Chinese Cooking for Dummies

The indescribably delicious cuisine of a fascinating country can finally be yours. And in Chinese Cooking For Dummies, your guide to the wonders and magic of the Chinese kitchen is none other than Martin Yan, host of the award-winning TV show Yan Can Cook. In no time at all, you’ll be up to speed on what cooking tools to use, how to stock your pantry and fridge, and the methods, centuries old, that have made dim sum, Egg Fu Young, Kung Pao Chicken, and fried rice universal favorites. You’ll also be able to:

• Think like a Chinese chef—usin g the Three Tenets of Chinese Cooking
• Choose and season a wok, select a chef’s knife, plus other basic tools of the trade
• Find the essential ingredients—and ask for them in Chinese with a Chinese language (phonetic) version of black bean sauce, hoisin sauce, plum sauce, bamboo shoots, and more
• Cook using a variety of methods—including stir frying, steaming, blanching, braising, and deep frying

And with over 100 recipes, arranged conveniently like a Chinese menu, Chinese Cooking For Dummies lets you select from any column in the comfort of your own kitchen...which is when the fun really begins. Imagine putting together your ideal meal from the book’s rich offering of recipes:

• Delectable morsels—including Baked Pork Buns, Spring Rolls, Potstickers, Steamed Dumplings, and Shrimp Toast
• Seafood dishes—including Sweet and Sour Shrimp, and Oysters in Black Bean Sauce
• Poultry dishes—including Moo Goo Gai Pan, Kung Pao Chicken, and Honey Garlic Chicken
• Pork, beef, and lamb dishes—including Sichuan Spareribs, Tangerine Beef, and Mongolian Lamb

With sixteen pages of tempting, full-color photographs, several black-and white illustrations, and humorous cartoons, Chinese Cooking For Dummies gives you all of the basics you’ll need, letting you experience the rich culinary landscape of China, one delicious dish at a time—and all, without leaving a tip!

To get the full experience, the book requires an up-front time investment of reading before cooking, and includes background on Chinese history and its influence on Chinese cooking. It is long, but if you have the time, it is worth the read. Yan provides a window to the Chinese philosophy on cooking--the delicate balance of complementing flavors, textures, shapes, and cooking techniques--which makes it easier for the Westerner to better understand that what they're doing is more than frying rice.

The book is filled with more than 100 recipes as well as excellent preparation and handling tips for seafood, poultry, pork, and beef. Much of this information easily transcends cuisine borders to foods of all nationalities. As for presentation, Yan has provided fascinating instructions for easy-to-make garnishes that enhance the appearance of a traditional Chinese meal but don't require an art degree. The Chinese may boast of 3,000 varieties of rice but he recognizes that his reader is probably only going to use a couple of these. Another staple of Chinese cuisine, the sauces, are included, with recipes for sweet and sour sauce, oyster sauce, Chinese mustard, and black bean sauce. He recommends making sauces in batches, and offers storage instructions that make it possible to keep the various concoctions for weeks. This allows for a quick Chinese stir-fry, or other favorite dish, in a matter of minutes.

Practical and easy aren't often associated with Chinese food, but Martin Yan makes it seem so simple you may never order takeout again. --Teresa Simanton

1) You definitely feel Martin Yan's personality in these pages. Great broad yet brief background on regional influences on Chinese cooking.
2) Equally good broad yet brief explanation of basic ingredients and also the prep and cooking techniques.
3) Recipes are pretty easy and you are welcome to buy most of the basic sauces rather than make them from scratch.
4) Only wish there were pictures with each recipe.

On to the details.

On the first point, if you like his PBS shows, you'll enjoy reading this book. It has his wit and its easy to imagine him speaking to you, cleaver in hand. The background info about different regions is brief yet insightful. For example, you will not learn the history of each region, but you will have some insight about the differences between menus at The Canton Cafe versus Larry's Peking Palace.

On the second point, if you're a complete novice to cooking (let alone Chinese cooking), there's enough info about equipment, technique, and ingredients to get you going. He also provides lots of pragmatic advice - substitute ingredients and make-shift cooking supplies when you have limited options.

On the third point, recipes are easy AS LONG AS YOU'RE PATIENT. Unlike some other cuisines, most of this book involves stir frying and that means you MUST have your ingredients prepped before you start throwing things into the wok. There's no time to measure and chop once you start because the "cooking" stage only takes 2-3 minutes :) I found cooking, in general, to be much easier if I have everything premeasured and ready-to-go in little dishes, just like on the TV shows.

On the fourth point, like most "Dummies" books, this one is printed with very few color pictures. And the ones that are provided are bunched together in an insert in the middle of the book - several glossy pages showing finished dishes. Where some areas, such as explanation of techniques, are adequately accompanied by illustrations, I really prefer to have pictures with each recipe. And if not step-by-step, then at least one showing the finished dish. Alas, that is the one area I found lacking.

In summary, great book and more pictures would've made it even better.

Also, one bit of advice - don't expect to get stir-frying right the first few times. It does get a lot easier after a few tries though.
June 18, 2003