The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen: Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen

If you ever wanted an all in one book about what it’s like to grow up in San Francisco Chinatown and get a sense of family and holiday traditions, this is your book. Grace pours her heart in sharing her fondest memories of her family. Each recipe has a backstory and all been tested. So if you follow them, you’ll do fine!I’ve gifted this to many friends who are and aren’t Chinese. Everyone loves reading the book when they aren’t thinking what to make, just alone the stories are make you want to cook! There’s also a great glossary that I even use myself as a kid who grew up in Chinatown, photos help, especially when shopping. The glossary reminds me of the smells, and all the fresh food stands throughout Chinatown.I also use this for all my family holiday meals. I never get tired of reading the stories. This book is a gem. It’s more than a cookbook, but gives you a real-world experience what’s it like to eat, and grow up in a Chinese American family.

Grace Young's writing style is very thoughtful and a testament to her ability to embrace her Chinese Heritage and prescribe its finer aspects in cooking to a reader who has only a basic familiarity of that culture.Her writing is reflective, beautiful, nostalgic, concise, thoughtful, and with an elusiveness that only a true philosopher could have that motivates the spirit in wanting to learn more not only about cooking, but about how everything in life is balanced together.I've been reading this book while I've had a very bad flu and her sections on the medicinal values of ingredients in Chinese cooking has been a blessing to me.The book is well organized with a vivid introduction of her life growing up in San Francisco Chinatown; her observations thru family anecdotes. Then she breaks down recipes with wonderful introductions in categories from rice, wok cooking, steam cooking, and two broader sections related to cooking and "The Art of Celebration" and "Achieving Ying Yang Harmony."There are excellent instructions, pictures, and descriptions of key ingredients written in chinese with a photo so that while in a Chinese supermarket, you can find the ingredients.There's also and excellent reference section in the back on the ingredients.Little things such as eating congee (jook) when ill to aid the body in releasing toxins had an immediate effect on my health. Also, her recipe for "Dried Fig Apple Almond" soup immediately cured me of my coughing problems.Her instructions on the recipe are very concise. If you follow her instructions academically, you will achieve the intent of the dish.After reading this book, I look at eating more than just as a pleasure, but as a means of sustaining a longer and healthier life.I only had one problem and that relates to the phonetics used in the pronunciation of some of the terms in chinese. People at the stores seldom understood what I was asking for, but fortunately, there were pictures.Great read and a book that is a permanent reference guide.

If you're looking for the real deal Chinese household comfort foods, look no further - this book is legit. The recipes are simple enough to follow for the experienced cook, but beginners may find some of the techniques a little bit daunting. This is something one must learn through trial and error. For the Chinese American kids who want to cook like their awesome grandmothers, this is a good guide to start. Most of the ingredients and techniques are spot on, although I did spot a few recipes that had ingredients not included in the recipe, but showed up in the picture. I'm guessing this is because Chinese food is highly adapted to personal taste and individual family's takes on the dish (take the Jai recipe for example).It was really great seeing all the information on the various soups and their medicinal purposes - I've made the Apple Fig Pork soup several times now - it's great with fall here and winter approaching! All in all, this is a fantastic book to add to the recipe book shelf in your house. Highly recommended.

I am pleasantly surprised that this book is full of classic authentic Cantonese recipes. I grew up in a very old fashioned Chinese household. Dinner was exactly as Grace described along with the life lessons. It literally feels like it was written by an older family member. To be honest, there isn't anything exciting about the recipes. They're simple day to day meals except for a few under Celebrations. Even for the holiday recipes, they're boring to me simply because I grew up eating the same foods and never did enjoy the holiday dishes. In my opinion, they appeal more to the older generation. Also, many of the dishes simply do not suit the younger generation's palate. I noticed that in this book and another by a different author, it states to use baking soda in meat dishes. Most Chinese families that I know will not use baking soda in their food because too much of it will cause stomach aches and it leaves a bad flavor in the meats regardless of beef, pork, chicken or shrimp. Many Chinese restaurants use baking soda to tenderize meats. I can always taste it. It leaves sort of an ammonia scent in the meat. Corn starch or tapioca starch works just as well and no smell. I suggest leaving out the baking soda in any recipe that calls for it. Also, food is a very subjective topic. To me, Grace's recipes provide the basics of those particular dishes but as you become more familiar with the dish, you will alter the recipe to suit your own preferences. I found that I had to alter some recipes to make them more modern and add a layer of flavor. This is a great book for beginners to traditional Chinese food but not for experienced home cooks. However, I must give credit to Grace Young for an amazing job translating the essence of Chinese cooking into English. She truly left no secret out!

With my love for chinese cuisine and old chinese stuff this is a must have for me . very interesting book indeed

The sweet and sour recipe tastes exactly like the restaurants. A very well written recipe book with authentic recipes!

Just great. Full of recipes to make at home, and wonderful background stories and information.

I love this cook book. Interesting information and the recipes look wonderful.Gives insight into the Chinese family and of course the 3 women who have created the recipes.

Brilliant

Rice is nice!