Customer Reviews

Chinese Cuisine

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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The Wei-Chuan Publishing Company (apparently connected with the Taiwanese Wei-Chuan Cooking School), has produced a good number of Cookbooks, mostly dealing with Chinese cookery but also coveing other Asian cuisines as well. I own over a dozen of these now and I like all of them. More importantly, I like all of these books for tmuch he same reasons and, accordingly, I have decided to do a general review that applies to each of them and then provide a few individualized comments where appropriate.

Basically, the Wei-Chuan publications are authored/editored by several different persons but the format is largely the same. Each book is divided into logical sections (Meats, Vegetables, Appetizers, etc.) and nearly every recipe is accompanied by a good photograph of the result with some recipes having additional pictures of the preparation as well. This feature alone makes these books well worth the purchase. Another feature of this cuilinary series is that the books are written in China and, at least as far as the books on Chinese cuisine is concerned, the reader need have no issues with 'authenticity'. I personally also like the fact that all of the books are written in Chinese characters and then translated into English. This has has an added bonus of occasionally providing some unintentional amusement due to a particularly 'unfortunate' translation but I specially like it as I am teaching myself Mandarin and these books are excellent learning tools. I often take one on the plane with me when I travel (along with dictionaries) and can spend hours happily translating passages. It is amazing how often the actual translation of a recipe title bears little resemblance to the English title provided.

Finally, I have to say that the recipes in all of these books are interesting and he ones that I have tried to reproduce have worked out well. Mainly though, I just like reading through these books for inspiration and enjoyment. The money I have spent has been repaid many times over.

The We-Chuan books I currently own are as follows:

Chinese Cuisine - Very good introductory section. Recipes range from simple everyday dishes to exotic banquet style delicacies.
Chinese Dim Sum: Wel-Chuan Cultural and Educational Foundation - Great 'step-by-step' pictures for many recipes. Bit too much emphasis on sweet rather than savoury for my personal taste.
Chinese Snacks - More of the same as in the Dim Sum book. No 'step-by-step' pictures but I actually like this book better.
Chinese Appetizers and Garnishes - I haven't attempted much from this book but I am thankful for the great 'step-by-step' pictures provided.

Favorite Home Dishes Chinese Cooking - As the name suggests, most of the recipes are simple and, thus, easy to prepare.

Chinese Cuisine Beijing Style - Lots of Imperial Banquet dishes and many exotic foreign influenced meals that have been 'Chinesified'.
Chinese Cuisine: Cantonese Style - 75 Cantonese recipes. Good recipes with nice pictures but a sparse introduction.
Chinese Cuisine Shanghai Style - Typically good Wei-Chuan quality but probably my least favorite of the 'regional' Chinese cookbooks.
Chinese Cuisine-Taiwanese Style - Excellent Book. Some truly unique recipes I have never seen elsewhere. I love to browse this volume.
Chinese Cuisine: Szechuan Style - I love Szechuan food especially but I would still treat this book as a favorite anyway.

Indian Cuisine - A nice book but be aware that the recipes Indian dishes for the Chinese palate, not Indian.
Vietnamese Cuisine - Great recipes.
Japanese Cuisine - Nearly as good as many books I have that are written by Japanese chefs.
Korean Cuisine - My favorite of the We-Chuan non-Chinese cookbooks so far,
Singaporean, Malaysian & Indonesian Cuisine - My least favorite Wei-Chuan book so far. Somewhat interesting but I don't look at it much.

Finally, I have a new Wei-Chuan book on order and will continue to buy from time to time. I will review separately as I read these new books.

I'm Chinese and with most of my Chinese friends, our parents don't actually have recipes for the stuff they cook, so we have to search high and low for good cookbooks with recipes for authentic home-made Chinese dishes (AND written in English). This book isn't bad. The downside is that its recipes are mostly of dishes found at restaurants...not very helpful, especially when I don't really care much to make stuff like sharks fin soup at home. However, given that it has a TON of recipes to choose from, it's still pretty useful. I tried 2 of the spare rib dishes, followed it exactly, and they both turned out pretty well! Recipes are pretty simple and really easy to follow. As some reviewers have mentioned, there are also some pretty exotic recipes in there (like "Saucy Pig Hocks"). All in all, not a bad book, but I think my next one will come from the Chinese bookstore instead.

This book is EXACTLY what I'm looking for. My family immigrated to this country when I was 10 so I grew up eating all these dishes. Unfortunately, my Chinese is very rusty so I can't really read a Chinese cookbook written in Chinese. The other Chinese cookbooks written in English are not very authentic. I have been looking for this book so long! It's perfect for someone like me who grew up eating these dishes and want to continue the tradition of Chinese cooking. Perfect for a Chinese American who want to learn Chinese cooking but can't read Chinese. I can't say enough about this book. The format in English and Chinese is an excellent idea. The recipes are also easy to follow. The ingredients are easy to obtain if you go to an Asian supermarket.

This book is a good introduction to the Wei-Chuan series for anyone with basic kitchen skills. It includes clear explanations of techniques and ingredients, with no pandering or dumbing-down to appeal to western tastes. As a Japanese-American in L.A. who cooks a lot, I may have a slight bias, as a.) i've been happily eating and preparing different Asian cuisines for some time, and b.) all ingredients are easily available and can be bought fresh at local stores. I'm particularly fond of the soups and the great tofu recipes.

But don't be discouraged if you're limited by your local grocer...the sauces and techniques are authentic enough to make up for any creative substitutions you might try.

I can't stand foo-foo cookbooks and food snobbism. But like others who like to cook, I often end up giving away books by the latest "hot" chef that have been given to me by well-meaning friends and family. This book, though, is a real find (and a great gift).

If you're looking for authenticity and substance in Chinese cooking, Wei-Chuan is the way to go.

I had this book for more than three years, originally took from my sister who owned this book for another 7 years (I am an international student from Taiwan, but before coming to the US, I never cooked.) The ingredients the book use are easy to find, no something that I have no ideas about (believe me, not every Chinese knows what those ingredients are and what they are for), and the steps are easy to follow (each dish has 5 steps the most). Most importantly, the final dishes taste exactly like they should. And if you don't have all the ingredients the book asks, don't worry, just be creative, add something similar. Believe me, the dishes in this book are those you can have when visiting Taiwan and China.
Stop the yuckie Chinese take-outs, start cooking the authentic and easy Chinese dishes.

This is more of an advanced cookbook, at least for me. I bought "Chinese Cooking Made Easy" at the same time and that book is more homestyle cooking while this book has more restaurant-quality dishes. I was a bit dismayed at first and thought I was in over my head but the section on soups (Eight treasures soup in winter squash or what I call winter melon soup; Black mushrooms and chicken's feet soup) at the back of the book have made this purchase worthwhile. The book has VERY authentic Chinese dishes.

The series by the Wei Chuan publishers are very good and I love the way the books are set up and they all have pretty pictures for each dish. I even love the way the books are wrapped in a sturdy plastic to keep the cover clean.

I am lucky I live in Toronto where there is a great Chinatown because many of these ingredients can be hard to find. If you are interested in learning to cook authentic Chinese cuisine, this book will lead you in the right direction.

I've had this book for 5 years i found it by chance in a bookstore and I love it! My copy is falling apart and covered in drips! these are amazing recipes- easy recipes for all my favorite dishes! Especially steamed pork back ribs with black bean sauce. (hey- try this with just chunks of pork if you can't find the spare ribs- it's still amazing!) There's actually like 5 or 6 recipes just on spareribs! The recipes are easy to follow- mine never look like the pictures of course- but they taste authentic and wonderful! There is a huge difference in this book- there are not photos showing you techniques throughout each recipe. i enjoyed that in the other wei-chuan books. But i do like the fact that they did photograph- every ingredient that you may possibly need with instructions on how to prepare it. Buy it, try the recipes... or just salivate over the pictures and rush off to chinatown and eat! My favorite thing to do while cooking from this book- is to play eat, drink, man, woman by ang li in the background!

My mother (who is Taiwanese) has a couple books by the author and when I started to stock up on my own collection of cookbooks I bought this.
The recipes are excellent, with a photo of each completed dish. There is also a side comment in most of the recipes that tell which style of Chinese cooking the dish hails from (Peking, Cantonese, Taiwanese, etc.)
Many recipes I hadn't even heard of or tried even though my mother makes a LOT of Chinese food. This really excited me because of the opportunity this presents to me. I was even surprised to see a recipe for shrimp that I had tried once in a restaurant that I enjoyed. I was under the impression that I would never be able to find a recipe for that!
On the other hand, this book is not for the faint of heart. The book has no "Americanized" recipes and incorporates many dishes that Americans would find repulsive. Soup with chicken feet in it, anyone?

I used to think that Chinese food was all about sweet and sour pork and chicken chow mein. I've learned a lot since then.

This cookbook has the recipes for some of my favorite dishes. The pork belly with mustard greens is my all-time favorite because of the delicious, custard smooth layer of fat and the balance between the mustard greens and the "bacon."

The directions are sometimes a bit vague, but the ingredients list is pretty clear; it's also written in traditional Chinese characters, so I usually take it with me to the grocery store to make sure I'm buying the right items. Translations are not in Pin Yin, but they're phonetic so you can attempt to explain what you're looking for to the grocery clerks.

I try a new dish from this book every week, and I've yet to be disappointed. Now, if they only could come out with a video...

I am an American-born and raised Caucasian and have never lived overseas. I do have a large circle of Chinese friends, all of whom were raised in China, Hong Kong or Taiwan. I love Chinese food and am tired of the 'American restaurant' style of Chinese food. I wanted to be able to cook the food that is served at my friends' homes. I have finally found a book that has recipes that I can follow that can get me there. I try these recipes on my friends now and frequently get 'This is great. This is how my mother used to make it.' or 'Now I don't have to go to Chinatown to get good food. I'll come to your house'. I will say that I have to study the book. It may not for a complete beginner to Chinese cooking. The different techniques, ingredients and recipes may be too much for someone who is only used to frying hamburgers. But the recipes are easy to follow. The pictures show step-by-step procedures which are extremely helpful. I carry this book with me to Asian markets when buying some ingredients. I may not know the correct name for a food item, but when I show them the cookbook the shopkeeper always get me the correct ingredient. I also found that the section on techniques was extremely helpful. I have 4 books from this series and love all of them. The 2 'essentials' are Chinese Cuisine and Chinese Snacks. I plan to soon buy a couple more of the series. There is drawback -- I have started to serve some of this food to other American raised friends and now they too have raised their standards on Chinese food and don't like restaurant food. Ignorance was bliss.