The Chinese Cookbook

This is the first, the original, the most seminal, and the best Chinese cookbook ever written. Period, end of story. Irene Kuo is hailed, but in fact her cookbook, in my opinion, is inferior to this one; useful, but secondary. The only missing key and central recipe is Salt Roast Chicken, the best recipe for which is to be found in the Classic Chinese Cookbook by Mai Leung.

Though we own twenty other Chinese cookbooks, we still think this is one of the best.

This is an outstanding book. It far outstrips every other Chinese cookbook, including some very good ones by Irene Kuo, Ellen Schrecker, and others. I've been cooking out of it for 20 years. Every recipe I've tried (and I've tried most of them) turns out extraordinary food. Don't bother with the other books. Get this one, if you can find it! The publisher who let this go out of print should be strung up by his thumbs. The world deserves better! A billion stars!

I have the '72 edition as well, bought new then, and turned to it again just last night. I agree with mbrown's description of the recipes by category and don't wish to be redundent. What charmed me and Chinese shopkeepers was being able to point to the Chinese characters of various ingredients in the glossary. They were then able to quickly find just what I needed. The recipes are organized, easy to follow, and consistently tasty. I love Chinese cuisine and would be lost without it.