Chinese Books - Page 9

Chinese Herbology Made Easy

Maoshing Ni

Amazon Price: $18.95 List Price: $18.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Sevenstar Communications Amazon Marketplace: 26 new & used starting at $7.49

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Made Easy For Whom? 4 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

This book has a few problems and I still recommend that you buy it. The first problem is that it uses the words "made easy". That would be true if you already have knowledge of Chinese herbs and treatments. Next is it talks about the 300+ photographs. Ok, these photographs do indeed exist, but they are all black and white, of poor quality, and are thumbnail photos. Next we have the fact that this book has a beautiful cover. That is that last beautiful thing you will see. Inside the book is nothing more than typewriter mimeograph machine style notes like a professor would use as a syllabus in a college course... a college course in 1950! I expected so much more. Now on the the factual content. It is good. The price for the book is too high, even on sale, because of the lack of quality. But does it cover the information needed to pass the California Board? Some say so. If you are only going to buy one book on Chinese Herbs DO NOT buy this one. If you are going to buy 3-4 other better books, then buy this one, too. Shame on the publisher for doing such a diservice to Dr. Maoshing Ni.

Editorial Review:

'Chinese Herbology Made Easy' is used as a textbook at Yo San University of Traditional Chinese Medicine for its beginning herbology coursework. It not only classifies each herb by its action and effect, it also includes an overview of Oriental medicine theory, an index of herbs categorized by pharmaceutical name and pinyin, and contains a complete bibliography. In addition to over 300 black & white photographs of Chinese herbs, there is an in-depth introduction to each herbal category. 'Chinese Herbology Made Easy' is a perfect overview for beginners in the fascinating study of Chinese herbology.

The Food of China

E. N. Anderson

Amazon Price: $20.70 List Price: $25.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Yale University Press Amazon Marketplace: 28 new & used starting at $13.70

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

One of the Key Works on Chinese Food History 5 out of 5 stars.
21 of 21 people found this review helpful.

Published in the late 1980s, The Food of China remains one of the key modern works on Chinese food history. This was the first book I read on Chinese food. That was a mistake, if only because the book is so dense with information that the reading experience was quite overwhelming at the time. So if you are a novice like I was, start with something lighter such as Francine Halvorsen's The Food and Cooking of China before taking the deep plunge with this more academic book. But E. N. Anderson remains on of the two or three authoritative references in my bookshelf that I know I will be reaching for many years to come.

Editorial Review:

A comprehensive, entertaining historical and ethnographic account of Chinese food, from the Bronze Age to the twentieth century. After showing how food has been central to Chinese government policies, religious rituals, and health practices from the earliest times, E.N. Anderson turns to present-day China, describing in rich and enticing detail the regional varieties in Chinese diet, food preparation, and rituals of eating and drinking.

Pairing Wine With Asian Food

Edwin Soon, Black Studio

Amazon Price: $12.89 List Price: $18.95 Not yet published By: Monsoon

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Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Drinks & Beverages -> Wine -> Food & Wine

Editorial Review:

Pairing Wine with Asian Food is a useful guide exploring the principles behind matching Asian food with the right wine. Oenologist Edwin Soon explores problem ingredients in the Asian kitchen and details wine and food combinations to avoid as well as "marriages made in heaven." The major cuisines of Asia are covered, highlighting the most common dishes such as dim sum, seafood, curries and Asian street foods, as well as featuring restaurant safe bets. From Chinese banquets to Thai street food, this straightforward guide will ensure that readers will pick the right wine next time they dine Asian.

Encyclopedia of Chinese Food and Cooking

Wonona W. Chang

List Price: $9.99 By: Crown Publishers Amazon Marketplace: 74 new & used starting at $0.25

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Indispensable tool! A foundation book for the dedicated 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book is the most complete and interesting book of authentic Chinese cooking I have read in years. The first step are the photographs and information of Chinese foodstuffs. Including the pronunciation of the chinese form of the namme and how and where to find them. This gives the timid a flying chance at getting things right. Then on to the recipes. While there is a distinct lack of photos in this book, the assembly and cooking instructions are quite precise. The tastes are very good. Although they do not do much with Americanized meals, you can put one together once you are familiar with the book. They include diatetic recipes as well as vegetarian. I have bought all the copies I could get my hands on last time I got to the bookstore and gave them as presents. It is worth the effort to hunt it down.

Excellent and Indispensible reference 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I have the original 1970 edition of this work and was looking for a copy for a friend. It's worth giving to those who appreciate real Chinese food. It's a very stark book - not much text at all, and the recipes are of the "Add A to B to C" type, but if you are competant in the kitchen, then you only need the ingredient list, anyway. It's truly an encyclopedia - its collection of dishes are complete, and the regional information is given for each. This book makes it criminally easy to plan a Cantonese dinner party or a Mandarin luncheon and to be assured of doing it right. All in all, my copy is perhaps the most well worn kitchen reference I own.

Susanna Foo Chinese Cuisine: The Fabulous Flavors and Innovative Recipes of North America's Finest Chinese Cook

Susanna Foo

Amazon Price: $20.00 List Price: $20.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Houghton Mifflin Amazon Marketplace: 58 new & used starting at $4.43

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Fusion plus Tradition 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

So many of my childhood favorites are in this book, which I thought could only be bought and never made by me. Having been to her restaurant several times and college in Philadelphia, I was given her cook book as a present. Being known for fusion cooking, due to her culinary training, I was so suprised at how many traditional chinese recipes are in her book like marbled tea eggs, hot and sour soup, dumplings, various pancakes and really good instructions and diagrams on how to roll the dough, wrap the dumplings, etc. Hats off to Susanna Foo for compiling such a good cook book with interesting antedotes regarding how the various foods invoke her childhood memories, making it an interesting read as well.

Editorial Review:

Susanna Foo has been consistently acclaimed for her stunning interpretations of Chinese food and hailed as one of America's best chefs by publications as diverse as Esquire, Food & Wine, and USA Today. In this book, she shares the revolutionary recipes that established her reputation, from Crab Sui Mei with Red Bell Pepper Sauce to Soy-Braised Cornish Hens. Each one relies on straightforward preparation and easily available ingredients, illustrating Foo's belief that good Chinese food is every bit as easy to prepare as Italian food and relies on the same principles of simplicity and freshness.

Chinese Art of Tea

John Blofeld

List Price: $9.95 By: Shambhala Amazon Marketplace: 14 new & used starting at $15.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Lao's review 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

Includes history, poems and treatises about tea, tea houses, ceremonies, brewing, cups and vessels, varieties, and the effect that tea has on the physical health and psyche. Everything you need to know about Chinese teas is contained in this book. A very welcome addition to anyone's culinary library!

mmmm ..... Pu-erh 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 10 people found this review helpful.

Great in-depth overview of the varieties of tea and drinking vessels! You need this book.

makes me want to drink tea 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 8 people found this review helpful.

lovely book. a good introduction to tea, taoism, and silence

An absolute WEALTH of knowledge 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This man, though not Chinese, truly knows his subject and loves it. It shows all through the book. its a masterpiece! a simply MUST HAVE for all admirers of tea or the Chinese culture/ppl/way. Perhaps in a way it is fitting that the author is not Chinese. It shows that even a barbarian [foreigner] can learn something so different when he has enough love and time and determination.

Chinese Cookery Secrets: How to Cook Chinese Restaurant Food at Home (Right Way S.)

Deh-Ta Hsiung

Amazon Price: $9.15 List Price: $9.15 Usually ships in 2 to 4 weeks By: Elliot Right Way Books Amazon Marketplace: 10 new & used starting at $7.32

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Helpful insight but lacking otherwise 3 out of 5 stars.
23 of 27 people found this review helpful.

I've been looking for a cookbook on american chinese restaurant cooking. I had thought this was the one. It's not. HOWEVER, if you tweak the recipes a bit you can get good results.

Their chow mein is made with pan fried noodles, which would make it a lo mein. Their sweet and sour is immensely more sour than sweet. My brother who can handle just about anything didn't like it. And there were only about ten recipes out of at least seventy that were truly something as a main entree in an american chinese restaurant, but they weren't exact.

The good side of this book; it teaches the basic format of how to cook chinese correctly, so you can go through any recipe you find else where and change it to fit. There's a seasoned oil, a basic stock, an egg/flour batter for deep frying and how to marinate meat correctly. These make a big difference in the flavor of what you get.

It's worth it to learn how to cook correctly. But don't trust the ingredients if you're use to the chinese restaurant that serves bright red sweet and sour and chow mein that has more vegetables than meat.

Editorial Review:

Deh-Ta Hsiung shares his life-long knowledge of Chinese Restaurant Cooking to help you successfully reproduce your favourite meals at home - from a simple, single dish to an elaborate, grand feast. In a clear, straightforward style, he vividly reveals the elusive secrets that produce perfection.

Oriental Vegetables: The Complete Guide for the Gardening Cook

Joy Larkcom

Amazon Price: $15.56 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Kodansha America Amazon Marketplace: 25 new & used starting at $12.51

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Increasingly, chefs today both professional and amateur are emphasizing fresh, seasonal ingredients, locally and organically grown. Now, in the revised edition of the book Alice Waters of Chez Panisse called indispensable, Joy Larcom presents abundant information about crops that are full of flavor, highly nutritious and easy to grow. She describes over seventy exotic vegetables that can be cultivated regardless of climate, soil type or garden size. Here are hardy leafy mustards, komatsuna, Chinese yams and cabbage, lablab beans, pak choi, the climbing spinach basella, gourds, luffas and many more. For this edition, Larkcom has added new varieties and taken out those which are no longer available. She's updated information on such topics as pest and disease control; and added to the section that offers over 50 recipes for making delicious salads (Chinese Hot Salad), salad dressings (Lemon and Green Onion Dressing), soups (Basic Western Style Greens Soup), pickles (Pickled Mushroom Stems), and other dishes using the vegetables featured in the first section (Azuki Bean Risotto with Watercress and Grilled Tofu, Creamy Artichoke Soup, Duck with Mustard Leaves and Pasta, etc.). The helpful appendices include a glossary of gardening terms, a season/month conversion chart, a growing information chart, plant names, gardening organizations and seed suppliers in the U.S.

Dim Sum: Delicious Finger Food for Parties

Fiona Smith

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

"Dim sum?" Hardly. 3 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

From the title of this book one would expect to find real dim sum recipes inside. Instead, most of the recipes are Asian-inspired finger food, which is not at all the same thing. Dim sum is a Chinese food, not a general Asian-ish type of cuisine. To call these recipes "dim sum" is almost as inaccurate as calling French hor d'oevres "dim sum" simply because they are small, bite-sized treats.

I might come across as a bit pedantic here, but this is not simply a matter of semantics. If the author had used a more accurate title such as "Asian Finger Food" I would not have lowered my rating by 2 stars. The actual recipes are good and certainly creative, but they do not fit the title of the book.

Bottom line: if you are looking for true, traditional dim sum recipes, look elsewhere. There are better books on the topic. If you are thinking of getting this book, know ahead of time what you are getting and you will not be disappointed, because this is a good recipe book.

Editorial Review:

Fiona Smith shows you how to make some of the best dim sum -- and lots of modern variations. She has included dishes from Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Japan, as well as from China -- all ready for you to recreate when you entertain. Fiona's ideas are based on tried-and-true, easy-to-prepare recipes that she uses in her own catering business. The emphasis is on lots of flavor, finger-food-sized morsels, and cooking methods that are simple enough for home cooks to manage. Just one or two of these recipes will make all the difference to your next party.

Tofu! Tofu! Tofu! - Chinese Style

Wei-Chuan Publishing, Mu-Tsun Lee

Amazon Price: $7.95 List Price: $7.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Wei-Chuan Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 25 new & used starting at $2.03

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Tofu is not a meat substitute 4 out of 5 stars.
30 of 32 people found this review helpful.

As an Asian-American I grew up with tofu and loved it, and I could never understand why my American friends thought it was disgusting. Then I tried tofu recipes from American cookbooks that used it as a substitute for meat (among other things) and I realized where they were coming from. Tofu is NOT a meat substitute, and should not be used in cheesecake, milkshakes, etc. Using it in that way is setting yourself up for disappointment.

That said, this tiny cookbook is a good basic cookbook of (mostly) traditional chinese tofu dishes. Quite honestly, if you are not used to tofu you probably won't find this book very appealing. However, if you are like me (a second generation Chinese young adult who can't read Chinese cookbooks but who wants traditional - not Americanized - dishes) this tofu cookbook probably fits the bill. The other Wei-Chuan cookbooks are pretty good bets too.

Best Tofu Book I've Found! 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

If you're a vegan or vegetarian and love Chinese food, this is the best cookbook around. The recipes are just delicious! And relatively simple. Be prepared to find some dead animal ingredients, but a highly satisfiable experience in general. All of my favorite tofu recipes from Chinese restaurants are in here.
To the reviewer who poo-poos tofu in cheesecake, you haven't had a good tofu cheesecake!

Editorial Review:

Bilingual: English and Chinese.