The Chinese Takeout Cookbook

November 19, 2012
Kuan is a New York food blogger who has lived in Beijing as well as Puerto Rico, where her family ran a Latin-flavored Chinese restaurant. But for this, her first collection, she sticks to the classics of mainland American-Chinese cuisine. So there is both General Tso’s chicken and chop suey among the 100 well-known favorites, as well as moo shu pork, barbecued spareribs, and three types of fried rice. Although making the dough for her scallion pancakes seem like a lot of effort, the majority of recipes are simple stir fry affairs that use a wok or frying pan and utilize the same basic handful of ingredients such as soy sauce, oyster sauce, ginger, and garlic, so it is relatively easy to create a multidish meal. Kuan helps the cook along by offering a dozen menu ideas with themes such as 1970s takeout, Chinese New Year, and Sichuan supper. She also provides brief, inviting histories on the Americanization of many of the dishes. The real question, of course, is whether those who like Chinese takeout have the desire to cook, and do those who cook Chinese need new recipes for beef with broccoli and egg foo young? Had Kuan included a fortune cookie recipe, rather than just a short history of its Japanese origins, the answer might have been made available. Ballantine is betting it already knows how the cookie will crumble.

November 15, 2012

Food writer Kuan teaches Chinese cooking at the Institute for Culinary Education in New York and blogs at appetiteforchina.com. Her first cookbook, which contains popular Chinese-American dishes like Kung Pao Chicken and Chop Suey, is very similar to Bee Yin Low's Easy Chinese Recipes. Both books explain the tools and ingredients essential to Chinese home cooking and offer a satisfying range of recipes, but where Low emphasizes tips and techniques (often with step-by-step photos), Kuan focuses on the cuisine's popular history. VERDICT Filled with interesting facts--like the origins of the takeout box and company La Choy's 1960s ad campaign involving Jim Henson--this collection will please Chinese restaurant enthusiasts.

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