The Chinese Cookbook Project VII: Not a Cookbook, But…

A minority of the books I am gathering in my Chinese cookbook collection are not actually cookbooks, but touch on some aspect of Chinese food culture. I have historical treatises, translations of old Chinese works on the subject, books about learning to read Chinese characters that involve food, and pictorial reference works on ingredients and […]

Pei Mei’s Chicken with Sweet Soybean Paste

Morganna thinks that I should give this recipe a more dramatic name–something like, “Falling Down the Stairs Chicken,” or “Accident-Prone Chicken.” No, the chicken didn’t fall down the stairs, but Morganna did, on her way to dinner, whereupon she cracked the back of her head on a step and bled a lot and was in […]

The Chinese Cookbook Project VI: The Julia Child of China

Julia Child said that her second favorite cuisine next to French was Chinese; she recognized that Chinese cookery was a complex art dependant upon fresh ingredients and mastery of technique, and she appreciated the depth and breadth of flavor called forth by one of the oldest culinary traditions in the world. Often called by the […]

The Chinese Cookbook Project V: America’s Dim Sum Pioneer

Henry Chan is a man with a vision. He envisioned a dim sum restaurant in the United States with impeccable service, a refined atmosphere and clean bathrooms. And eventually, after a great deal of family drama between he and his father, he managed to turn Yank Sing, the restaurant his beloved mother, Alice Chan, started […]

Cookbooks!

A small portion of my cookbook library, including most of the Asian cookbooks. And so, Steph over at Da*xiang tapped me with this meme about cookbooks that seems to be floating about the food blogosphere, and like the good sport that I am, I decided to answer the questions, and in fact, even post a […]