"Explore the Rich Culinary Traditions of China with Kei Lum Chan and Diora Fong Chan's 'China: The Cookbook'"

A Customer: Very well written and illustrated book. Amazing authentic recipes. Highly recommend.

Canada on Jul 01, 2023

Amazon Kunde: Viele recepten und gute Beschreibungen , was fehlt sind entsprechende Bilder

Germany on Jan 19, 2023

James M: I've got four of these Phaidon tomes. They're all beautifully put together -- generous photography, good typesetting and a great mixture of recipes. However, without exception, the recipes have all been pretty underwhelming.

I've cooked over 10 recipes from this book and all have been quick, easy and pretty uninspiring. I've found this to be similar with the Indian, Jewish and Japanese books too. There is a good variety, from the takeaway familiars to more niche recipes. The "guest chefs" section also have some recipes that are a little more adventurous but again, I've yet to find one that has been truly outstanding.

I will probably continue to purchase the Phaidon books -- they just look so pretty on the shelf! -- but there will certainly be better books out there for those who want a truly good Chinese cooking book.

United Kingdom on Nov 07, 2021

Raikoh: This book is huge, almost A4 in size and 2 inches thick. There are a huge amount of recipes with beautiful photos of the finished meal, or traditional Chinese fishermen and so on. The gold ended pages give the book a luxurious feel that I’ve rarely seen outside of Folio Society books. The textured cover is laminated so small spills will wipe off. I wouldn’t use more than water though in case it spoiled this beautiful book.

A couple of things did disappoint me a little. All recipes are shown in full Chinese script and English translation, but I would have liked to have seen the pinyin transliteration as well. Also, some of the item names are written in their Japanese form, such as daikon radish, instead of the Chinese term, mooli that I see in my oriental grocer. Being in a small Somerset town, I can’t get all the fresh ingredients very well unless I get the bus to London which is a bit of a pity but there’s still enough to keep me busy experimenting for ages yet.

I’ve yet to come across anything too complicated or needing some cooking tool I can’t get here on amazon or in a supermarket, and it all seems a lot simpler to prepare than I expected. Whether...

United Kingdom on Jul 23, 2020

Jason: I'm quite surprised this book is not rated higher than what it currently is (4.1 as of 12/13/2016). This book is a gem and deserves nothing short of a full 5 stars. Why? It is a rare find. Rare in the sense that it is probably the MOST comprehensive cookbook of Chinese cuisine you will ever come across. From ingredients to recipes to techniques -- This book has you covered IN DEPTH! And speaking of recipes, nearly every region of China is represented in this book... Sichuan, Cantonese, Hunan, even Hakka -- Over 30 regions and over 650 recipes. IT'S ALL THERE! More than you could ever ask for, and probably far more than you'll ever try cooking.

Now to address some of the unfair critical reviews here...

Someone gave 2 stars and said "nothing exciting if you already have basic Chinese cookbooks." Pffffft. How many other comprehensive Chinese cookbooks are out there with over 650 recipes that highlight 30+ regions, providing details about the ingredients and techniques to cook these dishes? You could literally spend thousands of dollars acquiring the cookbooks needed to cover what this gem contains.

And then there are two 3 star reviews that just say "good" or...

United States on Dec 13, 2016

On Brothers: This is a monumental book on Chinese cooking in terms of its authoritativeness, authenticity, and breadth, covering all regions of China cuisine. The authors do not take shortcuts writing the 600 recipes; they use authoritative cooking methods and original Chinese ingredients without substituting unauthentic ingredients just for convenience or make compromise to readers not versed in Chinese cuisine. There are so many recipes that even most Chinese will not have heard of or tasted. It is an adventure trying unfamiliar dishes with unfamiliar ingredients. Therefore the glossary and description of cooking techniques are invaluable.

The authors make sure that every recipe will turn out well if one follows the instructions. I have tried three recipes with success. Though the book looks imposing, it is actually quite user friendly when one really tries out the dishes.

With a book of this size and depth, one hopes that eventually there will be a digitized edition when more photos are inserted and sorting becomes possible. For example, in a digitized edition, the reader can ask: I want a Mongolian lamb dish, super spicy, and locate it instantaneously. Going further, one day...

United States on Oct 22, 2016

Nak Muay: Firstly I'd like to sincerely thank the authors for achieving what they describe as an ambitious task, you achieved it. I have searched long and hard for an encyclopaedia of Chinese cuisine.

Written by Kei Lum Chan & Diora Fong Chan published by Phaidon.

Phaidon seem to be on a crusade to create encyclopaedias on world cuisines. A crusade worth fighting and so far they've produced some outstanding books written by brilliant authors with lots of contributions from local cooks.

Having bought Thailand the cookbook & India by Phaidon I've not bought a takeaway and struggle to find decent restaurants.

This book is beautiful, quality paper with gold edging. The book is over 700 pages presented with a variety of photographs and a really insightful introduction and explanation of regions, ingredients and cookware so on.

Generally there are two recipes per page, there are no filler pages or excessive pictures to pad the book out.

The recipes are easy to follow and there is a good variety of recipes for each meat, veg or seafood etc.

Like any good cook book this is relevant to all levels of cooks. Like I say the authors and publishers...

United Kingdom on Oct 09, 2016

Zdzislaw Nagengast: Over the years I've looked for a truly comprehensive book on Chinese cuisine; I am happy to say that I have finally found a cookbook that does justice to an amazing cuisine. I apologize if I seem overly effusive but this is a great book. The book starts with a brief history of the Chinese food culture, then gives an overview of the primary culinary regions and a quick review of classic Chinese cooking techniques and equipment. The best forty pages of content I've read in a long time. No fluff, no hyperbole.

The recipes, and there are over 600 of them, cover the full range of topics, appetizers and salads, soups, fish and seafood. poultry, meat, vegetables, tofu and eggs, rice and noodles, and desserts. The book also has a very small section of recipes from famous Chinese chefs from around the globe. It closes with a good glossary and index. I believe that even a novice cook can do well with most of the recipes. A more experienced cook will have no issues following them and improvising with them.

I have already tried three of the recipes and they did not disappoint. What I really liked about the recipes, other than the finished product, was how simple and...

United States on Sep 16, 2016