num_pages: 336
description: Winner of the 2011 James Beard Foundation Award for International CookingThe stir-fry is all things: refined improvisational adaptable and inventive. It is the rare culinary practice that makes less seem like more and by which small amounts of food feed many.For centuries the Chinese have carried their woks to all corners of the earth and re-created stir-fry dishes using local and sometimes nontraditional ingredients. The old expression: One wok runs to the skys edge means one who uses the wok becomes master of the cooking world. And as the wok user becomes master of the cooking world so does he become master of the stir-fry one of the greatest techniques of Chinese cookery. The technique and tradition of stir-frying which is at once simple yet subtly complex is as vital today as it has been for hundreds of years. In Stir-Frying to the Skys Edge James Beard Award-winning author Grace Young shares more than 100 classic stir-fry recipes that sizzle with heat and pop with flavor from the great Cantonese stir-fry masters to the culinary customs of Sichuan Hunan Shanghai Beijing Fujian Hong Kong Macau Taiwan Singapore and Malaysia as well as other countries around the world. With more than 80 stunning full-color photographs Youngs definitive work illustrates the innumerable easy-to-learn possibilities the technique offersdry stir-fries moist stir-fries clear stir-fries velvet stir-friesand weaves the insights of Chinese cooking philosophy into the preparation of such beloved dishes as Kung Pao Chicken Stir-Fried Beef and Broccoli Chicken Lo Mein with Ginger Mushrooms and Dry-Fried Sichuan Beans. In honoring the traditions of her cultural ancestors who traveled the globe Young offers delectable crossover recipes for Chinese Jamaican Jerk Chicken Fried Rice Chinese Trinidadian Stir-Fried Shrimp with Rum Chinese Burmese Chili Chicken and Chinese American Shrimp with Lobster Sauce. Expert home cooks and professional chefs teach you the foundations of stir-fry mastery in the modern kitcheneverything from how to choose season and care for a wok and the best skillet alternative; the importance of marinades and the proper technique for slicing meat and poultry for optimum tenderness; to how to select and handle Asian vegetables; ways to shortcut labor-intensive preparations; and tips on how to control heat and choose the best cooking oil. Fascinating personal portraits illustrate how stir-frying is not just a cooking technique but a vital element of Chinas rich culture. With this book Grace Young has created the authoritative guide to stir-frying a work that is at once rewarding and beautiful much like the technique of stir-frying itself.
language: English
title: Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge: The Ultimate Guide to Mastery, with Authentic Recipes and Stories
publisher: Taunton Press