Customer Reviews

Cooking the Chinese Way: Easy Menu Ethnic Cookbooks

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When I spend $20 on a cookbook I expect a full sized book with a lot of interesting recipes. So many recipes, in fact, that I'm still trying new ones long after I bought it. "Cooking the Chinese Way" isn't even close to that. It's roughly the size of a children's book and has only a handful of useful recipes. The rest of the book is filled with miscellaneous trivia such as the recipe's names in Chinese, a brief history of Chinese food and obvious tips like "wash your hands before you start." All of it's interesting and it would make a good cookbook better; but as it stands there's as much trivia as there are recipes.

I've been to China and the food was consistently outstanding and it's vastly different from "American-Chinese" food. Since then I've been looking for a cookbook that has recipes for what I ate in Beijing. I thought buying a cookbook written by a Chinese woman would be a safe bet; but unfortunately "The Chinese Way" isn't that book. It's strictly stir fry and rice style recipes. There's not even a recipe for something as common as Chinese dumplings. Why not? What's most ironic is that it contains a recipe for fortune cookies, which I understand is an American invention! I certainly didn't see any in China. All said, there's not much to distinguish this $20 cookbook from those mini-recipe books that you can get at your grocery store for $5.95. This is the first item I've ever returned to Amazon.com.

In response to the first reviewer, I want to point out that this title is a children's book. It offers background needed to give upper grade elementary age children a sense of place. The number and variety of recipes is appropriate for the age range of the intended audience, and boiled dumplings are included, by the way. Recipes for this crowd need to be simple and straightforward. It also offers a glossary of cooking terms and a list of more unusual ingredients and where to find them. There is also a list of safety tips, although there is no reminder to have an adult present when using a stove or sharp knives. Hopefully, parents would have addressed this. Overall, I think this is a good introduction for children ages 10 and above.

I think that the first man did not know anything about this series for kids. it is a good book for begining to learn cooking chinese food. it even says reading level 9-12!!!...