Ken Hom's Quick and Easy Chinese Cooking [Paperback]

Ken Hom (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1990

Described by Craig Claiborne as "one of the world's leading authorities on Chinese cooking," Ken Hom is also a master of quick cuisine. Ken Hom's Quick and Easy Chinese Cooking dishes up delicious Chinese fare in mere minutes with mouth-watering recipes and quick tips for healthy, nourishing meals in no time. Shopping lists, itemized preparation and cooking times, menu suggestions, and strategies for shortcuts beat the clock with everything from appetizers and soups to main dishes and desserts. Designed for today's household running on a hectic schedule, as well as for the cook who wants a gratifying dinner without much fuss, this book satisfies with home-cooked meals organized ahead of time, or tasty treats whipped up in minutes. In an era when even discerning cooks are tempted to compromise to save time, Ken Hom comes to the rescue with Ten Minute Salmon with Green Onion Sauce, or Papaya and Grapefruit Salad. Readers can serve up Quick Orange-Lemon Chicken in twenty minutes, or Elizabeth Chong's Noodle Salad in just seventeen minutes. Using shelves stocked with items from the book's suggested Basic Chinese Pantry, even the most reluctant cook can conjure up a fabulous meal. Lavish full-color photographs round out this truly indispensable resource for cooks on the go.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Purists and food snobs, look elsewhere for instructions on staging a complete Szechuan banquet. Instead, this is a bonanza for American cooks who like Chinese-style dishes and want to learn how to make a few simple ones, but not master an entire cuisine. It's a book to rely on for cooking family dinner, a book to get all spattered with peanut oil. Hom, a popular television chef who literally wrote the book on Chinese technique, deftly turns his quick, inexpensive chicken wing stock into a subtle chicken and watercress soup as well as a tomato ginger soup. A simple dish of stir-fried peppers with scallops lends itself to acceptable substitutions: clams or mussels for the scallops; asparagus, zucchini or snow peas for the peppers. Even humble ground beef can be enlivened with ginger, bean paste and chili powder for a hot and spicy rice with beef. Desserts aren't Chinese cuisine's strongest suit, so Hom wisely limits himself to such offerings as lichees with papaya sauce and fresh strawberries with orange liqueur. Some may find the estimated preparation times optimistic, and the "shopping list" accompanying each dish is nearly useless, but these are minor quibbles. Photos.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Ken Hom is one of America's most talented chefs and the author of many cookbooks, including Chinese Technique, East Meets West, and Fragrant Harbor Tastes. He is currently working on a book about Chinese cuisine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 124 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books; First Edition edition (October 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877017700
• ISBN-13: 978-0877017707
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 7.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,933,899 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I've worn the first copy out!, December 14, 2007

By 

Mango (Toledo, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ken Hom's Quick and Easy Chinese Cooking (Paperback)

The recipes in this book are simple and very tasty. My wife and I have tried nearly every recipe and have not been disappointed.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great introduction, December 3, 2007

By 

a lawyer in DC (Washington, dc USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ken Hom's Quick and Easy Chinese Cooking (Paperback)

This is a great book for people who love Chinese food but don't want to pay for takeout, and I bought it when I was just out of college (and met both criteria). The recipes are easy to follow and tasty; my own copy is so spattered with peanut oil that I need a new one. Two really big crowd pleasers have been the "spicy meat sauce for noodles" with ground pork (you can use turkey and no one knows the difference) and the chicken with basil.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the my favorites!, June 24, 2009

By 

Net Admin / Home Chef (Sterling, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ken Hom's Quick and Easy Chinese Cooking (Paperback)

I have about a dozen Asian cookbooks including others from Ken Hom and this is one of my favorites. As it says in the title, the recipes are quick and easy and they are also very tasty. Beef, chicken, pork and even tofu are well covered and most make in a half hour or so. Most ingredients are not too hard to find even at the chain grocery in my neighborhood, though most are cheaper at the Asian grocery down the street. Ginger, garlic, peanut oil, spring onions, soy sauce, and Chinese five spice powder will get you pretty far. Add chili powder if you like it hot, plus some hoisin sauce and oyster sauce from the international aisle and you have most covered. You don't even need a wok, just your normal frying pan to saute. With my microwave rice maker Nordic Ware Microwave Rice Cooker 8 Cupand my microwave vegetable steamer Nordic Ware Microwave Vegetable and Seafood Steamer 11 Inch by 8.6 Inch, it is no problem to put together full, delicious, and healthy meals even on weeknights after getting home from work.