Customer Reviews

Potsticker Chronicles: America's Favorite Chinese Recipes

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By Bill Marsano. Stewart Chang Berman lives up to his promise to give us 'America's favorite Chinese recipes in this volume, as you can see for yourself. They're all here: won ton soup, shrimp in garlic sauce, lobster Cantonese, General Tso's chicken, Hunan beef, pepper steak and many more, including one of his signature 'fusion' dishes, Sichuan blackened shrimp. In short, just about everything you can find at your storefront Ptomaine Wok take-out is here, 160 or so recipes, potstickers (fried meat dumplings) included.

Most recipes are gratifyingly simple: More than a hundred run to no more than five steps. Of course Chinese cooking requires some unusual ingredients and equipment, but surely we are no longer stunned at the sight of a wok or star anise? In any event, the author pitches in with helpful sections on ingredients, equipment, techniques and basic sauces. He even includes--for the neophytes among us--the cornstarch mixture, which is simple (it's cornstarch and water) and, I think, unnecessary. I gave up adding it years ago; my sauces always seemed thick enough without it.

The recipes are nicely laid out, usually one to a page. They're clearly written and presented in a readable type face. No fussiness nor fol-de-rol here. Note that the paper is unfinished--not slick and shiny. That means when you use this book at the stove it's best to have one of those clear plastic protectors at hand. Or else be neat, which is beyond me.

The real surprise in this book is the author, Stewart Change Berman has been around for some time. He switched from a political-science career to cookery when illness threatened the family restaurant, The Court of the Mandarins, in Washington, D.C. during the Nixon administration--so why haven't we heard from him before? It would appear that he was too busy opening other restaurants (Wok 'n' Roll and The Mandarins, both in or near Washington) to court celebrity.

Which is perhaps just as well. This is a honey book with homey touches, none better than the anecdotes and family memories he sprinkles throughout. In fact, his mother's illustration of the meaning of tact is worth the price of the book all by itself.

There are some dinner-menu suggestions troward the back of the book; most contain suggestions for wine. My advice is to forget them. Wine <can> go with Chinese food but it seldom goes willingly. Beer and tea are drunk at table by the Chinese, and who should know better?--Bill Marsano is an award-winning writer on travel and wine and spirits; he often cooks for his family.

I think this is one of the best books on the subject. Every Chinese food recipe I can think of is in this book. Mr. Berman's book is a little more "Americanized" in the fact that there is a lot more sauce used in his dishes. Unlike traditional Chinese cuisine that uses very little sauce. Every recipe that I have tried has been 100x better than what you get a Chinese restaurant.

This book does not have any pictures. If pictures are important to you, I suggest that you try Chinese Cuisine Made Simple by Dorothy Huang.

I have several hundred cookbooks in my library and this book and Dorothy Huang's Chinese Cuisine Made Simple are the best two books on the subject of Chinese Cuisine.

PS: I don't review books unless I have cooked several recipes from them. You can't judge a book by its cover and you can't honestly judge a recipe without cooking and eating it.

I love chinese food! Never could make it right though and nothing ever tasted like I got in the restaurants. Most chinese cookbooks seemed to miss the mark where it came to replicating the restaurant type food. I gave up on chinese food altogether for over 10 years.

I bought this on a whim this last winter and couldn't believe how good this stuff was. For me, it cracked the nut on restaurant style chinese cooking. This stuff is so freaking easy and the same ingredients in varying quantities are used throughout the book. You DO NOT have to have an extensive pantry to make this stuff and it is as tasty as anything you will ever order in a restaurant.

As a matter of policy and courtesy, I usually don't say anything about another review but there is one here that talks about having to use two cups of oil everytime you make something and how it isn't all that practicle. The person is right, for a lot of recipes the books tells you to have 2 cups of oil to cook your meat but you don't have to. I just sautee mine when I'm not in the mood to go all out or just use my deep fat frying and just reuse the oil like I normally would for anything else. It's not that big of a deal.

The sauces in this book are worth the price on their own and you won't be sorry.

Most cookbooks I have come across try to impress the readers... and at times I feel like I should be a chef myself to actually follow the recipes. Not so for Mr. Chang's book. As an average non-chef person who enjoys the creation process in the kitchen, often involving the whole family (five in the family), Potsticker Chronicles is a real treat. While the recipes are excellent (simple yet informative), the bonuses are the stories that accompany the recipes. The anecdotes provide more depth to cooking experience, going beyond instructional-type format. As we prepare the ingredients, the stories are read (often aloud) and the fun begins for me and my whole family. While I highly recommend Potsticker Chronicles to anyone who enjoys the creation process in the kitchen, this book is a must if you enjoy cooking with others.

The reviewers' problems with the book seem to be around the use of 2 cups of oil in every recipe. I have not read the book, but the technique of first frying in a large quantity of oil before stir-frying is called "velveting," and it produces marvelous texture and flavor. The same result may be achieved by using water in place of oil.(Thank you Barbara Tropp; may you rest in piece.) Simply drop the marinated meat in a pot of boiling water for a few seconds, drain and proceed with the stir-fry. It's the heat you are after - it sets the marinade and the proteins so juices are locked in during the stir-fry. The result is incomperably succulent, tender and flavorful meat. Try!

The recipes in this book have the most fabulous flavor!! Mr. Chang Berman explains how to cook them extremely well, explains the what the ingredients are, how to prepare the more uncommon ones and recommends the best brands. The illustrations in the book are wonderful and the stories he relates are definitely great. I rarely, if ever, read a "cookbook's" anecdotes, but this one is definitely worth doing. I wish I could write this review as well as Mr. Chang Berman writes his book. If you really enjoy cooking and love Chinese, get this book!!!! By the way, the Brown Sauce (both versions) - to die for!!! Thank you, sir!

I don't know about you but I've tried to cook chinese dinner kits and use little sauce mixes and even some bottled sauces but I could never get that Chinese restaurant taste. There was always something missing. UNTIL I got this book. I am cooking Chinese at least once a week and it is sooooo good. The brown sauce, garlic sauce, etc can be made with anything and you'll feel like you're eating at a chinese restaurant but better! I usually make a large batch of sauce and freeze it in small batches, then I can make a really quick dinner. The orange beef is amazing, and don't worry about frying everything. I tried the orange beef with simply browning the meet directly in the wok with just a little oil and it tasted just as good if not a little better that way. It also takes a lot less time. I love trying new stuff out of the cookbook. The side stories and background information is really interesting to read. All of the recipes have a backstory and special meaning to the author. This is easily my favorite cookbook!

I cannot believe the secret of the "Brown Sauce" was revealed along with many others! Stu did a wonderful job mixing family stories and excellent cooking. Closely guarded secrets are now an open book to honor his mother's memory. It's a unique mixture between ancient Chinese traditions and the New World! There are no pictures in this cookbook because pictures could not do the quality of the cooking justice! Not only is the quality and the history of the cooking honored, but also the quality and the origin of the ingredients. Such as the brown trout that was caught by the author below a waterfall and the pheasant that was transported by Amtrak to the most deserving kitchen. Fabulous!!!

I LOVE THIS BOOK... not only are the recipes marvelous, the stories Berman adds to particular recipes make the reader feel like they truly are cooking authentic chinese food. The recipes are simple and easy and loads of fun to cook!!

The book is excellently written and gives not just fabulous recipes but also the family history associated with them. Previously closely guarded secrets are revealed in honor of the author's mother. Ancient Chinese tradition is fused with the New World. The importance of the right ingredients is stressed and accompanied with stories of their origin such as the trout caught by the author below a waterfall in the Alps. Delicious!!!