[.ca] Chinese Cuisine (ISBN 0941676080)

Very Authentic:
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.

Authentic and Highly Recommended:
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.

Authentic Chinese Cuisine:
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.

Gotta get the entire collection!:
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!

Easy-to-follow steps and final dishes taste like they should:
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.