Inspiration

I finished a fantastic book last week, "The Last Chinese Chef." The author is the same woman who wrote "Lost in Translation," to give her some street cred. This was one of those books that I slowed down as I read to make it last longer. SOOO good. I learned so much about Chinese food and it was a very sweet love story to boot! The entire time I read it, I wanted to eat what they were describing...it was so vivid you could see and smell the food as you read the words! Duck, chicken, pork ribs...YUM.

Mental switch to my coffee table. I have a quite a few coffee table books and I rotate them so I will look at them all. One is a beautiful huge Borders book (you know, the sale table at the front?) that my Grandma gave me via my Aunt entitled, "China: The Beautiful Cookbook." Well, I have flipped through it from time to time but come on...cook REAL Chinese food? After reading "The Last Chinese Chef" I practically flew to the book. It has fantastic descriptions of regional food and life in China along with recipes and great photographs. So, tonight was the first test. I started with a very easy recipe: braised chicken with lemon. You marinate a 2lb chicken with a soy sauce-lemon juice-rice wine mixture for an hour and then boil it in a lemon sauce for an hour. Reduce the sauce and pour it over the chicken. Jim and I learned that we are now proficient in chopstick use; we scarfed that chicken down so fast I was a little embarressed. We tried to keep some of the traditions of chinese food that I learned about - trying to serve others without them knowing, not wasting any food, the importance of texture, taste and presentation. I also learned that my knives don't cut it (DARN good pun!). You are supposed to cut through the chicken, bone and all, in slices and then re-arrange it on the serving platter. This didn't work so hot but I covered the chicken pieces with lemon slices and it still was pretty. Still not sure how to do this but will be asking my favorite chef buddy soon.


I never never knew how complicated Chinese cuisine was until I read these books. You could write a hundred master's thesis on the topic. I laughed aloud at these steps I read in one recipe, "Clean the chicken and bone it, leaving the skin intact - use a sharp knife with a narrow blade to work around the carcass until it can be completely removed." That's it...that's all they say. I am supposed to just remove the bones LEAVING THE SKIN AND MEAT INTACT just by reading that?!?! I gotta lot to learn but judging from tonight's results, I am off to a good start.

Anyways, wanted to share the two books. If nothing else, if you are trying to learn about China, you should read the first book. For me, it was a moving experience. I NEEDED a good book; it had been a drought. To get THAT book that tied in with my special coffee table book, while I was missing my Grama in a particular way...just was so special. Any other book recommendations out there?