China Modern by Ching-He Huang

This soft-back cookery book claiming to contain 100 cutting-edge, fusion-style recipes for the 21^st century is the first recipe book that Ching-He Huang has brought out.   As Ching claims to be spearheading a revolution in Chinese food and I am already a big fan of Chinese food, I wanted to check it out.

The book, published by Kyle Cathie ltd, priced at £14.99, includes a wide selection of beautiful photography from top food photographer Kate Whitaker.

Divided into 5 sections:

1.       Modern Takeaway Favourites

2.       Traditional Home Cooking

3.       West Meets East

4.       East Meets East

5.       Rice and Other Side Dishes

The book starts with an introduction to woks and Chinese cooking techniques which is ideal for anyone new to Chinese cookery.

Some familiar dishes are included in the book, including Sesame Prawn Toast, Sweet & Sour Chicken and Stir Fries.  There are also some more unusual dishes such as Stir-fried Fresh Beancurd, Pak Choy & Oyster Mushrooms, Lemon Honey Turkey Escalopes and Taiwanese-style Chicken Caesar Salad.

The recipes are all short and easy to follow, with an explanation into the more Oriental names and ingredients.  Perhaps 5 years ago some of the ingredients may have been difficult to purchase, however these days most of the ingredients can be found in speciality food stores or, dare I say it, the main supermarkets.

The back of the book contains tons of short recipes for rice and other side dishes, such as Sweet chilli jam, Chinese pickled salad and Chinese pea shoots in sesame and garlic.

One of my favourite parts of the book was Ching’s menu planner.  If you are having a buffet party, a first date, a quick meal for one, or Friday night curry, Ching has recommended dishes accordingly. 

Overall, I was really impressed with the book, the photography really makes it and the recipes are certainly a modern twist on some of the traditional classics.

I am working my way through the recipes, having already cooked the Burmese-Style Beef Curry with Vermicelli Rice Noodles and Kung Po Chicken and will be posting recipes, pics and results shortly.  I will certainly continue trying out Ching’s recipes.

You can win a copy of China Modern by Ching-He Huang, simply follow me on Twitter and comment below that you are following, I'll select the lucky winner next Friday 18th November.  Good Luck