The Art of Chinese Cooking: Tradition, Technique, and Flavor — From Wok to Table

The Art of Chinese CookingTradition, Technique, and Flavor — From Wok to TablePractical, precise, and unapologetically technical, The Art of Chinese Cooking teaches you how to cook Chinese food with confidence — not by rote imitation, but by understanding the rules that make ingredients, heat, and timing work together. This is a cookbook for people who want to stop guessing and start getting reproducible, restaurant-level results at home.Inside you’ll find:• A compact regional map and the flavor priorities that define Cantonese, Sichuan, Jiangsu/Zhejiang, Shandong, Hunan, Fujian/Anhui — and how to borrow intelligently across regions once you understand the techniques.• A kitchen-by-kitchen pantry and shopping guidance with sensible quantities for a household of four: rice and noodle ratios, dried mushrooms and legumes, essential oils (refined peanut, toasted sesame), Shaoxing wine, Chinkiang vinegar, doubanjiang, and more.• Equipment that matters — why a 30–36 cm wok makes a difference, which cleaver to choose, the value of a bamboo steamer, and how to set up a home wok workflow that actually produces “wok hei” without theatrics.• Clear, measured method sections: mise en place and timing, the master stir-fry workflow, wok seasoning and care, steaming times for fish and bao, braising techniques (hong shao pork belly timing and liquid ratios), safe deep-frying temperatures, and bone-stock timings for clear soups.• Exact, repeatable figures you can rely on: rice : water ratios for jasmine rice (1 : 1.1–1.2 in a rice cooker), cornstarch slurry standards (1 : 1 for glossy finish), oil quantities for typical stir-fries (2–3 tbsp for four servings), and braise timings (90–120 minutes for pork belly).• Dozens of canonical dishes and step-by-step recipes that put the foundations to work — dim sum and Cantonese weeknight cooking, Sichuan’s layered chilies and peppercorns, northern wheat traditions, and slow-bright Yangtze braises — each with practical notes for home stoves, substitutions, and troubleshooting.This book is written for the home cook who wants dependable technique rather than mystique. You’ll learn to taste and adjust with numbers and reasoned rules, not guesswork. Sections are arranged so you can read once for the architecture of Chinese cooking and return to single techniques or recipes when you need them. Every recipe and method is offered with clarity: what to prep, why it matters, and the exact timing and quantities that produce the textures and flavors you want.Whether you’re a beginner who wants a disciplined introduction to pantry and wok, or an experienced cook seeking better timing, clearer stocks, and more reliable stir-fries and braises, The Art of Chinese Cooking gives you the foundations and the recipes to cook well every night of the week.