CHINESE COOK BOOK

This is probably the most Chinese of the Chinese cook books with which I am familiar- and the one that those who put Chinese food above all others will find nearest to meeting their needs to translate food from Chinese tables to their own. The arrangement is unique. A brief introductory paragraph for each break-down explains what the foods are (terms- kinds of food- Chinese usage, etc.) The recipes list the ingredients, labelling each alphabetically. Quantity- how prepared- how cooked- refers back to ingredients by letter, and to steps by number. Economical of space in recipes that include- from the American viewpoint- an incredible number of ingredients, many of them unusual. The scope seems limited:- Soups; Rice; ""Stir-fry"" pork, chicken, beef, etc.; Poultry; Shell-fish; Fish; Eggs; and in very brief sections, a limited number of vegetables, cookies, sauces. The painstaking preparation, the meticulous attention to sequence, timing, etc., and the emphasis on combinations strike one as different from the average cook book. Easier books to use are How to Cook and Eat in Chinese (Day) and The Joy of Chinese Cooking (Greenberg).