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Food of China Paperback – May 1, 2009

by Kay Halsey (Author)

27 customer reviews

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This book is a celebration of one of the world's greatest cuisines. It takes readers on a journey from the Peking duck restaurants of Beijing to the kitchens of Shanghai, the tea gardens of Hangzhou and the dim sum chefs of Hong Kong, and reveals the food that defines today's Chinese cooking -- from the tastiest barbecued spareribs, crispy skin duck, and flash-cooked pea sprouts to simple noodles and congee.

The Food of China also provides information on:

Bean curd
Spicy condiments
Banquet food
Unusual sauces
China's teas.

About The Food of... series
A culinary journey around the world.

Each book in The Food of... series is a comprehensive introduction to the world's great cuisine. These books feature more than 100 delicious recipes that highlight each country's culinary treasures. With instructive color photographs throughout, each recipe helps readers choose and identify produce, from vegetables and flavorings to street snacks, sweets, and colorful and exotic fruits. Feature sections explore the essence of each culture's food and cooking techniques.

Food of China

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kay Halsey and Lulu Grimes are award-winning food editors and authors whose other titles include The Food of Thailand and The Food of France.

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Product Details

Series: Food of..
Paperback: 296 pages
Publisher: Whitecap Books Ltd.; 1 edition (May 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1552856836
ISBN-13: 978-1552856833
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 1.1 x 11.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #777,526 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #256 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Asian Cooking > Chinese
- #7750 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars

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Top Customer Reviews

A delicious production!

ByA customeron December 25, 2001

Format: Hardcover

This is one of the best gifts I received this year. From the moment the wrapper was discarded, I hungrily lapped it up from cover to cover. The whole experience was akin to being at a Chinese dim sum. There were little morsels of information to digest and delectable photographs to gorge on.
As if these weren't enough, the recipes couldn't be more authentic. Being brought up on Chinese food for most of my life, the ingredients were familiar to me. Leafing through the recipes, I could almost "taste" the dishes in my head. All the familiar favourites are here and they are not too complicated to prepare. I was glad to see most of my childhood comfort foods here as well (eg. the 8-jewelled rice porridge).
Of course, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. A phone call to mum to get the best brands of Shaoxing wine, soya sauce and rice vinegar and I was ready to go. The Kung Po chicken, Crossing the Bridge noodles and other mouth-watering dishes turned out perfectly. For once my wife didn't mind being experimented on. The proportions of the various ingredients were perfectly balanced (as a well-cooked Chinese dish should be). However, for my taste, I had to slightly reduce the amounts of soya sauce in a few recipes that required braising, as boiling down the liquid intensified its saltiness. But this is a matter of taste and it should in no way discourage one from acquiring this book.
All in all, a splendid production and one that you will return to again and again to satisfy your senses.

0Comment 20 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Recipes taste like the real thing!

ByA customeron November 5, 2002

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

We found this book to be a real gem. Each of the recipes we tried turned out like food we have ordered in good Chinese restaurants here in San Francisco. And the lush photographs, many of which accompany each recipe, are truly inspiring!
We have plenty of Chinese ingredients on hand due to the plethora of Asian markets so finding ingredients was no challenge, but may be for people without Asian markets. There is no listing of resources for ingredients in the book.
The seafood section is very extensive and varied and we have used many of the recipes because we are able to get a variety of fresh seafood here. Meat and vegetable sections are wonderful. Recipes are easy to follow, BUT PLEASE NOTE that quantities are given in grams, which require some calculations before you begin.....a minor setback when you consider the final product.
We have bought copies of the book as gifts because we have been so delighted with it. We have at least 10 Chinese cookbooks but find that this is the only one we use. Finally, I am satisfied with Chinese cooking at home!

0Comment 12 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

The food of China by Nina Somonds and Deh-ta Hsiung

ByDeon Matzenon November 26, 2002

Format: Hardcover

I originally purchased this book in Beijing to help me with my cooking when I lived there. I enjoyed it so much that I have since purchase 5 copies to give as gifts when I returned to the US. The ingredients are readily available both here and in China and the food is delicious, easy to prepare and traditional to China. I heartily recommend it, even to the novice chef. Most of the recipes have limited ingredients and are easy and quick to make and my friends always rave about the end product. The photographs make this look like an amazing coffee table book, but they are functional as well giving many step by step illustrations on techniques. Well worth the money and a must for people who enjoy Chinese food that is sensational.

0Comment 10 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Authentic recipes, gorgeous photographs, great production

ByBart MotesVINE VOICEon May 23, 2005

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I lived in Taiwan for three years and traveled extensively around China, so I am frequently disappointed with restaurants in the United States that allegedly serve Chinese food. Most serve a very weak imitation of Chinese food that has been hopelessly compromised by humoring the American palate. The literature suffers from the same flaws: either painfully basic or elaborately contrived foods--never capturing the true cuisine and eating habits of ordinary Chinese people.

This book is a truly amazing reversal of that trend, and therefore, of course, it is out of print. Gorgeous, lush pictures beckon you in and expertly selected dishes described in pragmatic English keep your attention riveted. I cried out to see the turnip cakes that every street vendor in Taiwan offers for breakfast prominently featured in the first pages. Then dumplings! And steamed buns! Every chef in America that proports to do Szechuan cooking should be dragged kicking and screaming to inspect the simple and elegant recipe for Kung pao chicken on page 130.

Did I mention the gorgeous fold out pages? The treatment for Peking Duck describes in great detail the proper way to make the dish and gives a case study at Quanjude Restaurant. (Update: I've bought and gifted several copies of this book, and I was surprised and dismayed to discover that some copies of the book do not have the fold out pages. I was hoping to be able to mention different ISBNs so that readers could distinguish, but both copies that I have, one with the foldouts and one without, have the same ISBN #1-74045-284-4. You could ask the seller of the book if the pages following page 134 and page 190 have foldout sections. Or inspect yourself if you have the book in hand, of course. Very strange! Still a wonderful book, either way, but given a choice, the extra fold outs are well worth the effort.)

Speaking of gifts, I gave this book to a Shanghainese Chinese friend and she said that the recipes were very authentic. She said it was the first cookbook that she felt like she could make something out of and serve to her parents. That's a better endorsement than anything I could say.

This is truly a book created with love and knowledge. I am bewildered as to why it is out of print.