Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees: Essential Techniques of Authentic Chinese Cooking: A Cookbook

Run, don't walk, to get a copy of this. It's a stellar reference that should raise the conversation (and your results) to the next level when it comes to technique. Mr Kho's wellspring of experience teaching an unusually wide array of traditional Chinese cooking techniques to non-Chinese students is on full display here. The detail systematically devoted to each separate traditional Chinese application of dry and wet heat (for example, three different sub-types of braising alone - 燜 (men), 燉 (dun), 煨 (wei) ) is beyond welcome. It closes a key gap in the English-language discourse around methods that either make or break a proper Chinese dish. For each sub-technique, there is at least one recipe. All are delicious. In terms of authenticity (as opposed to taste), the recipes are generally spot-on. In full transparency, however, I am rounding up from from 4.5 stars here - half a star was dinged for recipes representing China's West and North occasionally showing a bit of understandable filtering through a Cantonese/Hokkien sensibility. This never rises to the level of egregiousness in other cookbooks, such as Phaidon's pan-Chinese survey.

This is probably the most comprehensive introduction to Chinese cooking. The author puts special emphasis on ingredients, equipment, and technique. He wants you to understand the "how" and "why" behind everything, which makes him a wonderful teacher. The photography is also to die for, and it's obvious from the recipes and photos that the author is a real master of Chinese cooking. The types of recipes in this cookbook are for the types of dishes that you might find in a fine Chinese restaurant. Many of them are something quite special and better than the typical versions that one might eat at any small restaurant in China. Instead, these are the sort of dishes that would be available at an expensive restaurant or hotel. However, I should emphasize that the dishes are not so difficult. It just means that you may have to stock your cupboards with some extra spices and sauces (no big deal). For those who are looking for the very simple dishes that one might find in anyone's home in China, I would recommend "The Cultural Revolution Cookbook." That book does not have dishes that are so elegant and special, but they are more authentic to the type of simple home cooking found in kitchens all across China. Many of those recipes have only like 3-4 ingredients, and no special preparation, just as we would see from farmers out in the countryside. There is something beautiful about that type of simplicity too. For those who want to try making some really great and special Chinese dishes, including learning all sorts of neat techniques, I recommend this book. For those who just want to learn simple dishes for home cooking, I recommend "The Cultural Revolution Cookbook." Each book has its domain and does its thing perfectly. Finally, Kian Lam Kho's enthusiasm and passion for cooking really shine through in this book. The author genuinely cares about teaching you in the very best possible way, and teaching you everything you would need to know about the techniques and reasons behind everything. It's really an unbeatable comprehensive introduction to Chinese cooking.

Book arrived as I came home from a long day at the industrial bakery. Took a short unwind time and started to read the book. I didn't need recipes for chicken or duck feet, however, scanning the index we saw the the Mapo Tofu (p211) and the Steamed Stuffed Tofu (p261) made me run out to the Kogers and purchase what we didn't have at home. It was a welcome end to a long day and the beginning to more long missed Chinese dishes at home. Thank you Kian Lam Kho! We loved the Mapo Tofu using ground beef instead of pork, it was better than what we could order take out. The Steamed Stuffed Tofu made us think we were back at Hop Kee or On Luck back in NY Chinatown. Our Friend Duck Wong would smile on Braised Whole Duck on page 212. The book is very well written, shares culture along with the recipes.It has brought back many happy memories of eating with the cooks and wait staff at the end of the evening. This is a great companion to our collection of Huang Su Huei's of cookbooks from the 1970's. The recipes reminded me of the earlier day's when I would fix equipment in my friends Chinese Restaurants, where the cooks would teach me simple things after I finished the repairs. It is fair to say that my Wife and I enjoy the book and it's collection of recipes. Let me know if you agree with my feeling and opinion of this great book.

I bought this book to get the recipe for Oil Steeped Soon Hock and I wasn't disappointed....following the recipe which was simple yielded the most tender fragrant fish. It didn't have the crispy exterior of restaurant oil steeped soon hock but it was nevertheless restaurant quality and is now my trusty banquet dinner dish. I have yet yo try the other dishes but I am sure they will be great. The only thing is, it is kinda hard to use this book because it is not grouped by ingredients such as chicken or vegetable, nor by dish categories such as noodles or appetizers, but by cooking technique. If you are planning a meal, of course you don't go by technique, so if you are trying to plan a meal using this book it is not going to be straightforward. The chapter outline does not even list a single recipe, only cooking techniques, and there is no recipe index either, just a general index, so navigating the book is a real headache, it is just not user friendly as far as accessing recipes are concerned. Having said that, if you are trying to improve your chinese cooking technique, this book is going to be invaluable. It covers a whole range of techniques that are not simply not to be found in other cookbooks, but which are the foundation of chinese cooking including traditional and fine chinese cuisine. It is a great reference book, I just wish the author would provide a recipe index and include the names of the recipes in the chapter outline.

At first I was confused about the lack of photos for each individual recipe, a finished product photo if you will, but a glance at the table of contents and the title cleared the confusion. This book is ultimately about Chinese cooking techniques. The techniques are center stage here, not individual ingredients or recipes. In the large world of Chinese cuisine, there are countless recipes with their own variations. You only will need to know the vast variations of red cook pork recipes to know that to be the case. There is really no way to put them all in. Thus Kian Lam Kho focus in on the techniques. As the book stands right now, it is in a very convenient size packed with various recipes per cooking technique for you to learn and master. With these techniques and knowledge on how to use them, you can apply it to any ingredient. From what you can learn, you can cook phoenix claws and jade trees. As for the other traits of this cookbook, I think the other reviewers got it covered. I should note though, the attached red ribbon bookmark is such a nice touch.

Every cookbook organizes recipes based on different criteria. This cookbook is unique because it uses “cooking style” as the organizing criteria. I can see how this layout would benefit an experienced cook trying to improve his/her skills using very specific cooking method, such as Flash-Frying or Dry-Frying. To me, it’s not optimal because I would rather sort through recipes by geographic region or type of food. Nonetheless, this book deserves a 5-stars because of the excellent content. Please note: This is NOT American-Chinese cuisine. I found some recipes such as Kung Pao Chicken, General Tso, and Stir-Fry Beef, which should be palatable for most people. However, this is an authentic Chinese cookbook, including recipes for Rabbit, Squab, Carp, Eel, Beef Tripe, Pig Stomach, Pork Liver and Kidney, Pig Feet, Squid, etc. Most of these recipes I would never make for myself, but it’s a nice resource to have. If you purchase this cookbook looking for American-Chinese cuisine, you may be disappointed.

Beautiful book,well written. I could eat the pages it looks so good!

So. I own stir fry to the sky’s edge and every grain of rice. This is the best. The worst is every grain of rice. That even won an award but this book is much better. It explains all the different types of cuisine and then gives you examples. Every grain of rice is basically just recipes. SFTSE is a nice mix of recipes but it’s all stir fry. This may turn out to be my favorite. Grace young does a fantastic job focusing all the cooking on the wok so props to her for that. I’d buy this book and SFTSE and that’d be a great start for Chinese cooking. If you’re disappointed with this book there’s probably something wrong with you... not the book. Well worth the price.

Das Buch war als Geschenk gedacht und ist sehr gut angekommen

Well written, easy to understand, organised by cooking technique. The opening chapters give detailed information about Chinese food in general, the regions, equipment, ingredients etc. After that, each chapter introduces a different cooking technique, along with a bit of background about when and where it originated, followed by a few recipes utilising the given technique. The recipes given are a great start from which you are given the knowledge necessary to create your own dishes from your favourite ingredients - or from whatever you happen to have in your pantry that day.

Some recipes do really taste bland, they are missing some kick. Full of pics and explainations, even for the most difficult techniques. Kho really is a good teacher and want you to understand what you are doing and Why you are doing that.Very good and nice book.

This book has revolutionized how I cook faux-Chinese at home. I lived in China for two years about a decade ago and I still miss the food. This book brings me closer than I have found anywhere else (except at one restaurant in Richmond BC 🙂)

Dieses Buch kaufte ich meinem Freund zum Geburtstag..er wollte immer Wok machen können... Die Rezepte sind sehr detalliert erklärt, auch der Sinn dahinter wie man es zubereitet. Dieses Buch ist eher für alle nicht vegetarier geeignet, weil die meiste Rezepte mit Fleisch sind. Ehrlich gesagt, hab nicht selber ausprobiert, diese vegetarisch zu machen.... Inhalt des Buches: Am Anfang erklärt er die ganze Geschichte, bzw. wie unterschiedlich die Regionen in China sind und danach kommen die Grundlagen fürs Kochen - wie man essen schneidet und etc, wie man allgemein bei Wok kochen soll. Kapitel sind unterteilt nach den unterschiedlichen Kochmethoden und Rezepte dazu. Ich würde dieses Buch jeder Person weiter empfehlen. Aber wie gesagt, eher für nicht vegetarier geeignet.