Don R. Wong

The format of this book is reminiscent of Weichuan’s paperback publications. Each recipe is accompanied by a black and white photo of the finished dish and information about where the recipe emanated from. Many of the dishes are unusual (to the educated US reader), and some are impractical to make. Because I gravitate toward recipes from Sichuan and Hunan provinces, I’ll mention a few of them: deep-fried eggplant pastry, stir-fried eel with celery, wonderful chicken taste (!)....

I was also interested to see a chop suey recipe that bears no resemblance to what is the norm (here in Massachusetts, anyway). It contains chicken gizzards and a pig kidney and appears to be a dry stir-fry. By the way, it uses rice noodles. The authenticity is somewhat diminished by the use of sherry.

And then there is a great-looking recipe for egg tarts with the curious name of “Roasted Milk Egg Tower”. It has a double crust, the outer one being made with lard. The filling is called “Stuffed Meat”!… (mehr)