China Express

I have made almost every recipe in this book, and all have been great. The recipes are easy to make and most do not require much time, so you can work them into your standard weekday menus. There are excellent noodle and tofu recipes for vegetarians, and you can substitute tofu in many of the meat recipes. Try the Mu Shi Pork with tofu--terrific. The Chinese ingredients are pretty easy to find, and Ms. Simonds has substituted typical North American veggies for their Chinese counterparts. This is a grade A cookbook.

I made three recipes - stir-fried Chinese cabbage, sweet-and-sour tofu and spicy tofu with shrimp. Wow. It took a bit of concentration, because I've never made Chinese food before and this is such a new style. But the instructions were clear and I was successful. First time out! I've tried a lot of cookbooks, but never had one take me from no-nothing to rich, succulent, dreamy-smelling simple food so easily. This book is GREAT.

I want this book. I ordered another Nina Simonds book from the Library and they sent this one instead. I have been doing Asian Cooking (Chinese,Thai,Japanese, etc.) for many years. I have also taken many Chinese and Thai cooking classes and run a cooking school out of my home. This is one of the best Chinese cookbooks that I have come across. I made BBQ spareribs last night that are better than you find in most restaurants. It took 5 minutes to make the sauce. Preparation was very quick and easy. Recipes are clear and well written. The ingredients can be found in any supermarket.In her introduction Ms. Simonds states that she wrote this book after becoming a working Mom. This book is perfect for people who do not have the time to go to an Asian market to shop--you will find most, if not all, the ingredients that you need in a good supermarket. It is also perfect for someone who wants to come home and have dinner on the table within an hour. You may want to marinate something overnight; but you do not have to do a lot of preparation to make these dishes. Her section on substitutions in the front is also invaluable. My one criticism is that she uses turkey (a non-traditional Chinese food) in so many recipes. I would use chicken or pork or ground pork instead. However, for someone on a low fat diet the turkey might be another plus. Other than that this book is great.

I agree completely with the comments of reviewer #1 (above). Nina Simonds CRANKS, and this book does a slightly easier (more manageable to non-cooks) version of some of her other, always delectable recipes. It's a fantastic book, and would make a great gift. There's no justice! :-)