Simple Chinese Recipes: Step-By-Step

This book was my introduction not only to Chinese cooking but to cooking in general. These recipes are very simple (as the title says) and for me they created a good foundation for my own variations. There is a sort of glossary of ingredients and methodologies in the back that I found both interesting and useful. These are flexible recipes for delicious dishes you can cook on a regular basis-- I cooked for myself using this book nearly every day in college. At the time I lived very close to NYC Chinatown... and the dishes here seem have an authentic spirit. This book certainly a does a much better job than cookbooks that tend to flaunt "exotic Asian cuisine". Overall, I think this is a great cookbook.