Foolproof Chinese Cooking

by Ken Hom

Book Overview

A companion book to the PBS Television series GREAT FOOD. Chinese food is popular the whole world over, and renowned chef Ken Hom, in his Foolproof Chinese Cooking, proves that anyone can cook this... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0789471450
• ISBN13: 9780789471451
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley)
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 8.0" x 10.9"

Customer Reviews

This is truely a great cook book

This cookbook is really one of my favorites. There are pictures that show you step by step instructions and what your finished dish will look like. The instructions are super easy to follow and are not lengthy so that you can quickly read it as you go. The recipes are what I think what I think the "most often" ordered by people at Chinese restaurants. Not major authentic you can buy most of the ingredients at your local grocer, none the less these recipes are very good!!!!

The best Chinese food you've ever eaten

This is an excellent book. You start out with a few simple (but delicious) dishes, and smoothly progress to complex and daring meals. You can stop anywhere you between these points, the food will still be wonderful. The food is great, but the best part is the introduction, where each ingredient is described in detail, with pictures and selection tips. Once you've enjoyed your new found skills, you'll never again eat the slop that most resturants churn out. TIP: Use the ingredients he recommends. It makes a huge difference, and it's fun to poke around in a dim and dusty Chinese grocery finding what you need. Make some dishes, have some friends over, be a wok hero in their eyes.

A Step Past the Basics

I started cooking Chinese food in college, when a wok and a handful of inexpensive ingredients made the perfect student's dinner - cheap, fast, and tasty. Since that time I have extended my repertoire as one regional style or another became popular. There are an embarrassing number of Chinese cookbooks on my shelves, and most have countless stains and injuries from their kitchen adventures.Chinese cookbooks are often either too complicated or too simple. Since it is a cookery that is much more than following recipes, it takes some time before the theory sinks in and confidence builds. Books that are too simple make reaching this level impossible. Those that are too complex require too much study when, after all, what we really want to do is cook and eat. When a friend gave me the simple volume I first suspected that this was one of the simple variety, but as I read through it I realized that this slim book was something else entirely - a perfect balance.The sections of the book are typical for the genre, ingredients and equipment, soups and first courses, fish and shellfish, meat and poultry, vegetables and side dishes, menus, and a good index. Each section takes you through recipes both simple (fried wonton, caramel walnuts) to moderately complex (hot and sour soup, spring rolls). For the adventurous there is Peking duck and Cantonese crab with black bean sauce. The instructions are clear as a bell, and the presentations and photography are gorgeous.Ken Hom has a remarkable set of credentials as a popularizer of Chinese and other Asian cooking. I count four cookbooks in addition to this one, several BBC TV series, and other, similar credentials. If the cover is to be believed, he has sold something over a million cookbooks. His writing style is crisp and clear, the recipes are precise, and the book's production standards are absolutely top notch. "Foolproof Chinese Cooking" was written as a companion book to the PBS television series GREAT FOOD. It is the perfect gift for the cook who is interested in branching out beyond the basic stir fry.

I can't wait to begin cooking...

I received my copy of this and have spent a delightful lunch hour browsing through it. I was amazed at the straight-forward instructions for recipes I had always thought were incredibly difficult. There is a wonderful section in the beginning that explains different ingredients and equipment that is a nice primer for beginners. This will become dog-eared very quickly. A must for anyone embarking on learning how to cook Chinese cuisine.