[.ca] Martin Yan's Chinatown Cooking: 200 Traditional Recipes ... (ISBN 0060084758)

From Amazon.com:
"The Chinatowns around the world are amazing communities," writes Martin Yan in his Chinatown Cooking, "filled with history, culture, friendship, and of course food." Naturally, in this companion book to his public television series, Yan focuses on the food--a rich stew from the world's Chinatowns, including, exotically, those in Singapore, Sydney, and Macao. The 200 recipes included reflect a profoundly rich food culture (or cultures, as Chinese cuisine is regionally diverse). Some dishes, like Steamed Whole Fish with Ginger and Green Onions and Sweet-and-Spicy Garlic Shrimp, are beloved classics; others, including Hawaiian Lu'Au Stew, mirror adjustments to local ingredients or tastes; while still others, such as Crispy Seafood and Mango Packets and Steamed King Prawns with Chinese Pesto, are the innovations of modern chefs. But old or new, the dishes are endlessly tempting, and, because of Yan's knowledgeable yet relaxed approach and the clarity of his recipes, completely manageable. Covering dishes from dim sum, appetizers, and soups, to meat and seafood specialties, rice, noodles, and even desserts like Lucky Treasure Rice Pudding, the book also profiles the Chinatowns, noting their unique qualities (Yokohama's is host to 18 million tourists a year!) while also offering restaurant and dish recommendations (at Macau's Restaurante Chan Chi Mei, order the hanging fish hot pot). Yan also provides illuminating cultural asides such as those about Hakka cuisine or Singapore's Sam Sui women, who were pivotal in the construction of that country's Chinatown. But it's the dishes that make the book a treasure. The book also contains comprehensive food and technique glossaries and color photos throughout. --Arthur Boehm

CHINATOWN FOOD AT HOME! GREAT IDEA!:
This is a great cookbook. The recipes are simple, the execution is easy, and the food is yummy. Every recipe we tried did not disappoint. We have cooked clams, eggplant, and fish using recipes in this book, and they all turned out great. We have been to a couple of the Chinatowns from which Mr. Yan harvested these recipes, and when we cook this food, it is like a trip back...without having to buy a plane ticket. We have now stocked our kitchen with hoisin sauce, fish sauce, five spice chinese powder, and other tools and ingredients so we can be ready to cook Chinatown style! If you want fancy Chinese food for a big Chinese wedding, look elsewhere. If you want great tasting Chinese food that comes close to what you would get on Mott Street in NY, then give this book a try!

Yan's Chinatown Cooking:
Martin Yan is a true pioneer in bringing Chinese cuisine to our living rooms via his TV shows, with his sense of humor, blazing knife skills, and a teaching style that makes him a real pleasure to watch. But Yan also is a prolific writer who has written 10 best selling cookbooks. With an easy-to-follow style, the books is a real treasure for anyone wanting to learn more about Chinese cuisine. And even if you're never been to a Chinatown, this book will help educate you into the many variations of this wonderfuol cuisine. This cookbook contains 200 recipes from 11 Chinatown's throughout the world. Recipes are clearly written, and each step is numbered to make it easy to follow. Yan also clearly describes the size of each ingedient. As an example, "large eggs", "unsalted butter". As a result, the recipes produce the intended results with such clear instruction. The beginning of each recipe includes a short paragraph that provides useful informaiton about the dish preperation, serving suggestions, or recipe variations. Although some recipes contain a large list of ingfredients, that shouldn;t deter you. Yan has done an excellent job of making each dish seem simple to make. And for those of you who are pressed for time, some can be made with just a few ingredients. The book also includes a unique recipe called Char Siu Quesidillas, that combines a Mexican recipe with a Chinese twist. And some recipes have been adapted by Yan for those readers like myself who may not live close to a Chinatown. I also found the index to be quite helpful, with some dishes listed in multiple locations depending upon it's ingredients. As an example, a fish custard is listed both under eggs, as well as fish. The recipe names also are straightforward - I dislike recipes with names that tend to obscure the recipe's ingredients. Who should buy this book? Anyone who wants to expand their culinary repjitoire and enhance their knowledge of Chinese cuisine. Yan has done a superb job of covering the many different stlyes of Chinese cooking that can be found in Chibatown. For novice cooks, a 10-page section covering equipment and techniques provide manyn helpful hints, But even more seasonedf cooks like myself found this secion useful. As a case in point, Yan talks about what to do when buying a clay pot. Now, I finally know how I am supposed to prepare the pot before using it - something the manufacturer and store never told me. The book also includes related informaiton on Chinese culture and celebrations such as celebrating Chinese New Year. Yan talks about his personal memories as well as typical traditions, and how the food is a huge part of the celebration. I also liked the section on "How to Order in a Chinese Restaurant," that include 11 helpful tips on making your next visit to a Chinese restaurant more enjoyable. The book is richly illustrated with color photos that make me hungry just looking at it. Still, I was disappointed that I didn't find some traditional American-Chinese favorites suchs as egg foo yung, and chicken chow mein, that while aren't considered authentic Chinese cooking, nevertheless are probaly some dishes that many of us are most familiar with. Nevertheless, the book is well worth it, and certainly expands one's culinary palette.

One lousy cookbook:
What a disappointment. But I should have known. I have two other Martin Yan cookbooks and only the first one did I get something useful out of. This one I was hoping to be able to get some great recipes from because we love going to Chinatown in Boston and eating up a storm. Alas, the food we savor aren't anywhere in this cookbook. What's up with that? It's like the Chinese culture, the kinds of food often ordered by a host we're visiting are usually show dishes that have very little taste or substance but was ordered to show gratitude for the visit or to show off. Granted, we may be a simple Chinese family but I can't help but wonder why there are so many recipes in this cookbook that we would never order because it just doesn't taste very good. One example would be for fish. Either boil or deep fry it. Yuck! Where are the stir-fry recipes for fish, squid, lobster, shrimp? We have created stir-fry dishes for these and my Irish brother-in-law loves them all. There's one thing I learned: Yan can't cook, but he can sure entertain with his knives. My book went into the recycle bin by the curbside along with one other. The first one isn't far behind them. Bad Chinese food is NOT a tradition. I'll never buy another Yan cookbook.

Great Food, even 4Chinese:
I think Yan's book is great, the food is delicious. My granparents are from mainland China, my family & relatives are liig scattered around Asia, Australia and United States. I've been eating out since toddler (my parents are traders, no time to cook) in Indonesia, then 5 years in Australia (mainly eating Schezuan & Cantonese food in Chinatown), few months in Singapore; and I'm sure the taste of Yan's cooking is very close to the one I used to eat at restaurants. Yeah, boiled & steam fish are hard to cook (most untrained cook will end up with cooked but smelly fish, or plain taste). But, in restaurants, steamed fish are great tasted! I admit some recipes are hard to make due to extensive ingredients and difficult if u never taste/see the cooking method before. But, they are really rare & prestigius recipes (not many restos have them on the menu list)-- when they r cooked by professional chef, taste like heaven! So we can't judge it by the result of our cooking, better go to the restaurants first and eat it and then u try the recipe: is the taste similar or not. IF ANYONE WISH TO THROW ANY COOKBOOKS, OR HAVE TOO MANY COOKBOOKS, JUST DONATE THEM 4 CHARITY IN INDONESIA. MY FRIENDS & I ORGANISE TO DONATE FOODSTUFFS TO ORPHANAGES/ELDERLY SHELTERS IN SOUTH KALIMANTAN. IF U R WILLING TO DONATE COOKBOOKS, PLS KINDLY DUMP THEM TO US: Mariane, PO Box 356, BJM 70000, SOUTH KALIMANTAN INDONESIA. Thanks 4 your generousity!

A Wonderful Resource:
This ranks as one of Martin Yan's best, with lots of well written recipes. If you're not yet into Chinese cooking, this is a great place to begin. While I have not tried a large number of the recipes yet, and while a few of them require a really extensive Asian grocery for the ingredients, everything so far has been straightforward and delicious. There is also fascinating material about different Chinatowns and Chinese culture scattered randomly throughout the book.