Dim Sum (Essential Kitchen Series)

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Summary: Yummy Dim Sum Recipes!..
Review: ..................I got this cookbook for Christmas along with a bamboo steamer (a must for making dims sum) from my sister and so far I've made several delectable recipes. This cookbook also makes cooking dim sum for the first time easy. There are sections devoted to: serving dim sum, making tea, common equipment and utensils, ingredients, and step by step dim sum cooking methods. There is also a handy glossary. I had never made dim sum before, but my husband and I have had marvelous success from the start.

The recipe section of the cookbook is divided into: classic dim sum; dumplings; buns; pancakes, parcels and wraps; seafood; pork; vegetables; desserts and dipping sauces. All and all this cookbook contains about forty-five recipes. So far we've tried, and enjoyed: Shanghai Dumplings, Wok-fried Money Bags, Flower Dumplings, Shrimp Toasts, Red Bean Paste Buns and the Ginger Soy Dipping Sauce.

The photos in this cookbook are attractive and will really make you want to start cooking right away. I only have one negative comment about this cookbook, which another reviewer has already mentioned. The recipes are Americanized and this was not evident to me until I actually tasted my first batch of dim sum. They were very good, but the flavors weren't bold enough. Now I simply make sure to add about double the amount of ginger, oyster sauce, soy sauce and garlic.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty pictures, but...
Review: A friend of mine has given me this book as a gift because she knew I love dim sum and eat it every week with my Chinese family every single Sunday. It is a Chinese tradition to have dim sum frequently with friends and family, especially in a city like Vancouver that is so filled with so many excellent dim sum restaurants. This book does have plenty of pretty pictures of what the food should look like when it is made and also has an excellent section on how to prepare and cook the food. Most of the recipes in this book are not even found in dim sum restaurants. Recipes that are most common in dim sum restaurants like ha gow, sui mei, chicken feet, low bac gow (chinese turnip pancake) and many others that are not even in this book at all even though they are some of the most eaten dishes in the restaurants. It is extremely disappointing to have a book that is specific for dim sum but hardly have any of the most common dim sum dishes in it. There are recipes in the book like "salmon money bags" and grilled mushrooms that are not even heard of in the restaurants. I do have to admit that the instructions are easy to follow and most of the ingredients are quite easy to find in the markets.

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Summary: Great way to start making heart dishes.
Review: I have had absolute success with this cookbook. From the first time to the most recent party I gave, the cookbook has offered up good recipes that delight my guests. With excellent guidance in both steaming and frying, as well as a top notch recipe for chinese barbecued pork this is a very accessible albiet brief cookbook.

While it seems that some did not like the modern western approach of this cookbook, it should be pointed out that this cookbook has such a wide variation of types of food that it allows a creative cook to expand from its begining. From the steamed dumpling to the fried to the steamed bun, to a wide range of dipping sauces, this is a winner. The fact that it is a compellingly lovely book as well does not hurt either. The pictures make you want to experiment with new dishes. No, it isn't chinatown dim sum entirely, but that isn't the only style of dim sum. At this point I have probably tried a dozen recipes from it and they have all pleased my guests.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty pictures, but...
Review: If I could give this more than 5 stars I would! This book was lovingly given to me for my birthday by my fabulous boyfriend! And is a great cookbook with yummy recipes!

True, this book doesn't have tons of recipes like one reviewer suggested, but more importantly (at least to me) each recipe is presented next to a glorious full color picture of the finished dish. Seeing the finished product is important to me. The recipes are not difficult to make and there are several pages in the beginning of the book that outline ingredients and cooking technique to make the recipes in this book. Many of the ingredients we already had in our cupboard because we like making Asian dishes. Anyone could easily obtain ingredients from the ethnic section in their grocery store-- we go to Kroger.

The book is excellently organized and we are already planning to make salmon money bags and steam pork ribs to accompany an Asian entree.

One reviewer complaining that most recipes call for deep frying. I disagree and also you can be creative and steam them yourselves. Frying is not neccessary.

Buy this book- you will not be disappointed!!!

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Summary: Great Authentic Recipes
Review: This is an excellent cookbook. I had borrowed one from a friend of mine and decided that she couldn't have it back. I had to buy a new copy to get one back to her. The recipes are a good sampling of and introduction to authentic Chinese Dim Sum. A beginner can follow these recipes and get authentic results. ... some recipes could/should have been included, but I feel that a book like this is an introductory level and stands well on its own. I also felt that the recipes were not very Americanized. The Chinese restaurants near here (O.K. It IS Vermont) typically have steak teriaki and egg rolls as appetisers and nothing that even comes close to the recipes in this book. The ingredients are relatively easy to obtain in an American market or in an Asian market in American cities. The beginning of the book shows a great lesson in some of the techniques and some ingredients. As an American trying to learn more authentic Chinese recipes, I found this book most useful.