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March 26, 2012 1:10 PM   Subscribe

Good (English-language) Chinese cookbooks?

Now that I've grown old enough to leave the nest (and moved too far from home to drop in for a meal), I have to cook for myself. I'm an American-born Chinese who would like some good inspiration when I want to revisit the stuff I grew up on.

Trouble is, all my mom's cookbooks are in Chinese, which I'm not terribly literate in. I've gotten lots of advice on good Western cookbooks, but do you have any suggestions for some Chinese cookbooks?

Ideally it'd be chock-full of photos, both because it would be helpful, and because I love leafing through photo books of food. (Who doesn't?)
posted by Hollywood Upstairs Medical College to Food & Drink (9 answers total) 27 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: The recipes are mostly very simple, and I often end up tweaking the seasonings a little, but everything I've made from the bilingual "Chinese Cooking Made Easy" by Mu-Tsun Lee has been fantastic.

I know, I know, not the most confidence-inspiring title, but it's been a great resource in our kitchen. I'm often surprised at how good it is in helping me turn a handful of ingredients into something really delicious. I picked it up on a whim in a used bookstore a few years ago and it's now our go-to cookbook for weeknight dinners.
posted by Narrative Priorities at 1:19 PM on March 26, 2012 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Fuschia Dunlop wrote two very good cookbooks on Sichuan and Hunan food. Lots of photos and research.
posted by subtle-t at 1:19 PM on March 26, 2012 [4 favorites]


Best answer: The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking by Barbara Tropp is really good. Good explanations before each recipe and a lot of great poultry recipes in particular.
posted by JoeBlubaugh at 1:39 PM on March 26, 2012


Best answer: Probably my all-around favorite currently is The Key to Chinese Cooking by Irene Kuo, but the Amazon prices seem crazy.

For good Cantonese home cooking, try The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen by Grace Young.

The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking by Barbara Tropp probably has more background information than you need, but the recipes are good, mostly time-honored classics of northern Chinese cuisine.

The bilingual Pei Mei's Chinese Cookbook Vol. 1 has a decidedly retro feel and the recipes are terse and scant on details, but a lot of classics from all over China are here. (Best-ever Ma Po Tofu and Kung Pao Chicken, for my money.) For more experienced cooks only.
posted by Quietgal at 1:41 PM on March 26, 2012 [2 favorites]


Best answer: I was given Classic Chinese Cuisine as a gift, and find it quite handy and easy to follow.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:43 PM on March 26, 2012


i second Quietgal"s choice of "The Key to Chinese Cooking". the chinese bible at my house.
posted by goutytophus at 2:34 PM on March 26, 2012


Fuschia Dunlop's 'Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook' is awesome. The other good one on our shelf is 'Chinese Kitchen' by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo.
posted by jon1270 at 3:36 PM on March 26, 2012


The Key To Chinese Cooking seems to be much more affordable on abebooks, by the way. I just picked up a copy for $2 (!)
posted by NoEatingdogs at 4:09 PM on March 27, 2012


Oh, actually that was a bad link. There seems to be another book with the same title, by a different author. You want this one
posted by NoEatingdogs at 4:12 PM on March 27, 2012


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