Book of the Month: Beyond the Great Wall
If you’re looking for a collection of Chinese recipes that is beautiful enough, both in contents and appearance, then have I got a book for you:
Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Travels in the Other China
The authors, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, are experienced global voyagers and their previous books prove they know food as well. All their books are well planned and executed; I have three and plan to collect the rest soon.
I received BGW (as I affectionately call it now) for Christmas, and I’ve spent several hours with it since. The photos are truly amazing! The authors sample all regions of China, including Tibet, Yunnan and Inner Mongolia. They also teamed with renowned photographer Richard Jung for some of the finest studio portraits of food I’ve ever seen. (Yes, they’re portraits; not mere photographs.)
This massive volume is also a phenomenal work of research on culture, language, geography and history. A thorough bibliography is included, as well as helpful hints on where to get some of the exotic ingredients. Okay, they’re not exotic if you’re in China! And the index covers many pages, a diligent listing at its best.
Sequencing of the chapters is logical, as it generally reflects the typical order of courses in a Chinese meal. Sections include Condiments Seasonings, Soups, Salads, Mostly Vegetables, Noodles and Dumplings, Rice and Grains, Breads, Fish, Chicken and Eggs, Lamb and Beef, Pork, and Drinks and Sweet Treats. If that doesn’t fill you up, you’re not human!
Recipes that caught my eye include Market Stall Fresh Tomato Salsa, Yunnan Hills Ginger Paste, Hui Tomato-Lamb Noodle Soup, Beef-Sauced Hot Lettuce Soup, Chile-Hot Bright Green Soybeans With Garlic, Kazakh Noodles, Succulent Lamb Samsa, Lisu Spice-Rubbed Roast Pork, Eight Flavor Tea, and Tibetan Rice Pudding. So much food, so little time!
I’ll have to think carefully about what I have for my second meal from the book…
Enjoy the (Colorful Chinese) Heat!
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
How about garlic????