Customer Reviews

My Grandmother's Chinese Kitchen: 100 Family Recipes and Life Lessons

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This delightful book will transform the way you think about cooking, about food, and likely about life as well.
Tracing her own skills back to the critical lessons she learned at a tender young age from her beloved Grandmother, Eileen Yin-Fei Lo takes you on a journey from simple baby steps (how to make perfect rice) right up to more
exotic Holiday dishes. But more than just helping you to understand how to cook properly, how to respect the ingredients, the Gods of the kitchen and more, she also shares a whole philosophy of life. An insight into how the Chinese look at things.
You could read this book without lifting one spatula, nor steaming one precious fish, and feel enriched and ennobled by the experience.
I can personally strongly recommend this profound tome to all.

My Cantonese wife is very much enjoying this cookbook. And I am enjoying the results. The cookbook is filled with lots of little tips, in addition to great recipes and background stories. Would make an excellent addition to the cookbook shelf, though it will probably be kept (well used) on the countertop!

I love this book for its author's personal entries and photos. The recipes are good, but some were not a part of my personal experience. For those recipes I go to Ken Hom's Easy Recipes from a Chinese American Childhood Easy Family Recipes from a Chinese-American Childhood (Knopf Cooks American Series) and Every Grain of Rice, by Ellen Blonder and Annabel Low.Every Grain of Rice: A Taste of Our Chinese Childhood in America However, it is fascinating to learn about cookbook author and cooking instructor Eileen Yin-Fei Lo's life. I own some of Ms. Lo's other cookbooks and look forward to trying some of the recipes in this one. I'm sure each recipe has been meticulously tested.

I always love reading about cultures and mixed with food (my favorite passtime) - this is a treasure of book with genuine recipes that my family and my family before that have cooked. It bought a lot of great memories back for me of eating with the family and talkig naround the table. I was even surprised to see a recipe that is cooked for mothers who have just given birth (pigs feet with ginger). there are so many treasured recipes and for many of the recipes that I have tried, they have come out just great. reading and eating - what a lovely combination.

The recipes in this book are very similar to what I know from my mother's cooking except that my mother would say a little of this or that -- not specific amounts. Very authentic. I am sharing with my family so they can compare with our own recipes.

This one has family photos and anecdotes. The author once managed a silk shop in Chunking Mansions. I would have liked to have read about the snacks she ate then but I guess she did a lot of cooking and probably didn't like to eat street food so much. She reminds you to remove the skin on the gingkos and the bitter stem as well.

This book requires a scale though because she gives ingredients in weights.

Today's Chinese Americans have lost touch with the history and beliefs of their Asian culture. "My Grandmother's Chinese Kitchen" reintroduces customs and superstitions that have become lost in today's fast moving society. While I sampled a few of the authentic recipes, I most enjoyed the reflections of the author's childhood, the daily lifestyle and holiday celebrations.
I plan to make this a most read for my teen age son, in hopes that he'll learn a little about his Cantonese heritage.

This book is helpful not only for its recipes, but insightful into the culture and customs of Cantonese life.

I was pleasantly surprised to see so many awesome, authentic Chinese recipes. My wife was looking at the recipes first then I'll review which ones I'd like to try. I can't wait to try the first few favorite recipes.

If you think Chow Mein from American restaurants is Chinese, take out your Norwegian grandmother's recipe collection. If you live in America and yearn for authentic Chinese cooking, get this book. You won't see pictures, but if you already know how to cook and can imagine the taste of things by reading composition of ingredients, this book is for you, especially if your grandmother is Chinese. If you want adventurous cooking, find Anthony Bourdain. If you think this book makes you look cool, get a hobby.