5 comments about Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges.

1. This is another cookbook that I read like all the others, from cover to cover. I loved each and every page! The story of how Jean-Georges came to fall in love with Asian cuisine is wonderful and adventurous. The photographs are beautiful; full of color and very telling about life in Asia from a food-lover's view.
   
   The recipes are fabulous; full of color themselves and complex in flavor without being difficult to reproduce. The directions for each were clear and easy to follow.
   
   I made Chicken Samosas with Cilantro-Yogurt Dip, and I'd recommend this recipe very highly. The deep and spicy flavors of the samosas combined with the brightness of the yogurt dip was a perfect marriage and, like Jean-Georges, I would insist that the samosas be dipped before each and every bite. The samosas certainly stand alone, but the dip pulls them up to a whole new, and delicious, level.
   
   The truest test was my 3 year-old son, who couldn't stop eating them! Yes, they are spicy, and he knew it-asking for a drink after each bite-but he had no restraint whatsoever, and I must agree with him on this!
   
   I look forward to making many more of the recipes within the pages of Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges and urge you to get a copy of your own.



2. For several years we have waited anxiously for a Spice Market Cook Book. When we first learned that Grey Kunz was teaming up with Jean-Georges to create a restaurant of Asian street food, we couldn't wait. Our initial meal there rewarded our anxious expectations, and every meal thereafter confirmed our original impression. We were thrilled to find so many of our favorite dishes explicated here, and when we made several of them, the flavors confirmed our suspicions. This is a great, albeit complicated cookbook, but our only question is why Chef Kunz is mentioned nowhere. I know that they had a parting of the ways over Spice Market, but it is surprising that among the many acknowledgments, there is none for Chef Kunz, whom remember hearing traveled across Asia with Jean-Georges. Ah, perhaps that is why this is not called The Spice Market Cookbook!



3. This book is not for pro.I didn't see any special technic in this book.Maybe ,just maybe the flavor is good.



4. Beautiful pictures that make your mouth watering. The recipes are quite complicated and very impractical (see: "Peking Duck", which should be hanged from its neck in a refrigirator and cooled by a running fan at the same time!!!). The recipes in most cases also require ingredients that are extremely difficult to find and to buy outside the Asian countries where they are commonly used. Not a practical cookbook at all.



5. This is an extraordinary cookbook. I have this one and also "Cooking at Home with a Four Star Chef" and I like this one much better. His combination of flavors is truly extraordinary. Some of the ingredients are not things you might have in your pantry (go to your local Asian Grocery and get them) but once you have them you can cook most of the receipes. I have never made anything from this book that was not superb. Some of the recipes (but not all) are complex and time consuming but the effort is truly worth it. You will not be disappointed.

No comments about Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China.

5 comments about Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province.

1. This is one of the best cookbooks I own. I received the book as a gift and I use it everyday.



2. Ms. Dunlop continues to amaze and delight with her second book. The current tome educates the reader in the disciplines of cooking (as well as) ancient Chinese history (Appendix: the Main Chinese Dynasties), language (Appendix: Glossary of Chinese Characters) and contemporary history (revolutionarily centric). Echos of David, Grigson and Fisher resonate. [Not unsurprising considering her Cantabrixian education! (superb bibliography)] I haven't yet tried any of the recipes, so cannot vouch for their efficacy - but, they have a good feel about them. Will become a classic by aficionados.



3. The tastes and influence of the Hunan region of China are fully explored in Fuchsia Dunlop's Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook, which provides over a hundred dishes easy to make and accompanied by color photos and stories from the province. Dishes come with historical introduction, many a cultural insight, and the author's own experiences discovering and cooking the dish: all these factors make for a fine and well-rounded cookbook which goes far beyond the usual light Hunan coverage to probe the depth of Chinese culture and cuisine, making it a 'must' for any serious collection offering Chinese cookbooks beyond one or two basics.



4. I am originally from Hunan and loved its food when I was there. The recipes here are (brace for cliche) AUTHENTIC, insofar as reading these pages brings me to these very dishes experientially.



5. We enjoyed eating and making the recipes in this book.
   
   A warning though, the food is very much like what you would find in the homes of those in China. Do not expect it to taste like the food found in an American Chinese restaurant.

5 comments about Simple Chinese Cooking.

1. i bought this book not sure if it was any good.the photos are excellent n the recipes are superb n easy to find frm the asian market.i would really recommend anyone who likes to cook chinese food at home.



2. This is an art book accompanied by wonderful recipes. The photos that accompany the recipes are so beautiful!! I could taste the dishes!
   It's a fantastic book for a beginner because some of the dishes are wonderful yet simple and looks do-able. But, there are dishes for more advanced cooks too.
   Kylie includes a lot of step by step photo instructions like how to fold wonton, how to cut and fry tofu cubes, how to clean and score squid, etc... In this instructional aspect with the photos, she's the BEST. This book will be appreciated by all who wants to learn Chinese cooking.



3. What more could an aspiring cook of Chinese food desire? This is a beautiful book, complete with glorious photographs, easy to follow recipes and includes a menu planner.
   
   Variety is the essence of Chinese cuisine. Fortunately variety need not mean complexity. Every recipe we've cooked from this book has been a success, and the tips and presentation are superb.
   
   All of Ms Kwong's books are superb, but if you have to choose just one, then this would be my choice.
   
   Jennifer Cameron-Smith



4. I love this book! Kylie Kwong has put some fantastic fresh ideas forward that really liven up any meal. It's a great book for the beginning cook as well as the experienced, not everything is traditional and both will find something that is surprising and inspiring. I have to say that I adore the vegetable section in this book, it's fantastic.



5. I use this book at least twice a week because every dish has been a hit with the family and the dishes are so easy to prepare and healthy too. Even when I don't have all the ingredients for a recipe and I need to improvise, the dishes always turn out tasty anyway. Every recipe comes with a very appetizing picture of the finished product and several, very helpful, how-to photos. She also gives detailed descriptions of unfamiliar ingredients and photos of brands she uses. This a great beginner cookbook!

5 comments about Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Wartime SarajevoRevised Edition.

1. I remember reading this book as a child and picked it up again as an adult. It was a quick read, but really showed how a child deals with war. It made me think of how children in Iraq are feeling right now. Very interesting.



2. Sheesh...this is the product of a child, not the work of a Pulitzer prize winning journalist. It is an excellent diary, an excellent primary source and an excellent text for a better understanding of the Yugoslav wars. Yes...it does only tell one point of view - hers - it is her diary! Some readers are offended because of the comparison to Anne Frank; a comparison that Filipovic and others make in the book. The comparison is totally fair. Both are intelligent children caught up in situations they have no control over during wars of ethnic cleansing and extermination. It is a testament to Zlata that she can make the connection to Anne Frank...obviously the rest of the world couldn't. They (We) abandoned the Jews sixty years ago and abandoned hundreds of thousands of Croats/Bosniaks/Serbs to genocide forty years later. Zlata remembered Anne Frank's words...the world didn't.



3. Filipovic, Z. and Pribichevich-Zoric, C. (1995). Zlata's Diary. New York: Penguin Group
   Zlata's Diary is about a young eleven year old girl who wrote in her diary during the Yugoslavian Civil War. The beginning of the book discusses each day and her exciting things that she did with friends as well as her family memebrs; however, as the dumb war began to affect more and more individuals she began to take note of the food and water shortage. She also began to notice the loss of family and friends. Was the world coming to an end? Would she be okay? Would she survive?
   This book can be known as the modern day The Diary of Anne Frank due to it's similarities as both girls discuss the harsh conditions and losses they encountered due to ignorant individuals. The book truly hit home for me since I lost family in this war and to read Zlata's story and compare to the ones my family memebers were telling is mind blowing. Zlata's words truly embrace the horrific results of this war.
   
   Completed by Z on 5/12/08



4. Zlata probably never imagined that her diary would be read by millions or that it would be published. Much like Anne Frank, I don't think Zlata ever intended the diary to be made worldwide. Unlike Anne, Zlata survived but not without internal scars and loss of friends and relatives and neighbors. In the beginning, Zlata writes about mundane, ordinary things about being 11 years old. Please keep that in mind when reading her diary is that she was only 11 years old at the time of writing in the beginning. She begins writing about her life as a child in Sarajevo before the war broke out. She writes about her father going to serve the national army reserves. She writes about her life before the war and how the war changed her life and others forever. One day, she writes about people leaving Sarajevo and heading into safe territory. She writes about the daily bombings, senseless deaths, and life under war. She is a child of course and she tries to cope with difficult circumstances like not having electricity for the first time in her life for long periods of time or the constant state of fear that she lives in for herself and for her loved ones. Zlata's diary is now widely read by students about her age. Her main objective was never to get published but to keep and maintain a diary that was quite personal at times. Children of war probably suffer a lot more than they should. Zlata grows up fast and not be choice. She struggles to survive for herself and for her family without losing sanity.



5. Thank you for your quick shipment. Book is in great shape, as you stated.

5 comments about Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking.

1. Wonderful cookbook, my husband & I have become exteremly interested in Sichuan Cooking over the past few months and we were very excited to find a cookbook representing the Sichuan style of cooking. We love cooking with Sichuan Peppercorns and the "Hot & Numbing" style of cooking. The first recipe we tried was the Dry Cooked Beef, the recipe was very well written, easy to understand and the end product was yummy. I would recommend this book to any one who is interested in a wonderful and very interesting style of Asian cooking.



2. The Good:
   - Authentic recipes (lots of them). Most of the dishes taste pretty good. The first dish I made was Gong Bao Ji Ding and it was delicious.
   - Very nicely written. Instructions were clear and easy to follow. Lots of great info and details about the ingredients and cooking method. The author also provides an interesting background for each dish. You can tell Dunlop is passionate about Sichuanese food.
   - Great organization (separated by Noodles, Appetizers, Meat, Fish, etc.)
   - No MSG
   
   The Bad:
   - Lacks pictures. The pictures were great but I wish there were more. I had to use google to compare my results.
   
   Conclusion:
   Overall a great book and easily recommended. Despite the lack of pictures, I still have to rate it 5 stars because of the delicious recipes.



3. I have to say that as much I've cooked from this book, I've appreciate much more my neighborhood Sichuan place.
   
   The author has done a great job. I do think there are some small areas where the technique isn't too obvious.
   
   I would recommend reading the introduction and the basics before proceeding to the recipes - offers a good grounding into Sichuan foods and techniques.



4. I am very impressed by the depth of knowledge the author acquired to write this book and how she carefully shares it with her readers. It is not just a book of recipes. The author did her homework understanding the hows and the whys. I love how she explains the many cooking and cutting methods very clearly, AND she includes the Chinese calligraphy (beautifully done) for each, as well as the Chinese pronunciation. This truly helps 'connect the dots' because English translated menus in Chinese restaurants do not always use the same words so it's very helpful to see it in Chinese and know how to pronounce it too. She goes into details explaining the use of Chinese cooking utensils, how to prepare/oil your wok properly, etc... seriously goes beyond the usual cookbook! THANK YOU!
   
   And of course, from her descriptions of the dishes, I could practically smell the spices and want to sink my teeth into the dishes so badly... This was my first Dunlop book and I am a fan now.



5. I initially bought this cookbook to learn more about Sichuan cuisine, but quickly realized the recipies are extremely practical and easy to follow. They do not require much specialized equipement (unless you consider a wok specialized) and the ingredients can be found at a local Asian market or online. I prepared several bean curd recipes this week. Once I had the ingredients prepped, the actual cook time was only 3 minutes or so (at a very high heat).
   
   In addition to being simple, economical, and fast to prepare, most of the recipes seem fairly healthful (Deep fried foods or pork belly would be obvious exceptions).
   
   If you have never tasted Sichuan pepper, it is definitely worth experiencing. It is not spicy, but it does have a have a fairly big impact on your mouth. That said, even my children (who do not like spicy foods) were able to eat and enjoy the recipies with the Sichuan pepper. Some recipes do have more heat for those who like very spicy food.
   
   I highly recommend this cookbook both for the cultural/historical information and for the recipes.

5 comments about Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China.

1. Although the cover of the book gives the impression that it is more a cookbook than anything else, it is really a travel book with with a search for identity subtext peppered (sorry) with some interesting recipes. It is not an existential chick-lit angst-laden outpouring in the manner of Julie & Julia. It is more in the style of Anthony Bourdain without the sarcasm. The author lives in China at a time where social and economic changes are taking place, and her observations of these changes are one of the highlights of the book. I think that is partly because she doesn't try to analyze them, but rather describes how she and the Chinese she interacts with respond to them. Ms. Dunlop is clearly an adventurous sort, and she does make some remarkable trips into the backwaters of western China. One of the more amusing themes is her immersion into Chinese culture, and the conflicts with her western upbringing and cultural viewpoint. Her attempts to introduce her Chinese friends to western food are funny.
   
   This is, in the end, a good book, with several interesting interwoven story lines. While entertaining, you will also learn from it.



2. I own Fuschia's two cookbooks, but had the opportunity to read this as a library "new purchase" ... before deciding to purchase my own copy. As previous reviews have noted, this is not a cookbook/recipe book -- it has about 20 recipes (some in her previous books) ... and yet, it is far from being a travelogue. Fuschia is one of the few people fluent in Mandarin (and at least the Sichuanese dialect) who has lived in China and become almost accepted as a local (no non-Chinese will ever escape the "foreign devil / barbarian" label) or at least has been brought to distant places in the company of (and as the friend or colleague of) a local -- giving her a unique perspective. Fuschia also learned to sometimes hide her knowledge of Mandarin, so that she could hear people's true comments and opinions, a good way to learn the truth in a society that often hides its true feelings. In short, she had a view, over a 15 year period, of many of the changes in China -- and of the personal effects of those changes on individual Chinese families -- we are only beginning to appreciate and understand.
   
   This book is a mix of a geographic travelogue (visits to rural communities, to restricted regions [eg, Mongolia]), a social/political history (the fear people had of speaking to her; the differing roles of men and women in modern China; the suspicion of local police; the welcome of entrepeneurial "communist" politicos), and a culinary travelogue (restaurants from the customer and chef/owner perspective; Chinese cooking school education; food sourcing).
   
   Most important of all, she uniquely can contrast her culinary thoughts and feelings as a Westerner with those she has as a "pseudo Chinese". She brings the whole sense of what a Westerner might consider food appreciation and what a Chinese might consider into sharp perspective. She contrasts the Western squeamishness about where our food comes from and how it's prepared (eg, slaughter of animals) with the Chinese acceptance of the need to kill in order to eat. She shows that Chinese history and language nuances define an interest in and understanding of the subtlety and contrast of color, flavor, and texture and have recognized these as markers of civilization for millenia. You will also see that many Westerners will never be able to adapt completely the Chinese ability to eat almost anything (Fuschia's final essay, on whether to eat a caterpillar unknowingly steamed in a bowl of greens picked in her mother's garden) -- something that Fuschia eventually could do.
   
   In short, this is neither a cookbook nor a travelogue ... it is far more and is a valuable read. Unlike a cookbook, this will not be a book you will return to and "cook from" often ... but it is a book that will help you be a better chef, a far better diner, ... and far more understanding of the last 15 years of change in China than most ...



3. Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A sweetsour memoir of eating in China
   Fuchsia Dunlop, 2008
   
   As the title says, this is not a cookbook or precisely a book on or about food, but a memoir of Fuchsia Dunlop's time in China, with the emphasis on her culinary experiences and endeavors. It covers an eventful -- both for Dunlop and for China -- fifteen years, from her first visit in 1992 to one (hopefully not the last) in 2007. Originally a Chinese region specialist for the BBC, she applied for a fellowship to study in China, with an emphasis on minority cultures, was accepted, and in 1994 showed up at Sichuan University in Chengdu.
   
   She rapidly became inebriated with the vital dining scene in Chengdu, and (to hear her tell it) largely abandoned the ostensible purpose of her studies. Fortunately for Dunlop and us, Sichuan had both a deserved reputation for being slow and casual (things were possible for a foreigner there that would not have been in more modern cities), and a rich and highly developed style of cookery. Far from being the simple blisteringly hot excess of chilis that it has the reputation for in the West, Sichuan cooking as practiced in Chengdu emphasizes a careful balance of flavors and ingredients, with hundreds of unique flavors and textures; no more a one-note anvil of chilis and the lip-numbing Sichuan peppercorn than Indian food is a single all purpose "curry powder" blend.
   
   We have a few chapters devoted to her increasing love affair with Sichuan food and life, and her gradual accomodation to the variety of ingredients, from 'offal' to rabbit heads to insects. (I can't help but think her self-description of her state of blandness on arrival is a bit disingenuous -- somewhere near the end, she mentions the English standby of steak-and-kidney pie, which to an American stomach is up there on the grossness meter at least with tripe and liver and the other organ meat she claims to be initially put off by.) And though she does devote, off and on, a few sections to the "Chinese eat everything" theme, it does not seem to me central to her book, and she is clear that it is not universal and the North and West are more conservative in their cuisine. Much more emphasized is the complexity of the food, the many different flavors and cooking techniques, even the wide variety of shapes generated with the simple Chinese cleaver, each with it's distinctive name. Dunlop, her official studies over with, stayed on in Chengdu and enrolled in a full-time course at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine, the only Westerner in a class of aspiring Chinese chefs.
   
   After the success of her first book on Sichuan cooking, Dunlop returned to China and spent time in Hunan, learning another distinct regional cuisine, the subject of her second book. Though overall chronological, and overall concerned with Chinese food, there are numerous digressions ... a chapter devoted largely to fears of the SARS epidemic; one to a trip to a friend's family in "a remote village not far from Inner Mongolia" where the "meals we ate were simple and monotonous;" her travels in Tibet and other dicey regions.
   
   Equally as interesting as Dunlop's experiences are her reactions to them, the story arc of her becoming more and more imbued with Chinese culture and attitude until it is a wrench for her to fit in back in England. She not only experiences, but thinks about those experiences, seemingly with a notebook almost constantly at hand. And thus we feel her dismay when over the short span of a decade or so, the oddly paradisiacal corners of China that she had found, the sort of old-China crowded markets, street vendors and grubby diners shunned by tourists and New-Chinese alike, become overrun with rampant development -- favored markets, restaurants and whole districts vanishing beneath the bulldozer almost overnight, replaced by high-rises and anonymous blocks of flats. Near the end there is feeling of doom and depression, and her originally accommodating attitude is drowned out by a knell of development, pollution of the very foods she is eating (one chapter is devoted to an increasing fear of seemingly every ingredient), and the impact of increasing demand for exotic, wild and endangered ingredients. Then at the end there are two chapters which revive her attitude and our hope. She travels to the source of her treasured Sichuan peppercorns, the particular slopes that produce the best of the best. And she indeed finds another unspoiled (so far!) city that is far off the commercial or tourist tracks, redeveloping in its own middle-path way.
   
   Dunlop may not be immediately likable .. I have the feeling that while she could be immensely charming, she could also be relentless in her goals .. but she is a wonderful guide, probably getting as much under the skin of China old and new as any Westerner is going to, and bringing us along for the ride in a thoughtful, yet personal and emotional, well told adventure.



4. I've accumulated a lot of cookbooks over the years and I actually do use most of them. A few years ago I vowed to stop buying cookbooks with very few exceptions since so few were unique or contained information you can't find online. Two of the very few exceptions were Fuchsia Dunlop's "Land of Plenty" on authentic Sichuanese cooking and "Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook" about Hunan Province. Both gems that provide insights on the differences between Chinese cooking there are here. Now we have "Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper," the story of her life and travels in China, learning Chinese cooking through Chinese methods and traditions. Chinese food as an integral part of Chinese culture and the differences between provinces and regions. You may come away thinking that you could never be worthy of the skill of the cooks who are featured in these pages, but you will also come away with an appreciation for the crossroads between people, land, culture and food conveyed by a writer who is personable and very human.



5. This is an excellent book on many levels. The quality of the writing is a definite step above most books of this sort. The discussions of regional cuisines, culinary training, and attitudes towards food both contemporary and historical are fascinating. This book, however, is about more than food. Ms. Dunlop lived in Sichuan in a particularly interesting time, when rapid changes in the economy, politics, and society were laying the groundwork for the huge economic growth of the late 90's and present. I lived in China for two years in the early 90's (though in a different city from Ms. Dunlop, and I've never met her) and her descriptions of many of the contradictions and complexities of being a foreigner in China at the time are truly spot on. She looks at her experiences with a degree of self-awareness that is rare in books of this sort. There is little romanticism here, and when she does romanticize her experiences, she quickly pulls back and comments on the contradictory impulses she feels. This book richly deserves all five stars. Please note that the one single-star review it receives is by someone who admits she has not read the book and simply objects to the practice of shark-finning. Had the reviewer read the book, she would see that Ms. Dunlop ends up taking a highly critical perspective on many aspects of Chinese culinary practices, including the needlessly cruel methods of preparation, etc. This is as interesting and intelligent a memoir about food and China in this period as one is ever likely to encounter. I highly recommend it.

5 comments about The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food.

1. Jennifer Lee answers many mysteries in this book that may have interested you. (Where do all those Chinese people come from who work in the restaurants? How did fortune cookies get started? Who writes the fortunes? What is the real origin of Chop Suey?) For those answers, it's worth reading the book.
   
   Her lens is a most unusual one: She visits Chinese restaurants where lottery winners got fortunes that gave them the numbers they used to win an unprecedented number of second prizes.
   
   What she learns is that Chinese food as prepared and eaten in the United States says more about Americans than it does about the Chinese. She also shows how self-organizing principles (from complexity theory) apply to explain why Chinese restaurants are so similar.
   
   Ultimately, this book describes what it means to be human and to want a better life. In that sense, it's very life affirming.
   
   I found that the book had two major drawbacks. First, Ms. Lee chooses to tell you the story of how she tracked down her answers rather than cutting through the preliminaries. I found much of her research reporting to be less interesting than the punch lines when finally reached.
   
   Second, I wondered how competent she was in doing this research. She seemed to rely a lot on interviewing people face to face. Surely, a lot of answers could have been gotten in other ways. Where I became most skeptical was in her section on picking the best Chinese restaurant in the world. One of her criteria was that lots of Chinese people eat there. I have Chinese-American friends who take me to many superb, attractive (as opposed to "hole in the wall") Chinese restaurants where my wife and I are the only non-Chinese Americans in the place. None of these restaurants were mentioned by Ms. Lee. She didn't even visit the cities where our favorite Chinese restaurants are such as Honolulu.



2. The opening chapters of this book by Jenneifer 8. Lee have a merry verve. Who invented chop suey, a dish unknown in China? Who was this General Tso, anyway? (A Chinese Colonel Sanders, perhaps?) Can it be true that Japanese invented the fortune cookie? (Gasp!) But there's more to this book than Kung Pao chicken, chopsticks, and zodiac calendars.
   
   Chapters on Chinese immigration and the movement of immigrants around the nation to work in restaurants are told in a lively reportorial style that still provokes thought. They give stale discussions of immigration policy a human face, and her visits to China bring alive such abstractions as "push" and "pull" factors.
   
   Sprightly chapters on the business side of restaurants and supplies -- and "The Soy Sauce Trade Dispute" -- deliver a lot of commonsense economics in a most agreeable way. The economic side of the book culminates in a theory of "open source" economic adaptation that is, to this reader, quite fresh.
   
   Finally, the book has a lot to say about America, our history, and our culture. Lee even proposes a new metaphor to replace the old "melting pot" and the newer "salad bowl." Our nation is "stir-fry," she writes. We'll see whether the new label gets a larger market share among academics and pundits.
   
   Finally, an advisory: Reading this book is like watching the Ang Lee film, "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman." As soon as you put it down, you'll have a strong urge to drive to the nearest Golden Dragon, Peking Gourmet, or Hunan Garden and order too much.
   
   -30-



3. This is a breezy and entertaining foray into the world of Chinese/American cuisine diaspora. Lee writes well. This book, however, would have benefited from better editing. Some parts of the book resemble a chop suey. The book contains several typographical errors that should have been corrected during the editing process.
   
   Ex:
   p. 183. "Robert Borgas." Lee means "Robert Porges." Lee should have asked Seth Faison for his comments before the book was published.



4. Jennifer Lee has written an engaging book on the phenomenon of Chinese food in America. It is filled with factoids that most likely you did not know before, such as the fact that there about twice as many Chinese restaurants in America as there are McDonalds.
   
   She delves into such arcana as the origin of General Tso's chicken, the history and anatomy of fortune cookies, the making of those trapezoidal carry-out food boxes, why Jewish people especially love Chinese food and a stroll through the best Chinese restaurants in the world.
   
   It would be tempting and a cliché to say that, thirty minutes after reading it, you're hungry for more. Alas, that line has apparently been taken by a prior reviewer.
   
   If you enjoy Chinese food, you will enjoy "The Fortune Cookie Chronicles."
   
   Confucius say, "You have a fun reading ahead of you..."



5. As others have said, Ms. Lee writes very well, and most of this was really interesting. But she has a total blind spot about fortune cookies, and for me, there was WAY too much stuff about trying to research exactly who invented them. When I realized that I was starting a THIRD chapter on this same subject -- which she'd already covered exhaustively in two previous chapters -- I groaned inwardly and just skipped to the next chapter. OK, we get it: fortune cookies are not Chinese, any more than General Tso's chicken or chop suey. Except for this one flaw, the book was a lot of fun.

5 comments about Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Travels in the Other China.

1. A taste of the Real China, from one who has travelled there on numerous occasions, a true Shangri La experience



2. To the gentleman from china with the one-star rating. Patriotism can be a good thing. But this is a cookbook -- it's not a political tract. I own all the cookbooks this pair of folks has put out. They're wonderful writers, photographers and cooks. They show us all part of the world we'll never get to see.
   Do they have opinions about Tibet ... quite possibly. I haven't received the book yet. But you waste your energy is posting a review like you did. It works against you, sir, and undercuts your cause. Reasonable people can disagree about the China/Tibet situation (can't they?). But to think that this cookbook is being released now to make a statement against China is just not plausible. China has plenty to be proud of (as the authors have shown in several of their earlier books). Your review does not reflect well on China.



3. One of the best travel-food books to hit the market so far in 2008. Inspired photography and gloriously informative text from parts of China that most of us never get to see.
   Stunning!



4. Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Travels in the Other China Another wonderful book from these authors. One I will turn to again and again. The instructions are clear and the results so far have been sooooo good!



5. I have the book it is gorgeous and recipes are very interesting - different that anything else I have in my 300+ cookbook collection
   
   I have been having a debate with a Chinese American friend - which is relevant here:
   
   Tibetan and other minorities are resentful of Han Chinese success. The Chinese are good business people and have been doing business all over Asia for centuries. I attribute this to cultural traits shared with other North Asians - Koreans and Japanese, and not by South Asians for the most part. As a result there has been resentment. The Filipinos did not like the Chinese because they dominated business. They also kept (or were kept) to themselves. In other areas like Indonesia and Vietnam there are many more Chinese - and that led to massacres in Indonesia and boat people - mostly ethnic Chinese - in Vietnam.
   
   There is more:
   
   "China consistently has pursued a policy of "taming" its far-flung western regions through economic and ethnic assimilation."
   When the Communists came to power China was the "weak man of Asia" Not without reason China was paranoid about revisiting the foreign domination of the last century. When they looked around they found that most of their borders were inhabited by non-Han - and that concerned them. So they tried to assimilate them - probably in a pretty ham-handed, insensitive way. Even in the US cultural diversity is not always well respected although it has improved in our lifetimes. China has had a lot of trouble with its borders - there has been shooting with Russia, Vietnam, India.
   
   "It may be the Tibetans' final chance to hold onto an ethnically, religiously and economically unique homeland before it is lost forever"
   I do believe the Tibetan culture is unique and worth preserving - and it is not a given that it will be. That is not to say that to be a true Tibetan you cannot be educated and be financially successful. We saw a few years ago in New Mexico where Indians kept feet in both worlds at places like Acoma and Taos pueblos. American Indian culture and language in the US is in many cases gone forever and was not given any legal respect until quite recently. We heard this story again in Alaska last summer. And we see it in Oklahoma all the time which has a large Indian population - but a fragmented one because most were displaced from elsewhere. The Chinese government could use a good dose of cultural sensitivity - but I am not counting on it - the best comparison with China right now would be with the "Wild West" a hundred years ago - before environmental laws, unions, rule-of-law, an cultural tolerance.

5 comments about Healing With Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition (3rd Edition).

1. Just as the majority of others,I give this book 5 stars. I have been using it almost daily for several years. True,I am a holistic practitioner,but I use it personally with and for my family. My husband actually got the book as his course text for a nutrition course in his Acupuncture graduate program. I have used it far more than he.
   With beginners,or say,someone new to all of the 'type diagnosing',I usually recommend they look through the back glossary of foods,categorized by types such as legumes,veggies,fruits,etc. Pitchford breaks down the 'energies' of the foods so well,and gives a brief overview of how they are helpful,along with some basic recipes.
   He also has sections on oils,sweeteners,greens/chlorophyll,etc.
   I just don't see how anyone would be confused or find it contradictory,if you take it a little at a time,and don't attempt to 'diagnose yourself western style'. [this is the trick-it's not a how-to manual;it's a resource guide!]
   You can learn the basics of what is important and why,which types of sweeteners to replace with what,etc.
   What I love about this book,too,is his focus on assisting those who are transitioning from a more standard western diet. ie,he will discuss meat,fish and their healing properties,when they may be needed,when to avoid,how to transition from,etc.
   This is not an 'all or none' preachy type of book.
   Pitchford is sincere and obviously knowledgeable/experienced.
   For all around great,useful books on health and nutrition,I really cannot think of any other that I'd recommend so highly. Accessible to beginners,but will still challenge/provide info for more experienced folks/practitioners.



2. I purchased Healing With Whole Foods about two years ago because my friend who is an acupuncturist suggested it. The book describes how to health practitioner Paul Pitchford diagnoses and treats diseases in his patients. The book is definately a definitive at home alternative health encyclopedia.
   
   For example, the book has a section which explains how to do a liver and gall bladder cleanse.
   
   The book also explains Chinese medicine in great detail. It explains how the author has cured diseases and helped patients, for example it has a detailed section on Cancer. And this is what is important, this book explains how to heal certain diseases, not just treat the symptoms of disease. That being said, it probably will be difficult to actually cure your illness just from reading the book. It has sort of a reference nature to it, it has helpful information, but the application can be more difficult.
   
   The author also is an open minded vegetarian. His dietary guidelines include soaking whole grains and legumes for enhanced digestion, which is important. He believes that it is okay to eat meat and seafood for special circumstances, but in general does not support it. If your looking to understand eastern medicine in a thorough yet comprehensible way, this book is for you. If your looking for an open minded perspective about health and disease, this book is for you. If you are looking for some help about alternative recommendations for treating illnesses, again this book is for you.
   
   The drawback for me is that as much as I wanted to read the book, I just couldn't get into it. It has all the markings of a great book, but may not be right for everyone.
   [...]



3. ....A wise and valuable book for anyone who is serious about examining their eating habits. A great guide for those who want to improve their life and health conditions and embrace the Chinese philosophy of Yin and Yang.This book also includes flavorful and delicious recipe's, to get you started on your journey.



4. This book was recommended to me and has come in handy for reference. It's really like a bible for people who are open to eastern and western medicine but prefer to use food rather than pills to help the body do its thing well.



5. It is the best book on nutrition ever! Yes it is heavily biased towards TCM, but it is perfectly fine with me. I thoroughly enjoy reading this book. It has good information, research and insights.