Debra Wendt

I've had this book for decades and it is well used and loved. It contains more than 1000 recipes and each is authentic. The recipe for egg rolls and fried rice have always received rave reviews from all guests, even those who are Chinese. There are not many photographs but the ones that are a full color and high quality. The recipes presented have all the ingredients listed above the instruction for the dish. The ingredients are given numbers a-z. So lets say to make fried rice, A three cups of cold rice. B two teaspoons of vegetable oil, C 1 egg. D 1/4 cup sliced, chopped water chestnuts, drained. E 1 tablespoon light soy sauce. F2 teaspoons of sesame oil. G 3 chopped scallions. The instructions would say, Heat a pan and add B. When B is just beginning to smoke, add A and stir fry making sure to break up clumps of rice. Heat through, about 5 minutes. Add C and stir to combine. Add d and stir to combine, When all ingredients are hot and combined, add the E and F and stir to combine. Sprinkle G over the rice and serve. It took me a while to get the hang of this system of ingredients. The big news. This book is the real deal. It contains a list of ingredients that are fully described, information on its use and preparation, and what part of the China it comes from. The ingredients also come with photographs of every ingredient. The regions of China are fully explained in terms of geography and it's effects on the cuisine. China is a huge country filled with many regions with their own cuisines. Canton, Shanghai, Szechuan, Fukien and more. Every single recipe title has a subtitle of the region it comes from. The book is filled with recipes as authentic as it gets. They are for the most part family recipes. Some of the recipes are for special occasions and restaurant worthy like the sliced flank steak with snow peas. What impressed me is in 1000+ only a handful of recipes were adapted for Westerners. There is a dessert section and it's brilliant. Pagoda cake. Happy Smile New Year cake. Almond Float. Not a fortune cookie in the dessert chapter to be seen. People as if I stir fry. I do, but for me, stir fry isn't just the technique, Most of the time I use a recipe from this book. So delicious and healthy. I can't recommend this book enough. I will never be without a copy. It was in my childhood home in the early 70's. It's as valuable today as it was many decades ago.