Lisa Messinger's
Cookbook Corner

The Chinese Kitchen: A Book of Essential Ingredients With Over 200 Easy and Authentic Recipes

By Deh-Ta Hsiung (St. Martin's Griffin)

Take-out is quick, easy and quiets a growling stomach at the end of the day. But, if it's more than your favorite Chinese restaurant's dog-eared menu you would like to know by heart, set aside some time to study "The Chinese Kitchen: A Book of Essential Ingredients With Over 200 Easy and Authentic Recipes."

Rather than just sitting down to dinner (and the feasts possible with the hundreds of recipes are certainly impressive), you'll be attending a comprehensive course, including learning about ingredients and techniques in chapters organized in a way best suited to help you: Grains and Staple Foods; Oils and Liquid Flavorings; Seasonings; Herbs and Spices; Vegetables; Fruits and Nuts; Fish and Shellfish; Preserved and Processed Foods; and Drinks.

Within Staples, you'll undoubtedly find some of your old favorites: Spring Rolls, Mu-Shu Pork, Potstickers and Wonton Soup. But other chapters harbor gems, too. When learning all about cooking wine (its appearance and taste; buying and storing information), for instance, in Oils and Liquid Flavorings, you'll then be treated to a recipe for Drunken Chicken from Beijing. After reading about sesame seed oil, you'll prepare Dry-Fried Shredded Beef. In Seasonings, after studying tasty ingredients like plum sauce, oyster sauce, dried shrimp and chili bean paste, you will be prepared to create specialties like Duck with Pineapple; Celery Salad with Dried Shrimps; and Sichuan Fish.

Authenticity is in the air: No shortcuts; no Americanization. But, as with any cuisine's great recipes, excellence equals ease and simplicity. Color photographs accent the proceedings, as do on-location shots that will undoubtedly make you feel a lot closer to the real thing than a bag of take-out ever could.

Buy the book.

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