Saturday 26 September 2015

CUISINE REVIEW: The Dumpling Sisters Cookbook - Amy and Julie Zhang

Release Date: 11/06/15
Publisher:  Weidenfeld and Nicolson

SYNOPSIS:

Amy and Julie Zhang have been entertaining and educating their thousands of followers on Youtube with their recipes for deliciously easy homemade Chinese food - now THE DUMPLING SISTERS CHINESE COOKBOOK brings you more of the recipes and advice that those fans have been clamouring for. Dedicated to and destined to be adored by every Chinese food lover, this book is full of Chinese-food favourites, impressive sharing dishes and even sweet treats that have been little acknowledged in a western understanding of Chinese food - until now. This is Chinese home cooking at its best. The recipes are structured as to give a gradual introduction to Chinese dishes, beginning with the simple; Best Ever Fried Rice, and working up to the more elaborate Cracking Five-Spice Roast Pork Belly, and are interspersed with the insider tips and tricks that the girls' Youtube fans adore. There is also a focus on Chinese culture and eating etiquette (for perfecting those chopstick skills), including sharing menu planner and a guide to shopping at the Chinese supermarket. Amy and Julie write with wit and gusto - they are the perfect cooks to take any food lover on a journey to discover real Chinese cooking.


REVIEW:

I love Chinese food but to be honest I’ve never been comfortable trying to cook anything other than egg fried rice as I’ve never been able to get the flavours balanced or had anything turn out as it should have done. What I really liked about this book from the Dumpling Sisters is that this book is easy to follow, uses ingredients that are easy to get hold of and gives you that flavour that you desire when you really want something different.

Whilst a lot of people go straight for a number of other recipes in the book, the best way I’ve found to try out a Chinese book is to go straight to a firm favourite, in my case Chicken and Sweetcorn soup. I love the stuff and when I’m ill, if I can get my hands on it, it’s the food that I like to go for to help make me feel better.

The recipe within is easy to follow, is easy to get everything for and at the end of the day tastes great for me. I love this and if the other recipes within are as easy to follow, then I’ll be having quite a few Chinese home cooked meals in the future.

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