Quick & Easy Enjoy Chinese Cuisine (Quick & Easy (Japan Publications)) [Paperback]

Judy Lew (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2003 | Series: Quick & Easy (Japan Publications)

FOREWORD
The title of this book expresses the intent and purpose for which it was written. You will find that the key to great Chinese cooking lies in learning to enjoy yourself foremost and letting everything else follow.
This book will guide you through the simple techniques necessary for preparing the basic ingredients contained in the easy-to-follow recipes. The recipes have been developed and tested in Chinese cooking classes, along with a few personal favorites that have been handed down from family generations. Suggestions for meal planning have been reduced to a simple chart, for quick and easy reference.
The highly nutritious ingredients and quick sealing cooking methods of Chinese cooking are consistent with the emergence of a health and diet oriented society. The informal Chinese dinner is especially suited for today's life styles. Nutritious, economical and easy to prepare, Chinese food also happens to be very delicious. Thus, this book's emphasis has been placed upon the preparation of dishes used in everyday Chinese meals.
As you gain proficiency and personal confidence in Chinese cooking you will find this book helpful in adapting various recipes to your own personal tastes and experimenting with different ingredients to achieve a desired result. I encourage all my students and readers to go beyond the recipes, substitute ingredients, and - most importantly - have fun and Enjoy Chinese Cooking.
-Judy Lew

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Quick & Easy Enjoy Chinese Cuisine will guide even the most novice cook through the necessary techniques for preparing these delicious, easy-to-follow recipes-all of the recipes have been developed and tested in Chinese cooking classes. Additionally, this accessible volume includes some of the authors personal favorites, which have been handed down in her family for generations.

With recipes that are inexpensive and use readily available ingredients, step-by-step color photographs for each recipe, suggestions for substitutions, and a unique menu chart, Quick & Easy Enjoy Chinese Cuisine makes Chinese cooking both simple and enjoyable.

About the Author

Judy Lew lives in Seattle and is the Director of the Uwajimaya Cooking School. She is well known for her cooking classes and her appearances on local radio and television programs.

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Japan Publications Trading (August 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 4889961267
• ISBN-13: 978-4889961263
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #723,884 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I LOVE THIS COOKBOOK, August 9, 2005

By 

S. SPEIGHT "SP8girl" (Quartz Hill, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Quick & Easy Enjoy Chinese Cuisine (Quick & Easy (Japan Publications)) (Paperback)

These "Quick & Easy" cookbooks are WONDERFUL! Pictures of the ingredients and you can get them almost anywhere!

If you don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen but want great food...get these cookbooks!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great place to start learning about Chinese cooking, July 29, 2009

By 

Graves (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Quick & Easy Enjoy Chinese Cuisine (Quick & Easy (Japan Publications)) (Paperback)

Quick and Easy Enjoy Chinese Cuisine. The title is pretty much straight to the point. The recipes presented in this book are quick, fairly easy and simple to enjoy. I'll reserve comment on how authentic they are for Chinese cuisine though.

The book is laid out by sections and a color code on the side of the book helps you find what you are looking for quickly. You will need a few specialty items. A wok springs to mind but in general that is no great problem and the book even discusses the virtues of different types of woks and what goes best with what type of stove.

Some have said in their reviews this is a "pamphlet" and that did give me pause. "What am I buying?" But it is a book. Bound with over 120 pages, that is a book. What they may have been looking at though is the way it is laid out. Except for some instructions at the beginning and end each page is laid out in a manner that does remind you of a pamphlet.

Lew tries to keep it to a recipe a page, two at most, and while many books have lots of words and a few pictures, usually of the finished dish, this does have several pictures of each dish being created. Since the cooking style is very different from what most Occidental cooks are use to this is important and very helpful. I think you do need to have some small skill as a cook. These are not for beginners or the lack of text may be a bit overwhelming.

I will say that the lay out reminded me of some of my mother's cook books from the 1960's and that can be a little off putting but you're eating the food, not the pages. Looking through the recipes I found myself rapidly marking off ones to try, "That looks good. Oh and that one too...have to try that one" etc. I'm blessed with a wonderful Asian market near my house so the ingredients are easily found but some people who are not so fortunate may have to improvise on some dishes, but that is the nature of the cuisine and not the fault of the author.

I admit that I'm not sure how authentic to real Chinese tables the dishes are. These seem suspiciously like the dishes one gets at a Chinese restaurant in New York or Philly or Chicago rather than Beijing or Shanghai, but hey it's an introduction to the style and helps you get your feet wet

The bottom line is that these are fun, fairly easy and tasty. Are they 100% authentic? Possibly not but this is a GREAT introduction to the cuisine. It will let you know if you want to explore further into it and starts you on your basic skills. The Chinese have been cooking for millennia and you aren't going to get it all in any one book, but if it's a journey you're going to make, this is a wonderful first step.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really is Quick and Easy..., April 10, 2007

By 

~Leann "academy252" (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quick & Easy Enjoy Chinese Cuisine (Quick & Easy (Japan Publications)) (Paperback)

This whole series of books is so well illustrated and written that anyone can follow them. As a culinary student and personal chef I love the fact that there is a picture of what everything is suppose to look like along the way. If you are wanting to cook and try some authentic tasting Chinese cuisine this is a great book to start with. I am hoping to collect more in the series. The format and food are both excellent!!!