Review: Easy, but not completely authentic Chinese recipes.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 31, 2012
This seems like a good cookbook for the most part; it contains a variety of recipes for many different meats and seafood, as well as recipes for appetizers, vegetables, noodles and rice, soups and salads.  The reason I say that it is not completely authentic is that the author suggests you use frozen, pre-cut and prepackaged vegetables as well as pre-mixed seasoning packages or dried soups for many of the dishes, and there are no recipes for the many varieties of sauces used in Chinese cooking.  Although using prepackaged products, store-purchased sauces and seasoning packets is great for speed and ease in preparing the dishes..."it don't get no better than fresh".The author also needs someone to proof and edit this cookbook, as there are many errors throughout.A few were humorous, for example: use care with different types of lettuce, "as some are more SILICATE than others" (Good word, way wrong usage).  In addition, "RADIUM Soy Sauce" can't be purchased at just any grocery, however, "Three Mile Island Fine Foods" or "Chernobyl Specialty Foods" both say they have stock available with an unlimited expiration date.  The bottle makes an appealing centerpiece and emits a delicate, yellow-green glow which provides a softly lit, romantic atmosphere in which to dine. The cumbersome Bio-Hazard suits are, however, tough to contend with and the gloves make using your chopsticks especially difficult. The upside is, you won't have annoying wax dripping on your tablecloth nor will leaded wicks foul the air while you and your loved one are dining on your home-created Chinese meal!All kidding aside, I think the recipes presented here represent a nice variety of Chinese foods and styles, and there is nothing to stop you from selecting and preparing your own vegetables--so with that in mind, I give this one 3 1/2 stars.