Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking Kindle Edition

I’m Chinese but grew up mostly in the states. My reading skills aren’t good enough to use Chinese cookbooks so I have been waiting a long time for a book like this. Most English language Chinese cookbooks I’ve tried in the past have fallen into three categories: those written by native English speakers who are usually amateur cooks, don’t have a good grasp on technique, and sometimes simplify or Americanize the dishes so much that they don’t taste anything like what I grew up eating; Or they have been written by non-native English speakers where the recipes are true but a lot gets lost in translation; Or it’s by some fancy chef that’s trying to put their spin on things.This cookbook is exactly what I’ve always needed. The writing is excellent. The information on ingredients and tools are indispensable- there are so many instances where I only know the name of ingredients in Chinese but have no idea what they’re called in English. Most importantly, the recipes are legit, traditional, classic recipes that taste like the real thing.By the way, if you’re wondering why I didn’t learn from my parents, it’s because they’re the worst teachers. I get kicked out of the kitchen before I can ever learn anything.Fushia Dunlop has definitely earned herself a fan. I’m getting all her cookbooks.

Born and raised in China, I grew up eating Chinese food, and am very picky toward Chinese food in the restaurant because it’s hard to find authentic Chinese restaurant in US, and the authentic ones are always really expensive. This book helped me to cook some authentic Chinese dishes without going to an expensive restaurant.I cooked three dishes following this book and they turned out amazing. I tried to cook twice cooked pork before following YouTube but it was never as good. This book showed me a better way to prepare the meat(boil for 20 minutes before slicing) and some simple ingredients (fermented black beans) to add to my dish to make it tastes better.I also like this book for introducing different Chinese sauces and spices so that I know how to use them in a better way. I never know where some sauces are being used and when to put them in, this book showed me a good sequence in using the spices and sauces.Even I cook a lot and my husband adores my cooking, I learned a lot from this book. This book introduces all the basic Chinese cooking wares(wok, pan, tools for stirring, and knives, etc.), sauces, and spices. I thought I knew a lot about cooking Chinese dishes but after reading this book I realized I was just an outsider. For example, I never was good at cooking mushrooms, but with the help of this book I was able to make a mushroom dish just like what I can get from the restaurant, only with bigger portions. I did not get any new sauces but I didn’t know by using garlic, ginger, and chicken broth the flavor of the mushroom totally came out, and I never knew shiitake mushroom and oyster mushroom is a great combination for a dish. All the ingredients are common and cheap to get but the way to use them makes a big difference. I am really glad this book did not make me to find something hard to get to cook a delicious meal with.Lastly, most of the dishes in this book are simple but delicious, which can be made with basic sauces and spices from Chinese supermarket. I already have 90% of them, and by adding a few more mentioned in this book I am able to make delicious dishes almost tastes like a good dish from authentic Chinese restaurant.Update: I have cooked at least ten different dishes (not including the cold dishes) following this book, and the instructions are easy to follow. With the simple ingredients and the order the spices are put into the pan, my cooking has been improved, and the food tastes so much better. It tastes very authentic.The total time to cook including preparation works is around 20-30 minutes, so it’s also making my cooking really efficient.

I am from Chongqing, the book mentioned it as Chengdu's neighbor city. Ever since I moved to U.S. I have been missing home food so much, but can't afford to go out to eat every day.I have tried some Dan Dan noodle dishes, eggplant and some vegetable dishes. They have all been wonderful and surprisingly easy to do. Not to the mention those dishes just taste like home!THANK YOU! It really saved me from the pregnancy cravings related to home.

Fuschia Dunlop has written 3 books of Chinese cuisine. All of them are excellent. However, if you cannot afford to buy all of them, buy this one! First of all, Every Grain of Rice (EGoR) has beautiful pictures of the dishes, ingredients, and equipment; nearly each recipe is followed by a photo, whereas Land of Plenty (LoP) has very, very few pictures and those pictures do not entice you to want to cook the dish. Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook (RCC) does have photos but not as many as EGoR. Second, the ingredients in EGoR are more widely available than the ingredients in LoP and RCC. While I was reading LoP, I often found myself groaning in disappointment when I came across some of my favorite dishes that required ingredients that I was still having a hard time finding even in California (sweet bean sauce, pickled mustard greens, pickled chili paste.) I had fewer reactions while reading EGoR. Third, EGoR contains some of the best dishes from both LoP and RCC, but for one of my favorite dishes, Fried Eggs and Tomatoes, the recipe in LoP is by far not as good as the one in EGoR. Fourth, the recipes here include a wider variety, not just one province, but recipes from southeastern China (Fujian, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Hangzhou) and Taiwan. I love that she includes Cantonese steamed fish, Cantonese stir friend leafy green vegetables, and oysters and scrambled eggs from Fujian.All three of the books are wonderful, but this one is the best. I love her point of view and as someone who lived in China for many, many years, even living in Chengdu at the same time as Ms. Dunlop and eating at the same restaurants as she mentions in her book (the Bamboo Bar was indeed a great restaurant), I can relate to what she says about Chinese cuisine. I also trust her opinion and recipes.If you can afford all three, buy them all. They are all worth it.

I am a British-Born Chinese guy who didn't learn to cook from his parents, who were the type to believe that a degree in law or accountancy would more than make up for culinary ineptitude. I could never have known that cooking the dishes from this book would be the most impressive thing I do for my Taiwanese girlfriend! This is the place to start with Fuschia's books because it is so well illustrated; moreso than the others. The photographs are inspirational, and give an idea of how dishes might look together as a spread. There is a particularly useful section on menu suggestions, helping the reader to get some basic working combos down when dishes and ingredients might seem unfamiliar. A particular revelation is the section on ingredients, in which actual photographs of the branded products used are shown, with the names appearing in Chinese in the descriptions; this has been a boon when shopping for things in Chinatown. (I have memories of hassling people for the right kind of 'pickled chilli' mentioned in 'Land of Plenty', and nobody knowing what I was quite talking about.) Cold dishes, soups and braises are abundant, and learning to make these things made me realise how foolish I was trying to stir-fry more than two things for a meal; that is the way to stress and stinkiness. One quickly learns that there is a pantry of dried and pickled ingredients, and about a dozen condiments and sauces. Combined with garlic, ginger and spring onions, I have a setup that means I can confidently do something with chicken, eggs, mince or a host of accessible veg. Learning to make the simpler dishes, like smothered rainbow chard, stir-fried cabbage/lettuce with dried shrimp, or a simple stir-fry of broccoli with dried chillis and Szechuan pepper means I can 'do the veg' in a very quick and tasty way that looks the business on the plate, relies on only one fresh ingredient I can usually pick up even in a Tesco Metro or Sainsbury's Local, and leaves me free to think about my protein element. I can't say how useful having this as an iBook download has been whilst wandering down the veg aisles. A few small criticisms: it would be useful if it were explicitly explained how far ahead a dish could be prepared and held before final cooking, since the actual cooking is often a tiny fraction of the prep time, so everything is usually prepped at once and then cooked at once (Ruth Watson's 'The Really Helpful Cookbook' is exemplary here). Another issue for me is the failure to bring some of the recipes up to date and use a microwave, which is definitely better than blanching for the recipes involving peas, beans, edamame and broccoli (see Harumi Kurihara's 'Japanese Cooking' for modern examples of how it can be done). Lastly, I do dearly wish that brave writers would begin to debunk the MSG myth: the very tiny minority adversely affected by it know who they are, just like those with nut and seafood allergies. If Harold McGee says MSG has not been proven to be harmful, it's about time writers on Chinese cooking started to give guidelines on adding an OPTIONAL amount of MSG to dishes should readers wish to do so, since it is as central to the seasoning of much Chinese food as soy sauce and white pepper. These micro-quibbles aside: just buy it; it is a true Chinese cookbook, very well written in English.

I'm a confident cook of Indian food and feel like after visiting India, combined with an excellent recipe book, I understand the flavours of curry and Indian spice. Not so with Chinese. Takeaway fare leaves me cold, but as I haven't been to China, I felt totally intimidated by the vast array of products at Chinese cash-and-carries, and had no idea how to start learning basic principles of authentic Chinese cuisine.No longer! Fuchsia Dunlop has done an amazing job of making very foreign flavours and ingredients seem simple and appealing. This book is packed full of very achievable, quietly confident recipes that transport you to the homes in which she learned to cook and eat these dishes. As an added bonus (and by the very nature of Chinese food) they are healthy too, focusing on vegetables and almost using meat as a seasoning and flavour-giving ingredient rather than as the bulk and focus of the dish. But best of all, the basic ingredients she uses (and explains concisely at the beginning of the book) mean that after one cheap visit to a decent Chinese grocer, you'll have the store cupboard ingredients necessary to make the vast majority of these dishes when combined with fresh produce. Many recipes have only 5-6 ingredients.Fuchsia herself acknowledges that China is vast and variable with regard to the cuisine - differences between regions, between north and south etc. and she is clear that this book is mostly inspired by food from her favourite Szechuan province. She has since written at least one other book if not several and perhaps those keen to will use this as a springboard of discovery, however for me as only an occasional eater of Chinese food this book is likely to be the only one I'll ever want or need. It will be treasured for years to come.

As a good home cook for mexican and italian food, I have always wanted to learn how to "master" the art of chinese cooking. I have found it intimidating to even try -- ingredients I have a hard time pronouncing, flavour components I don't have a lot of experience with and therefore want to measure everything, and new tools! 'Every Grain of Rice' eased my mind and gave me confidence that I could do it successful. She walks through tools, chopping methods, how to navigate the grocery store -- seriously LIFE SAVER to have the characters written out and spelled (and pictures!), and reasonable for the non chef recipes! I have had a lot of success with her dishes from Dan Dan Noodles, Fish-Fragrant Aubergienes, Blanched Choy Sum with Sizzling Oil -- which taught me the basics of making veggies DELICIOUS and Gong Bao Chicken with Peanuts. I am honestly super excited to try all of the dishes and making the ones I love even more to build my confidence and flavour mastery!I can't give enough praise for this cookbook! Seriously I would buy again without hesitation -- a must for all lovers of chinese food who want to stop all the takeaway!

I have always loved Chinese food and cooking but most books have a major focus on meat dishes and largely ignore vegetables Even Yan Kit So's great https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yan-Kits-Classic-Chinese-Yan-Kit-September/dp/B01B98K6XM/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1530274731&sr=8-8&keywords=yan+kit%27s+classic+chinese+cookbook) . I love vegetables, especially when stir fried and also am very conscious about eating healthily. I was also sure that most of China did not eat almost exclusively meat dishes but was struggling to find a book that represented good Chinese home cooking, the sort of meals you would make for a normal weekday tea. This book does just that with dishes that are quite simple and easy yet taste great - much more flavoursome than the simple ingredient list would suggest. I highly recommend it.

I went to a friend’s for a Schezuan dinner. It was fantastic. I asked for recipes and they were all from this book. I’m a keen cook and have been working my way through these. They run the gamut of Chinese cookery, with every one well described to produce a beautifully balanced meal. The book also has opening and closing sections explaining basic spices, herbs, equipment and so on. This is certainly the best new cookbook I have encountered in several years.