35 of 35 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The recipes truly are simple!, Jun 28 2007
By E. Cho "echomyst" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Simple Chinese Cooking (Hardcover)
Aptly titled, Simple Chinese Cooking is indeed filled with very simple recipes.
So far, every single dish I have tried have been a hit with my non-Chinese in-laws. I myself am Chinese and have grown up eating home-cooked Chinese food... I must say that most of the recipes are pretty authentic.
Like someone else who'd posted a review before me, I'd made minor adjustments to the recipes, such as cutting out the peanut oil and reducing the amount of other oils.
The ingredients are all very easy to find, which is good because I no longer live close to large Asian supermarkets.
The photos are all very beautiful and colourful.
My only "complaint" is that many of the sauces and ingredients are recycled throughout the book, but it's not a major drawback as it shows how versatile some key ingredients are.
Overall, a great book to boost one's confidence in cooking home-style Chinese food.
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
User friendly and great recipies, July 6 2007
By Ivan W. Ong - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Simple Chinese Cooking (Hardcover)
I found this book to be very well written indeed. As a Chinese I am pretty fussy about Chinese food and I find myself very happy with Kylie's recipes and approach. The stress on fresh ingredients and fresh preparation is the cornerstone to great tasting Asian food, and Kylie imposes that discipline throughout the book. You might want to experiment with sauce proportions- some might want to tweak degree of saltiness and taste. Remember, Chinese food ingredients do not scale up or down linearly, so you need to experiment when scaling up or down a meal. For American readers, you will notice differences in naming cuts of meats and some ingredients- not a big deal, just look it up on the internet. On the whole, a great book and it will continually be a useful reference for me.
Jan 16 2009 Update: Still using it and loving it! We've tried many recipes and have our favorites.
35 of 37 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
three out of three winners, Feb 23 2007
By Susan W. Shepard - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Simple Chinese Cooking (Hardcover)
The three recipes I have made so far have been great hits. Have had to make some minor adjustments ( such as not using heated peanut oil over a finished dish) because of dietary concerns but these adjustments have not made a major change in the over all "deliciousness" of what I have tried.
I have an extensive collection of Chinese cookbooks and this one looks as if it will become a favorite...easy to follow recipes and easy to find ingredients.