Chinese cookbooks

[hzrt8w]

I also like to buy books that have English pronunciation AND Chinese characters with the names. Keep thinking that one of these days, I may learn to read the REAL "menus on the wall". How can you folks name all your favourites the way you do in the posts?

.....

Of the +150 cookbooks in my bookcase, I'd say, 75% are Assian cookbooks.

Dejah: Do you also collect one-off recipes here and there from websites? I have a whole binder full of them. I just picked the ones I think should be a delicious dish and wait to get a chance to try.

I have a mixed feeling about naming Chinese dishes by pronunication of the original names. Do people (non-Chinese origin) think it would be easier/appropriate to order/remember Moo Goo Gai Pan or Chicken with Mushrooms? Yu Xiang Rou Si or Sliced Pork with garlic sauce? I think only a few (the most popular ones) made it to the menu in American Chinese restaurants with their transliterated names.

It's funny about the name "Egg Foo Young". It's half-and-half. To be fully transliterated, it should be "Foo Young Dan".

As far as cook books... I browsed a couple of cookbooks by Martin Yan. The recipes he picked to include in the books are not classical dishes. Some of them were even created with western influences. But I have to say that his presentations are quite beautiful.

[jo-mel]

Being non-Chinese, I still like my Shizi Tou, GuoTie, and Mapo Doufu. But I also like Italian opera in Italian and German opera in German and the Latin mass. But that's just me.

I remember when I first started translating place names in China. Exotic sounding Shanghai, Peking, Honan, Szechuan, etc, all lost their mystique when I learned their translations.

Dejah -- the "real" menus, on the wall, are such a challenge! Printed-- OK, but written?? I have to work at it!

[Dejah]

Dejah:  Do you also collect one-off recipes here and there from websites?  I have a whole binder full of them.  I just picked the ones I think should be a delicious dish and wait to get a chance to try.

hzrt: Strange. . . I just said to my daughter this afternoon, as I was search through my piles of print-out recipes, for the paper with the Chinese characters for Happy Birthday, Po-Po, that I need to get all these sheets into a binder.

These recipes are usually ones I was searching for and have made, at least once.

I see you also post in about.com. Did you explain to them how to remember your "name"?

[hzrt8w]

for the paper with the Chinese characters for Happy Birthday, Po-Po, that I need to get all these sheets into a binder.

.....

Did you explain to them how to remember your "name"?

Do you mean this: 生日快乐, 婆婆 ?? (Sorry I could only find simplified Chinese characters)

Above.com is so sleepy these days. ZZZzzzz I am so glad that Jo-mel introduced egullet to me. This board is so much more active.

As for my name... Ahem... Laksa and others: here is an easier way to remember my screen name: just HZRT

Horse and Zebra Resemble Trojan

None of these is my real initials by the way.

Edited August 26, 2004 by hzrt8w (log)

[FoodMan]

I just won the e-bay bid on this book:

"The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking, Techniques & Recipes by Barbara Tropp. Hardcover, first edition l985. Good condition. Including an unorthodox chapter on East-West desserts & a provocative essay on wine by Gerald Asher. This book explains everything from how to re-season a wok that has grown rusty with neglect to how to cut water chestnuts to a precise peppercorn-size dice. A superb teaching book, containing core chapters on Chinese cooking techniques--stir-frying, steaming, deep-frying, sand-pot cooking, and smoking-illustrated with hundreds of line drawings. From poultry, fish, tofu, noodles, soups, breads, etc. Plus much much more. Over 550 pages "

I sure am looking forward to recieveing it, and I hope it is in as good a condition as the seller claims.

Elie

[helenas]

I think for non-Chinese, I would tell them to go with Eileen Yin Fen Lo's books

Recently i got her Chinese Kitchen. What an amazing book: highly readable, lot of things to learn and to taste.

[saluki]

I'm sure you'll love Modern Art. Just the tips alone are worth the value. I treasure

my Dexter cleaver which the book suggested. Its much easier to use than dragging out the food processer. And from the time I bought the book I always had a little perrier bottle outfiitted with a liquor pour spout -and filled with oil by my stove. The book is full of hints. More than that ,the book really has an emphasis in making you use all your senses while cooking. I think it was the first time I actually used my ears for cooking rice without opening the pot to peek. This book is way more than recipes. Once in a while you can get lucky on ebay if you are not sniped at the last minute. You have a gem.

[FoodMan]

I'm sure you'll love Modern Art. Just the tips alone are worth the value. I treasure

my Dexter cleaver which the book suggested. Its much easier to use than dragging out the food processer. And from the time I bought the book I always had a little perrier bottle outfiitted with a liquor pour spout -and filled with oil by my stove. The book is full of hints. More than that ,the book really has an emphasis in making you use all your senses while cooking. I think it was the first time I actually used my ears for cooking rice without opening the pot to peek. This book is way more than recipes. Once in a while you can get lucky on ebay if you are not sniped at the last minute. You have a gem.

Lucky I think I was, since I am paying about $20 total, including shipping. The cheapest used copy of the same hardcover book I found online was $30, and it goes all the way up to $100.

Elie

[Laksa]

Horse and Zebra Resemble Trojan

In what weird and wonderful world does a horse and zebra resemble a Trojan? Tell us what they really stand for...

[Dejah]

Had a nice browse through Chapters on the weekend. I took a rest in one of their chairs with Grace Youngs's Breath of the Wok. I checked out the section on seasoning a new wok. I may have to stop using my wok for steaming, just so I can achieve that beautiful patina in one of the pictures!

I tried to find B. Tropp's Modern Art on Ebay, nothing . . . But I did win the bid for Grace Young's Wisdom for $7.70 US. Looked in good shape "like new". Just what I needed; another Chinese cookbook!

Went to a friend's daughter's wedding last night. We gave them a carbon steel wok, a rice cooker and a coiled binder book " 365 Ways to Wok". It had more than just Chinese recipes. It had been sitting on my shelf, never used, and I thought it would show them that there's more than one use for a wok.

The bride's father was our karate sensei. She is now a second degree black belt. I hope her husband never complains about her cooking!

[lmarshal1]

Nancy H.: I got my eBay copy of China Moon in the mail yesterday. Paid $5.26 total, including shipping. The author is extremely opinionated and an absolute stickler for using certain specific brands, and there are NO pictures of anything. I don't think I have educated enough taste buds to tell the difference between certain brands or types of ingredients she adamantly says to use or not to use. However, I like her sub-recipes. Planning to make a few, maybe an oil and a seasoned salt to start with. I enjoy some of her side notes and descriptions of certain cooking methods. I think I'll keep an eye out for her first book (Modern Art of Chinese Cooking). lkm

Oh, somebody said you'd better know a source for Sechuan peppercorns if you want to cook with China Moon. Wow, I never saw the little rascals mentioned so often as here! I'm afraid there'll be a good bit of substituting done if I use this cookbook very often, for the peppercorns and lots of other ingredients too! lkm

Edited September 5, 2004 by lmarshal1 (log)

[hzrt8w]

The bride's father was our karate sensei. She is now a second degree black belt. I hope her husband never complains about her cooking!  

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With that credential, she can *demand* dinner to be cooked and served to her satisfaction! Everyday... Til death do them apart...

[ecr]

Imarshal1 --

I have 2 favorite recipes from the China Moon book: the wild rice salad (yes it does use Sichuan peppercorns) and the cool noodle recipe -- something like orange-scented chili noodles? The major ingredient is one of her infused oils -- chili/black bean/orange peel. The black beans get slightly crispy as the oil cools ... very tasty.

I also really liked the hot and sour veggies ... has black beans in it.

But in general I found the recipes too fussy, and I sold the book several years ago. Unfortunately I neglected to copy the noodle and wild rice recipes first!

[Big Bunny]

Annabel Jackson, Taste of Macau: Portuguese Cuisine on the China Coast

Grace Young, The Breath of a Wok: Unlocking the Spirit of Wok Cooking Through Recipes and Lore

I have had "Macau" since last spring, "Wok" for about two weeks. Although the subjects of these books are

entirely different, they both are ultimately about "real people" dealing with food traditions in changing

times.

Each book combines stories about the people involved with a few well-chosen recipes. Most of the recipes are from the people in the book, edited by the author.

So far, I have done eight recipes from "Macau" and three from "Wok." These have all been well written, fairly easy, and have provided good eating. The special dimension is the insights into the lives of the contemporary people who have contributed family favorites.

Of course, you will also learn about Macau and woks. The combination of recipes and essays makes each book a "must have" for an arm-chair traveller like me.

BB

[lmarshal1]

I think you're probably right about the fussiness of the recipes. I do like like the sub-recipes though and think I will make up at least a couple of the oils and salts. Most of my Chinese recipes are pretty much off the top of my head anyway but need a little "kick" these oils and such may deliver. I'll look up the recipes you mentioned. lkm

[NancyH]

I think if you read closely, you will find that BT often suggests substitutions for ingredients in the recipes in China Moon; the key is to understand the techniques - the "why behind the what" - to get "restuarant" results. That is what I find so valuable about this book. There is no exact substitute for the flavor of Szechuan Peppercorns, however. There is another thread discussing availability and sources for this item in the Chinese Cooking forum.

Also - there are no photos in Modern Art, either - I don't know why; both books could have used them. I had already taken a class on Dim Sum before I got the book, so I didn't miss the photos as much; I love her dumpling fillings and the Garlic Hosein Dipping Sauce, which gets inhaled every time I make it for a party.

[lmarshal1]

I looked through China Moon a bit more this morning and found several recipes I think I'll try. I wonder if it's her often dictatorial/commanding tone that puts people off. To be truthful, I probably need some to "take me in hand" and tell me exactly what to do when it comes to cooking! Yes, I had noticed some of her substitutions from looking at the book earlier. I love trying and using new ingredients but there's a limit to how much stuff I'll go out and buy!

How was your dim sum class handled? Hands on? I've never taken a cooking class (not even in high school!). At my advanced old age(!) I think I might be intimidated to demonstrate my cooking skills (of lack of them) in front of others! But...I do learn more when I'm forced to actually "do it" at the time. lkm

[NancyH]

It's kind of a cool story. I was trying to eat "healthier", and I had ruined my first attempt at wokking by adding a lot of 5 spice powder (thinking it would make the food spicy). I noticed in the paper the local Adult School was offering Chinese Cooking classes. I signed up. The classes were held at the home of the instructor and were limited to 8-10 people. She has a portable table that unfolds and holds about 8 people comfortably around it. We each took a place, and the teacher walked us through several recipes "hands on". We each made dumpling dough and fillings, then filled our dough. Cooking was done over a pertable butane stove right at the teaching table.

Since I moved to Cleveland, I have found other opportunities for classes - Viking Range and Sur La Table have stores here that offer classes, and there are at least three local cooking schools that I know of; I have also taken classes from, again, my local community adult school. It is well worth the time and trouble!

[lmarshal1]

NancyH: I'll have to pay more attention to offers for such classes. I'm especially interested in Chinese and Hispanic cooking. We have a large number of Hispanics in our county, and Purdue University (half hour away) has a large Asian population, so that there are ethnic markets springing up all over the place. The International Center just off the Purdue campus has cooking classes in every ethnic cuisine you can think of. I've hesitated because of the traffic/parking problems over there, but maybe I ought to get over it! They're quite inexpensive too. lkm

Edited September 9, 2004 by lmarshal1 (log)

[lmarshal1]

Will have to take a look at the Grace Young book. I'm putting Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen on my Christmas wish list. May have to add this new one. lkm

[NancyH]

lmarshal - I just signed up to take one (with my husband for the first time) at Viking on tamale making - I've always wanted to learn about working with masa, but it intimidates me a little. The least expensive ones will be with the community adult school; commercial ones cost a little more.

[lmarshal1]

lmarshal - I just signed up to take one (with my husband for the first time) at Viking on tamale making - I've always wanted to learn about working with masa, but it intimidates me a little.

NancyH - I was just looking at the flours and meals for making tamales and tortillas today! I don't have a clue which ones to do what with! You'll have to give us a little tamale seminar here after you attend the class. I bought some chilis and some taco sauce with a bit more heat than usual. I made tamales from scratch (except for the tortilla shells!) a few weeks ago. Quite tasty. lkm

[Dejah]

Will have to take a look at the Grace Young book. I'm putting Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen on my Christmas wish list. May have to add this new one. lkm

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eBay has 5 copies of Wisdon listed at the moment...ranging from $10.00 to $21.00.

There are 2 new copies listed for $19.00 and $21.00 US.

I just purchased a nearly new copy for $7.70 from eBay.

Breath of a Wok will be on my Xmas list.

[lmarshal1]

Will have to take a look at the Grace Young book. I'm putting Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen on my Christmas wish list. May have to add this new one. lkm

←

eBay has 5 copies of Wisdon listed at the moment...ranging from $10.00 to $21.00.

There are 2 new copies listed for $19.00 and $21.00 US.

I just purchased a nearly new copy for $7.70 from eBay.

Breath of a Wok will be on my Xmas list.

←

I will take a look at eBay. I received a like-new copy of (the much maligned) China Moon for only $5.26 and feel it is worth that, but most of the complaints about it are valid. I will definitely keep an eye on the Grace Young books. Thanks for the heads-up! lkm

[trillium]

I may be selling the average round-eye home cook short (especially since this is eG, afterall), but while I absolutely love "Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen" it's not something I'd recommend to someone who was just learning to cook "Chinese" food from an outsider's perspective. For starters, it's range is very narrow, it's nearly all Cantonese recipes, and has a good deal of tonic/soup recipes I'm guessing the beginning cook wouldn't want to mess around with, since they're cooked more for health then good taste (not that they all taste bad). I've given tons (ok, at least 5) copies of this book as a gift, but in all but one case, I've given it to ABCs/2nd gen people who grew up with a Cantonese granny but didn't learn enough of her tricks.

regards,

trillium