What does a big family in Beijing eat at the weekend, and what food is served to pilgrims after their visit to a cloister? Lift the lid and smell the secrets of the Middle Kingdom to discover what hides behind dishes like Blister Soup, Beggar's Chicken or even Ants Climbing A Tree. Tasting, smelling and enjoying China, we explore the specialities of the metropolises and regional cuisine from the south of China, the melting pot, the rich coast provinces of the north, to the palace cuisine of Beijing all the way to the fiery-hot Szechuan and adventurous dishes in the Steppe. The authors and photographers have peered over the shoulders of China's cooks from the night markets of the big cities to village kitchens, discovering the modern crossover cuisine of Shanghai, guiding us through the world of dim sum, and giving us an opportunity to reproduce authentic Chinese delicacies back home in our own kitchens. Spectacular large pages, colour photographs cover equipment and cutting techniques, marinating and coating food, and cooking methods, the culture of the city of the Great Chairman, reform and an openness policy. We can feast in magnificence on Fish in Tomato Soup, Hot and Sour Soup, Caramelized Pork Rib Chops and Potatoes and have a Peking Duck experience. Dumplings inside and out, the opera and tea houses, parks and the Great Wall, luxury wine drinking and the food of everyday people and what you might see at a fish market such as sharks' heads or marine and freshwater eels which are caught in the rice paddies. Superbly detailed, we see how to test fish on steamed yeast bread and take a Tsing Tao beer to go with it, smell the aroma of leek and ginger coming from the wok, grind dried shrimp to give sauce and cucumbers some bite, little pieces of braised beef and cucumbers in garlic sauce - delicious and inexpensive. From humble Chinese vegetables to refined cuisine, there are hundreds and hundreds of contemporary photographs whether of floating restaurants, a market hall to the gorgeous countryside and touching on noodles and curative medicinal properties of spices enriching this colourful and detailed history and culture of modern day China. With useful glossary, spectacular colour photography throughout these heavyweight 484 huge pages, 26.67 x 3.18 x 30.48cm, a beautiful coffee table book.
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