Synopses & Reviews
Winner of an IACP/Julia Child Cookbook Award
The "Julia Child of Chinese cooking" (San Francisco Chronicle), Barbara Tropp was a gifted teacher and the chef/owner of one of San Francisco's most popular restaurants. She was also the inventor of Chinese bistro, a marriage of home-style Chinese tastes and techniques with Western ingredients and inspiration, an innovative cuisine that stuffs a wonton with crab and corn and flavors it with green chili sauce, that stir-fries chicken with black beans and basil, that tosses white rice into a salad with ginger-balsamic dressing.
Casual yet impeccable, and as balanced as yin and yang, these 275 recipes burst with unexpected flavors and combinations: Prawn Sandpot Casserole with Red Curry and Baby Corn; Spicy Tangerine Beef with Glass Noodles; Pizzetta with Chinese Eggplant, Wild Mushrooms, and Coriander Pesto; Chili-Orange Cold Noodles; Sweet Carrot Soup with Toasted Almonds; Wok-Seared New Potatoes; Crystallized Lemon Tart; and Fresh Ginger Ice Cream.
Synopsis
A stunning marriage of Chinese tastes and techniques with California flair, Barbara Tropp's China Moon cooking is a cuisine like no other. Chinese Bistro is stir-fries, sandpots, and salads of baby greens. It's dim-sum and ice cream. It's noodle pillows, crispy potatoes, and sesame breadtwists, too. And instead of fortune cookies, fabulous cookies of good fortune. Bursting with unexpected flavors-from ginger to Fresno chiles, curry to basil-Chinese bistro is light and fresh, casual yet impeccably flavored, and as balanced as yin and yang.
A DAZZLING SAMPLER
Chili-Orange Cold Noodles
Crispy Ten-Spice Spring Rolls with Crushed Peanuts
Stir-fried Hot and Sour Chicken with Black Beans and Basil
Eggroll-cartwheel Soup
Fresh Ginger Ice Cream with Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce
Spicy Tangerine Beef with Glass Noodles
Tea and Spice Smoked Duck Breast
Clear-Steamed Salmon with Fresh Coriander Pesto
Ma-La Cucumber Fans
Sandpot Casserole of Spicy Sparerib Nuggets with Garlic
Synopsis
Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club's Homestyle BooksWinner of a 1992 IACP/Julia Child Cookbook Award146,000 copies in print About the Author
Barbara Tropp was the chef and owner of China Moon Cafe, a small Chinese bistro-style restaurant in San Francisco. Before establishing herself as one of America's foremost chefs and cooking teachers, Barbara studied Chinese language, poetry, and art history at Columbia, Yale, Princeton, and the University of Taiwan. While living in Taiwan, she developed her passion for the simplicity of fresh home cooking, Chinese-style. Barbara was an elected member of Who's Who in Food & Wine in America. She was profiled in the New York Times Magazine, House Beautiful, Bon Appetit, Metropolitan Home, Self, and in the PBS series Great Chefs in San Francisco.
Table of Contents
FIRST THOUGHTS
THE CHINA MOON PANTRY: The better-than-store-bought basics that make China Moon food distinctive.
NUTS, PICKLES AND PRELIMINARY NIBBLES: Dishes of color and dash that stave off hunger and enliven main courses.
STOCKS AND SOUPS: The secrets behind our sauces, plus bowls of good-and-plenty, to eat with other dishes or as a whole meal.
POULTRY: Baby chickens, big chickens, duck, quail, and rabbit-for baking, smoking, steaming, deep-frying, and casseroling.
FISH AND SHELLFISH: Whole fish, fish nuggets, and shellfish from sea and river. Hot and cold dishes to show off their flavor.
BEEF AND LAMB: Dishes from Mongolia and North China to warm you in winter.
PORK: The classic Chinese red meat, as savory as it is light. Loins, butts, and ribs cooked to perfection.
DIM-SUM AND THEN SOME: Dumplings, buns, and other teahouse fare, along with platters of cold noodles and crispy springrolls.
RICE AND VEGETABLES: Rice, potatoes, vegetables, and salads to anchor and embellish a meal.
DESERTS: Tiny cookies of good fortune, fabulous tarts and tartlets, and inimitable ice creams.
GLOSSARY
INDEX