New Wok Cooking: Easy, Healthy, One-Pot Meals (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Executive chef at New York City's Oriont, Ross rehabilitates the wok in this exciting collection of recipes. Readers who associate the wok solely with stir-frying will learn to use it for braising, poaching, tea-smoking and even making soup. Some of the recipes, such as Vietnamese Pork Cooked in Sugar, are traditional Asian dishes but others, such as Seafood Mousse in Crepe Net Bundles, innovatively mix Asian and European flavors and techniques. It's amazing what Ross can do with such a simple piece of equipment: a chapter on steaming includes both simple Crisp Broccoli Steamed with Oyster Sauce and downright elegant Soft Savory Custard Steamed in a Pumpkin. The introductory material is outstanding as well. A thorough glossary of ingredients used to stock various Asian pantries covers everything from nori to cassia bark, and the author sensibly provides basic instructions for making the rice that serves as a base for many of her dishes. Throughout, Ross plays the part of the gentle, informative and generous teacher, whether sharing the secret method for easily poaching fish fillets (boiling water is gently poured over the fish) or leading the way through the steps of smoking tofu over a mixture of sugar, flour and black and jasmine tea leaves. Even the few desserts provided are never intimidatingly strange, yet always fresh. Particularly delicious is her Jade Sea Pudding made with pearl tapioca and honeydew melon. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Ross, author of the very good Beyond Bok Choy, is also an experienced cooking teacher and caterer. Here she shows that use of the wok, her favorite piece of kitchen equipment, need not be limited to stir-frying. She also uses hers for braising, poaching, steaming, deep-frying, tea-smoking, and even making soup, and she provides a range of flavorful recipes--primarily Chinese in origin or inspiration but from other Asian cuisines as well--to prove her point. There's a brief chapter of desserts made in the wok and another one of delicious condiments, sauces, and other seasonings. For most collections.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter (May 16, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 060960418X
• ISBN-13: 978-0609604182
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #867,460 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Healthy Wok Cooking, October 12, 2000

By	Elise Simon Goodman (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

I'm a literary agent and we represent a smallish group of food writers (among them the Moosewood Restaurant and James Peterson) and I am - - as you may imagine- - - an enthusiastic cook. I always have a few favorite recipes from each book we represent, but I even have amazed myself at how many recipes I've used - - successfully, happily - - - from this new book by Rosa Ross.

I have done practically all the ones in the chapter on steaming, because they are easy to do and and so healthy and delicious.

Crisp Broccoli Steamed with Oyster Sauce sounds simple and straightforward and it is, but what's surprising is how delicious it is.

Steamed Fish Steaks calls for a few more unusual ingredients. But it was so marvelous I made it twice, both times with Chilean sea bass. (I feel a bit guilty about that because I now notice that Chilean sea bass is being over-fished. Next time I'll try it with cod or salmon.)

Steamed Flower Shrimp is also wonderful - - and beautiful.

Many of these recipes were developed by Rosa (who is originally from Macau and so is Portuguese - Chinese) over a summer when she was trying to lose a few pounds, so they are, for the most part, marvelously low in fat and calories.

A wonderful, inventive, easy, healthy collection of recipes!