The Joy of Chinese Cooking

Book excerpt: This is one of the first ever chinese cookery books to be written in english. "Chop Suey, says the author of this unusual cookery book, is a dish known to the Chinese only as an agreeable foreign concoction. Having reduced every foreigner to a proper sense of his own ignorance with this gentle remark, Mrs. Yen Hung Feng immediately makes honourable amends and expounds, for our pleasure and practical use, the art and mystery of Chinese cooking. She explains the customs of the Chinese table, the kinds of food and implements used in a Chinese kitchen- with suggestions for substitutes where that is necessary - and, most important of all, Chinese methods of preparing food. Housewives, please note that a centuries-long shortage of fuel in China has led to the development of cooking techniques which need the shortest possible time on the stove. Mrs. Yen Hung Feng has given a large selection of recipes, with very full instructions for those who are new to Chinese cooking, and there are careful drawings which make the most difficult process clear. She ends this delightful book with an account of the most important traditional festivals of China, giving, at the same time, a recipe for the dish proper to each occasion. Here is a practical book for the kitchen which is an introduction to Chinese life as well." Contents Include: China in your Kitchen - Appetizers - Chinese Soups - Egg Dishes - Fish and Shellfish - Poultry - Pure Meat Dishes - Vegetable Dishes - Rice and Mien Dishes - Chinese Desserts - Chinese Tea - Chinese Festival Dishes - Index of Recipes