Who Wants Chinese?

An Encyclopedia of Chinese Cooking, by Winona W. and Irving B. Chang and Helene W. and Austin H. Kutscher. Crown Publishers, New York 1970.

The subtitle to this volume is "1000 Recipes Adapted to the American Kitchen". This means don't worry about offending the timid eaters in your family--this is a book designed for the devotees of 'American-Chinese', sometimes known as 'mall Chinese'. But it is also a volume determined to gradually upgrade those tastes, to introduce the subtlities that make Chinese food one of the most sophisticated cuisines on earth. And it does so in a strictly informative manner.

Each recipe lists the ingredients in an A-B-C format, then carefully breaks down the steps into preparation and cooking, all in easy to follow 1-2-3 steps. An excellent, non-threatening way for the novice to get started learning this cuisine. Indeed, this was my first Chinese cookbook, one which I still turn to for simple and delicious meals. Unfortunately, it is out-of-print, so you'll have to search around used bookstores to try to find a copy. But it's a treasure worth hunting for.

Trial by Fire

Stir-Fried Beef with Sauce provides a great base for that classic, Beef with Broccoli. A little garlic, a little ginger, a little soy sauce and sherry, couple of scallions, and you're in heaven. Steak Kew, a Cantonese dish, is somewhat more sophisticated, requiring Chinese mushrooms and oyster sauce to really make it sing--great for a company dinner.

I've never been disappointed in any of the chicken dishes--whether Simple Fried Chicken, Drunken Chicken, or Chicken Velvet. My all-time favorite recipe in this book is the one for Chicken and Mushroom Casserole. The translation must not be perfect, because this is about as far from your standard casserole as you can get--light and elegant, without anything that smacks of condensed soup. I vary it a little from how it is printed, so here's my version

A. 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts B. 1/4 teaspoon pepper C. 1 teaspoon salt D. 4 tablespoons peanut oil E. 1 large onion, very thinly sliced F. 1/2 pound fresh white mushrooms G. 1 tablespoon sherry H. 2 tablespoons soy sauce I. 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Preparation: 1. Cut each A into 2 pieces, wash well, dry with paper towel. 2. Mix thoroughly with B, C, and 1/2 D. 3. Line baking pan with aluminum foil, arrange single layer of A. 4. Cut each F in half. 5. Mix G, H, I.

Cooking: 1. Preheat oven to 375F. Bake A-D mixture 15 minutes each side. 2. Heat remainder of D in frying pan, stir-fry E one minute, add F, stir-fry one minute more. Add G-I.

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