The Best of Taiwanese Cuisine: Recipes and Menus for Holidays and Special Occasions (Hardcover)

by Karen Hulene Bartell (Author) "Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year, as it is sometimes known in the United States, occurs in January or February, on the first day..." (more)
Key Phrases: The Best of Taiwanese Cuisine, Lunar New Year, Mandarin Pancakes (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
More than a collection of over 100 delicious Taiwanese recipes, this cookbook is divided into seasons and traditional celebrations such as Lunar New Year, Dragon Boat Festival, Chinese Valentine's Day, and Mid-Autumn Moon Festival--with a complete menu for each one. Complementary and harmonious foods are organized in 18 carefully planned menus. The Best of Taiwanese Cuisine also includes cultural information, Chinese folk art paper cuttings, and a Chinese lunar zodiac calendar.

Dishes from the four corners of China are found in Taiwanese kitchens and restaurants: noodles, dumplings and Mongolian Lamb Barbecue from northern China; sauces and herbs from the east featured in recipes like "Piquant Lime Chicken in Swallow's Nest;" the hot, spicy, fried foods from the Szechuan region; and foods from southern China such as lightly seasoned, fresh seafood. Because of Japan's influence, even sushi and sashimi have their place in Taiwanese cuisine. Vegetarian dishes like "Five-Spice Tofu" and "Baby Corn Vegetable Medley" are also popular because of Taiwan's Buddhist and Taoist legacy.

About the Author
Karen Hulene Bartell, author of The Best of Polish Cooking, Expanded Edition (Hippocrene Books, 2000), is a writer whose recent publications also include American Business English and a novel set in Taiwan, The Sovereignty of the Dragons. She and her husband lived in Taipei, Taiwan for five and a half years, during which time she lectured at Soochow University and taught English as a Second Language. She currently resides in the Austin, Texas area.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 122 pages
• Publisher: Hippocrene Books; illustrated edition edition (April 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0781808553
• ISBN-13: 978-0781808552
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,473,741 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars recipes are NOT accurate and missing key ingredients, January 27, 2003

By A Customer

This book was written by a woman who lived in Taiwan because her husband was transferred there for work. She is not knowledgeable enough to be writing a cookbook on Taiwanese cuisine. If you are Taiwanese or are familiar with Taiwanese cuisine, you will realize this right away when you look at her recipes. The recipes are MISSING KEY INGREDIENTS that make the dish taste the way it should. For example, the oyster omelet recipe does not have sweet potato starch in it. This is a key ingredient which makes the Taiwanese oyster omelet taste the way it does.

In addition, there are NO pictures and written from a point of view which would make me suspect that the author got the recipes from the internet or quickly jotted down the recipes instead of actually cooking/testing the recipes and trying them out.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Highly Disappointed, September 21, 2007

By	Diane E. Lowe (Los Angeles, CA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Being half-Taiwanese, I was really interested in seeing (A)what recipes and (B)insights the author would have on Taiwanese holidays and holiday foods.

I was sorely disappointed, on both points. The author seems curious in Taiwan's culture, but only in a very pro-West, "how quaint" sort of way, without any deeper understanding of Taiwan's festivals and holidays. The recipes are also approached in a very Western manner, and the recipes themselves are also very Westernized.

In its place, I highly recommend books in the Wei-Chuan series, such as Chinese Snacks (Wei quan shi pu), Chinese Cooking Made Easy: With Simple Sauces and Dressings (Wei-chuans cookbook), Chinese Cuisine: Taiwanese Style, and Chinese One Dish Meals.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not authentic, July 2, 2008

By	Dennis M. Reed (Poway, Ca United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Although I cannot verify what the 2 previous reviewers have said about the authenticity of the recipes, I would suspect that they are correct based upon the author's description and recipes for sushi. Nowhere does she provide an appropriate recipe for sushi rice with appropriate vinegar, sugar, etc., ingredients.
Also her description of wasabi is just plain incorrect, i.e., wasabi is not a "spicy-hot, green mustard sauce", it is a root which is grated and served with sushi. The "wasabi" she describes is what is frequently at suchi bars because real wasabi is expensive and it is indeed usually made with mustard and/or horseradish.
However, some of the recipes seem to be decent Chinese recipes or Westernized versions of the recipes and they would most likely be good eats!