tofu

芝士焗龙虾尾       Baked Lobster Tail

惹味盐炒海鲜       Tasty Salt Fried Seafood

红咖喱鱼件           Red Curry Fish

海苔炸龙脷柳       Fried Sole with Seaweed

柠蜜凤尾鱼           Sweet Lemon Anchovies

酥炸白饭鱼           Crisp Fried Anchovies

清蒸海上鲜           Steamed Sea Fish

三鲜蒸鱼卷           Three Flavour Steamed Fish Rolls

鱼丸和炸鱼皮       Fish Balls with Deep-fried Fish  Skin

番茄煮红衫鱼       Red Snapper with Tomato

蒜香烧银鳕鱼       Stewed Cod with Garlic

京汁烧泥鯭           Sweet and Sour Fried Rabbit Fish

咖喱抄蚬               Curried Clams

鱼汤杂锦贝           Fish and Mixed Seafood Soup

焗大蚬                   Baked Large Clams             

豆椒炒蚬               Black Bean And Chilli Clams

清炒鱿鱼               Clear Fried Squid

沙嗲鱿鱼               Fried Baby Squid

煎蚝饼                   Fried Oyster Cake

海参焖鲍鱼           Sea Cucumber and Abalone

劲辣墨鱼丸           Spicy Cuttlefish Balls

鲜虾墨鱼卷            Cuttlefish and Shrimp Rolls

[Thanks for the Crepes]

liuzhou,

 

All of the quoted recipes sound intriguing, but the one that has me really wondering is "Crab and Vegetarian Sharks’ Fin Soup".

 

Can you tell us a little about this soup?

[liuzhou]

liuzhou,

 

All of the quoted recipes sound intriguing, but the one that has me really wondering is "Crab and Vegetarian Sharks’ Fin Soup".

 

Can you tell us a little about this soup?

 

Real shark's fin, as I"m sure you know, is disgustingly cruel and hideously expensive for something that tastes of nothing. It is being used less and less as awareness spreads. 

 

It was only ever used for two reasons:

 

a) For its texture

b) To demonstrate how rich and stupid your host is

 

For a) a simulation of texture, there are various preparations available which are usually gelatin based.

 

For b) stupidity, there is no cure.

 

The recipe calls for 

 

1 crab

330g Vegetarian Shark's Fin

1L Chicken Stock

50g Asparagus diced

The white of one egg

50 g shredded carrots

 

Salt

White sugar

Cornstarch

White Pepper

Vinegar (the recipe doesn't say but I would use white rice vinegar.)

 

The crab is steamed and the meat extracted. Everything (except the egg white and vinegar ) is added to a the chicken stock and brought to a boil. When ready the egg white is stirred in and a little vinegar added.

Edited July 13, 2015 by liuzhou (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

liuzhou,

 

Thanks for the info on the soup. This would be a great soup without the vegetarian shark's fin which I'm not sure I'd be able to find in my area. I would probably use whole egg instead of just the white. That's the way I make my egg drop soup, and I haven't bought it from our Chinese restaurant since the first time I tried making my own. Mine blows theirs out of the water, and my husband agrees.

 

Do you know how the gelatin based fin substitutes keep from melting into liquid in the hot soup? Additives? If you know, fine, but please don't go out of your way to research. I've seen some of your research, and you are obsessive and really go to a lot of trouble over a casual question. I don't think I would like a gelatin-based substitute for cartilage even if I could find it here. Just curious. I would think long-cooked beef tendons, which are popular in China might make a good substitute.

 

There's a not so great article on wiki that says the fin substitute is made from bean noodles, and I think they would be excellent in this soup. I have mung bean threads in the pantry. Other Googling reveals tofu replacements, and one site mentions gelatin. 

 

I can't tell you how pleased I am that real shark's fin soup is diminishing in popularity. Yay! It's hard to drum up any sympathy for creatures that happily chomp on our NC tourists. We've had quite a spate of these lately, and it's most bad for business. A couple coastal communities here are making efforts to separate swimmers from shark fishermen. I was bumped very hard in the lower thigh by one on vacation at Topsail Island, NC in 1996. Fortunately I wasn't bitten, but I attribute that to strong swimming skills fueled to new heights by adrenaline. Still, as you know, I am a proponent of humane raising and harvesting of meat, and finning doesn't come close.

[liuzhou]

The recent revival of an old post mentioning Chinese hot pots reminded me of this book which I've had for a while.

 

 

 

The title is Family Style Hot Pot and it contains recipes for 34 hot pots, plus a few hot pot bases and some accompanying dips. As ever I've tried to translate where possible - a few are somewhat poetically named. I've added some annotations or ingredient lists to clarify, but if anyone has any questions, fire away.

Hotpots

1. 八仙过海                         Eight Immortals Cross the Sea (lean pork, pork liver, fish, carrot，dried shiitake, tofu, choy sum, ginger, scallion, jujubes, dang shen (codonopsis pilosula).
2. 胖鱼头火锅                     Fat Fish Head Hot Pot
3. 土鸡火锅和                     Organic Chicken Hot Pot
4. 红汤火锅                         Red Soup Hot Pot
5. 霸王别姬火锅                 Freshwater Fish and Chicken Hot Pot
6. 乌冬竹丝鸡火锅             Black Winter Bamboo and Chicken Hot Pot
7. 黑山羊火锅                     Heishan Mutton Hot Pot
8. 猪三鲜火锅                     Three Flavour Pork Hot Pot (Pork Tripe, Liver and Kidney)
9. 野兔火锅                         Hare Hot Pot
10. 龙凤火锅                         Dragon and Phoenix Hot Pot
11. 海味火锅                         Seafood Hot Pot
12. 牛心顶火锅                     Beef Heart Hot Pot
13. 五彩牛锅                         Five Colour Beef Hot Pot
14. 红线鱼火锅                     Redstripe Rasbora Hot Pot
15. 淮山乳鸽火锅                 Chinese Yam and  Pigeon Hot Pot
16. 香辣开胃火锅                 Hot Appetizing Hot Pot
17. 鸳鸯火锅                         Yuan-Yang Hot Pot (Yuan-yang means affectionate couple (it also means Mandarin duck) . What is bneing referred to is the cooking dish which is in two parts. One side has a clear broth while the other has a spicy broth. Diners cook their objects of choice in whichever they prefer. You can see one in the bottom right corner of the sample page shown below.)
18. 母子同桌火锅                 Mother and Son Hot Pot (Quail and Quail Eggs)
19. 猪肚火锅                         Pig's Tripe Hot Po
20. 鸡味火锅                         Chicken Flavour Hot Pot (Chicken Gizzard, Wings and White Meat)
21. 洋鸭火锅                         Barbary Duck Hot Pot
22. 麻虾猪皮火锅                 Shrimp and Pig Skin Hot Pot
23. 双味鱼火锅                     Two Flavour Fish Hot Pot
24. 鱼生火锅                         Grass Carp Hot Pot
25. 猪椒火锅                         Prickly Ash Root Hot Pot
26. 银线鱼头火锅                 Silver Thread Fish Head Hot Pot
27. 涮鸡肉火锅                     Boiled Chicken Hot Pot
28. 香芋兔肉火锅                 Taro and Rabbit Hot Pot
29. 鲶鱼火锅                         Catfish Hot Pot
30. 牛肉火锅                         Beef Hotpot
31. 什菌双丸火锅                 Mixed Mushrooms and Two Ball Hot Pot (Fish balls and shrimp balls)
32. 老豆腐人参火锅             Tofu and Ginseng Hot Pot
33. 开煲羊肉火锅                 Open Pot Mutton Hot Pot
34. 锦绣火锅                         Brocade Hot Pot:

Then some hot pot bases

 

1. 清汤火锅底                Clear Soup Hot Pot Base
2. 浓汤火锅底                Thick Soup Hot Pot Base
3. 鸳鸯火锅底                Yuan-Yang Hot Pot Base
4. 药材火锅底                Medicinal Hot Pot Base

 

And the dips

 

1. 美味姜葱汁                         Delicious Ginger Onion Dip
2. 风味飘香汁                         Special Flavour Fluttering fragrant dip. (sesame paste, sesame seeds, coriander, red pepper, ginger, dried chilli)
3. 南乳香辣汁                         Fermented Tofu Spicy Dip
4. 泡椒花生汁                         Pickled Chilli and Peanut Dip
5. 沙姜大葱汁                         Sand Ginger Onion Dip

Sample Pages

Edited August 2, 2015 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

Stir fries are pretty much global now, I guess, and the variety is infinite. It is still the most common home and restaurant cooking method in China today.

 

I bought this tome a couple of weeks back.

 

 

The main title 小炒 simply means stir fries.  The subtitle "精选好吃易做小炒 1288 例" meaning "Carefully Chosen Delicious Easily Made Stir Fries - 1288 Examples.

Yes, 1288 stir-fries as made in China.

 

As ever, I have tried to stick with fairly direct translations, but sometimes that's not possible. Chinese cookbooks and menus tend to list the vegetables in a dish first rather than the more usual western way. For the most part I have observed Chinese practice, but in some cases it just felt too unnatural so I reversed them.

 

Again there are dishes whose names tell you little of the contents, so with a few I have ignored the names and given descriptions. This book was less guilty of that practice than many.

 

It is in several sections starting with 150 stir-fries containing pork in all its forms. (Actually, the book has 152, but two of them I couldn't work out at all. Several of my Chinese gastronaut friends, whom I consulted on those two, are arguing among themselves right now. It seems they are stumped too. If I ever get an answer, I shall post it.)

 

So here is a list of the pork dishes. As ever, any errors are entirely mine.

 

Section 1 - 猪肉 - Pork

 

1.    肉末苦瓜                                Ground Pork w Bitter Melon

2.    银芽里脊丝                             Silver Sprouts w Pork Tenderloin Slivers

3.    奇妙冰苦瓜                             Wonderful Fried Bitter Melon

4.    鱼香肉丝                                Fish Flavour Pork Slivers

5.    青椒肉丝                                Green Chilli w Pork Slivers

6.    韭黄肉丝                                Hotbed (Yellow) Chives w Pork Slivers

7.    肉丝炒如意采                         Pork Slivers Fried w Brake (Good Luck Vegetable)

8.    橙汁肉丝                                Orange Juice Pork Slivers

9.    茶树菇炒肉丝                          Tea Tree Mushrooms w Pork Slivers

10. 京酱肉丝                                  Beijing Sauce Pork Slivers

11. 韭黄红椒肉丝                           Hotbed Chives, Red Chilli Pork Slivers

12. 菠萝炒肉                                  Pineapple Fried Pork

13. 毛豆红椒炒肉丝                       Soybean Red Chilli Fried Pork Slivers

14. 海菜炒肉丝                              Seaweed Fried Pork Slivers

15. 冬笋炒肉丝                               Winter Bamboo Fried Pork Slivers

16. 尖椒肉丝                                  Pointed Green Pepper w Pork Slivers

17. 香辣肉丝                                  Tasty Pepper Pork Slivers

18. 芫爆肉丝                                  Quick Fried Pork Slivers w Medicinal Herb*

19. 土豆炒肉丝                               Potato Fried Pork Slivers

20. 炒肉丝拉皮                               Fried Pork Slivers w Shredded Vegetables

21. 蒲公英炒肉丝                            Dandelion Fried Pork Slivers

22. 三色肉丝                                  Three Colour Pork Slivers

23. 醋熘木须                                  Mu Shu Pork

24. 肉丝干张                                  Pork Slivers w Dried Tofu

25. 木耳炒肉片                               Wood Ear Fungus Fried Sliced Pork

26. 榨菜炒肉丝                               Hot Pickled Mustard Tuber Fried Pork Slivers

27. 肉片鸽蛋烧甘蓝                        Sliced Pork, Pigeon Egg Roast Kailan

28. 彩椒肉片                                  Sliced Pork w Bell Peppers (Multi - colour)

29. 麻花炒肉片                               Fried Dough Twists, fried Sliced Pork

30. 肉片炒西葫芦                           Sliced Pork w Summer Squash

31. 荷兰豆炒肉片                           Sugar Snap Peas Fried w Sliced Pork   

32. 菜花肉片                                  Sliced Pork w Cauliflower

33. 老北京滑肉片                           Old Beijing Slippery Sliced Pork

34. 山药炒肉片                               Chinese Yam Fried w Sliced Pork

35. 茭白炒肉丝                               Wild Rice Stems w Pork Slivers

36. 滑炒肉片                                  Slippery Fried Sliced Pork

37. 锅巴肉片                                  Rice Crust Sliced Pork

38. 土豆炒肉片                               Potato w Fried Sliced Pork

39. 腐乳烧肉                                  Fermented Bean Curd w Pork

40. 豆干青蒜炒肉片                        Dry Tofu, Garlic Shoots Fried w Sliced Pork

41. 黄瓜熘肉片                               Cucumber Fried w Sliced Pork

42. 香椿炒里脊片                            Chinese Toon Fried w Sliced Pork Tenderloin

43. 木耳炒肉丝                               Wood Ear Fried Pork Slivers

44. 干锅菜花                                  Dry Pot Cauliflower

45. 红酒里脊                                  Red Wine Tenderloin

46. 青椒里脊丝                               Green Pepper Tenderloin Strips

47. 软熘里脊                                  Soft Fried Tenderloin

48. 里脊丝炒芦蒿                            Pork Tenderloin Slivers w Fried Chinese Mugwort

49. 肉粒豌豆炒番茄                        Ground Pork, Peas Fried w Tomato

50. 蚂蚁上树                                  Ants Climbing Trees                      

51. 虎头肉丁                                  Tiger Head Cubed Pork

52. 腐竹烧肉                                  Dried Bean Curd Rolls w Fried Pork

53. 雪里蕻炒肉末                            Potherb Mustard Fried w Ground Pork

54. 口袋豆腐                                  Stuffed Tofu

55. 肉末 榄采四季豆                       Ground Pork, Chinese Olive Vegetable, and Beans

56. 干豆角少肉                               Dry Tofu w Fried Pork

57. 肉米浮香                                  Ground Pork with Black Locust Leaf                               

58. 香辣肉末雪里蕻                        Spicy Ground Pork w Potherb Mustard

59. 酸豆角炒肉末                            Ground Pork Fried w Pickled Beans

60. 元宝肉                                      Pork Ingots

61. 干煸五花肉                               Dry Fried Streaky Pork

62. 黄花采炒肉丝                            Day Lily Fried w Pork Slivers

63. 鱼香茄子                                  Fish Flavour Eggplant

64. 香辣回锅肉                               Spicy Twice Cooked Pork

65. 葱香回锅肉                               Onion Twice Cooked Pork

66. 回锅肉                                      Twice Cooked Pork

67. 叉烧肉                                      Fork Fried Pork

68. 荷兰花回锅肉                            Broccoli w Twice Cooked Pork

69. 木樨肉                                      Mu Shu Pork

70. 兰花干烧肉                               Orchid Fry Fried Pork

71. 坛子肉                                      Earthern Jar Pork

72. 干锅茶树菇                               Dry Pot Tea Tree Mushrooms

73. 农家小炒肉                               Peasant Family Stir-Fried Pork

74. 干煸四季豆                               Dry Fried Green Beans

75. 肉炒滑子菇                               Pork Fried w Nameko Mushroom

76. 菠萝咕姥肉                               Pineapple Sweet and Sour Pork

77. 糖醋咕姥肉                               Sweet and Sour Pork

78. 肉炒榛蘑                                  Pork Fried w Hazel Mushroom

79. 豆干焖肉                                  Dry Tofu Boiled Pork

80. 马蹄黄瓜肉                               Water Chestnut, Cucumber Pork

81. 青蒜慈姑炒咸肉                        Garlic Shoots, Arrowhead, Fried Salted Pork

82. 莴笋炒咸肉                               Asparagus Lettuce Fried Salted Pork

83. 咸肉冬瓜                                  Salted Pork w White Gourd

84. 奶白菜咸肉                               White Boy Choy w Salted Pork

85. 乡野炒洲芹                               Countryside Fried Celery              

86. 生爆盐煎肉                               Quick Fried Salt Pork

87. 咸肉河蚌烧油采                        Salted Pork, River Clams, Fried w Rape Greens

88. 青椒酿肉                                  Green Pepper Pork

89. 炒豆酱                                      Fried Bean Sauce

90. 干煸五花肉                               Dry Fried Streaky Pork

91. 香葱耳片                                  Onion w Sliced Pig's Ear

92. 炒黄瓜酱                                  Fried Cucumber in Sauce

93. 芥蓝炒瘦肉                               Kailan Fried Lean Pork

94. 金丝韭菜                                  Golden Thread Garlic Chives                               

95. 酱肉豌豆                                  Pork and Peas in Sauce

96. 炒合采                                      Fried Mixed Vegetables

97. 阳新菱角烧丸子                         Yangxin Water Chestnuts w Fried Pork Balls

98. 卤五花肉                                   Roast Streaky Pork

99. 西兰花回锅肉                            Broccoli Twice Cooked Pork

100. 炒榛子酱                                 Fried Pork in Hazelnut Sauce

101. 生炒奶香骨                              Fried Pork Ribs in Milk

102. 九转大肠                                 9 Twists Pork Intestines

103. 青蒜炒腊肠                             Garlic Shoots fried with Sausage

104. 狻椒大肠                                 Pickled Peppers with Pork Intestines

105. 苦瓜炒腊肠                             Bitter Melon Fried Sausage

106. 脆椒爆腊肠                             Crisp Chille Fried Sausage

107. 干烧肚条                                Dry Fried Pork Stomach

108. 炒肥肠                                   Fried Pig's Intestines

109. 西葫芦炒火腿                         Pumpkin Fried Ham

110. 熏肠芦蒿                                Smoked Intestines w Chinese Wormwood

111. 冬瓜炒火腿                             White Gourd Fried w Ham

112. 油爆肚仁                                Fried Pig Tripe

113. 爆肚                                       Quick-Fried Tripe**

114. 炒猪肚                                    Fried Pig's Stomach

115. 生蒡炒肚丝                             Pork Stomach Slivers w Burdock

116. 炒皮肚                                    Fried Tripe                            

117. 芫爆肚丝                                Stomach Slivers w Chinese Herbs*

118. 韭黄炒猪肚                             Pig's Stomach with Hotbed Chives

119. 火爆腰花                                 Fire-Exploded Kidney Flowers***

120. 炒耳丝                                    Fried Pig's Ear Slivers                                

121. 荔枝腰花                                 Lychee Kidneys

122. 爆三样                                    Fried Three Parts (Liver, Kidney Stomach)

123. 辣子腰花                                 Kidney Flowers with Chilli

124. 爆炒腰花                                 Fried Kidney Flowers

125. 菠采炒猪肚                             Pig's Stomach Fried w Spinach

126. 炝腰片豆腐                             Fried Kidney Slices w Tofu

127. 红烧猪蹄筋                             Red-cooked Pig's Tendons

128. 荷兰豆炒腰花                         Sugar Snap Peas w Kidney

129. 红菜薹炒腊肉                         Red Vegetable Shoots w Cured Pork

130. 春笋烧腊肉                            Bamboo Shoots w Cured Pork

131. 心心相印                                Two Hearts Together ( Pork and Chicken Hearts)

132. 高瓜炒心片                            Summer Squash with Heart Slices

133. 干豆炒腊肉                            Dry Tofu Fried Cured Pork

134. 辣椒炒腊肉                            Chilli Fried Cured Pork                  

135. 炒腰片                                   Fried Kidney Slices

136. 荷兰豆炒腊肉                         Sugar Snap Peas w Cured Pork

137. 青蒜炒猪血                            Garlic Shoots w Pig's Blood

138. 藜蒿炒腊肉                            Wormwood w Cured Pork

139. 蒜薹炒腊肉                            Garlic Bolt with Cured Pork

140. 西芹百合炒腊肉                     Celery, Lily Fried w Cured Pork

141. 西芹炒腊肉                            Celery Fried C

[liuzhou]

Oops. Seems my post was too long.

 

    

141. 西芹炒腊肉                            Celery Fried Cured Pork

142. 萝卜干炒腊肉                        Dried Fried Cured Pork w Daikon Radish

143. 马蹄炒猪心                            Water Chestnut w Pig's Heart

144. 杭椒腊肉炒扁豆                     Green Pepper Cured Pork Fried w Hyacinth Bean

145. 时蔬炒腊肉                            Fried Cured Pork w Seasonal Vegetable

146. 芦笋焖腊肉                            Boiled Asparagus w Cured Pork

147. 胡萝卜炒腊肉                         Fried Cured Pork w Carrot

148. 玉兔五彩丝                            Jade Hare Five Colour Slivers

149. 咖啡酱烧排骨                         Pork Ribs in Coffee Sauce

150. 香辣熏肉                                Spicy Salted Pork

 

*Daphne Genkwa

** To my delight, an alternative translation is “Exploding Stomach”

*** This is the name Fuchsia Dunlop uses.

 

Any explanation, clarification or correction needed, please let me know.

 

Part 2 is Lamb/Mutton and Beef. I will post that in a few days.

 

Here are a couple of sample pages from the book.

 

Edited August 9, 2015 by liuzhou (log)

[Smithy]

I love the creative names. Exploding Stomach, indeed!

What is Brake (Good luck Vegetable)?

[Alex]

liuzhou, #12 in your stir-fry listing is Pineapple Fried Pork. Is Mark Bittman's recipe in the NYT anywhere close to that one? Thanks.

[liuzhou]

I love the creative names. Exploding Stomach, indeed!

What is Brake (Good luck Vegetable)?

 

Brake You may know fiddleheads. Brake is the stem and immature fronds. 

 

The name of the dish literally translates as "Shredded Pork Fried Good Luck Vegetable" which sounds great but tells you  nothing. The ingredients list reveals the main vegetable to be brake. So, I included both.

 

liuzhou, #12 in your stir-fry listing is Pineapple Fried Pork. Is Mark Bittman's recipe in the NYT anywhere close to that one? Thanks.

 

The one in the book is a lot simpler.

Ingredients are just pineapple, pork, green and red chilli, egg, sugar, salt and starch.

 

No soy sauce, vinegar, fungus or ginger.