A real taste of a country that has one of the worl

Looks at the role of food in Chinese government policy, religious rituals, and health practices, traces the evolution of Chinese cuisine, and discusses the absence of food taboos

This volume is a study of Chinese food from a cultural and historical perspective. Its focus is on traditional China before establishment of the People's Republic. It identifies and provides comprehensive information on a broad range of Chinese food plants and animals for general readers, as well as for specialists whose interests have led them to

The food plants of an area provide the material basis for the survival of its population, and furnish inspiring stimuli for cultural development. There are two parts in this book. Part 1 introduces the cultural aspects of Chinese food plants and the spread of Chinese culinary culture to the world. It also describes how the botanical and cultural information was acquired; what plants have been selected by the Chinese people for food; how these foodstuffs are produced, preserved, and prepared; and what the western societies can learn from Chinese practices. Part 2 provides the botanical identification of the plant kingdom for the esculents used in China as food and/or as beverage. The plants are illustrated with line drawings or composite photographic plates. This book is useful not only as a text for general reading, but also as a work reference. Naturally, it would be a useful addition to the general collection of any library.

The Real Food of China is the definitive guide to home-style Chinese cuisine. It is inspired by the authors' personal travels to China and the realization that what is commonly perceived as "Chinese food" in the Western world, is only part of the story. While there is a growing appreciation of regional Chinese food in larger cities outside China, a lot of authentic regional cuisine still goes uncelebrated in Chinese restaurants around the world. This book captures the essence of simple home cooking and the wide variety of food that changes from region to region. Chapters are broken down into food categories including Cold Dishes, Soups and Hotpots, Dumplings, Breads and Noodles, Pork, Chicken, Fish, Vegetables and Desserts. Dishes include fermented foods from Shaoxing, smoked pork from Hunan, Hakka food from Meizhou, Muslim street fare from Xi'an, fresh river fish from Jiangxi province, fish dumplings and flat breads cooked over stones from Shandong and bowls of fresh, steaming, soft tofu slathered in chilli and peppercorns from Sichuan villages. Captured with stunning location photography from each of the visited regions as well as beautiful food photography throughout, The Real Food of China brings a small glimpse of the gutsy, earthy, everyday side of Chinese cooking to light. Food that is incredibly diverse, simple to prepare, full of flavor, and based on seasonal produce and easily procured dry goods. The Real Food of China will change everything you previously thought about traditional Chinese cuisine.

China to Chinatown tells the story of one of the most notable examples of the globalization of food: the spread of Chinese recipes, ingredients and cooking styles to the Western world. Beginning with the accounts of Marco Polo and Franciscan missionaries, J.A.G. Roberts describes how Westerners’ first impressions of Chinese food were decidedly mixed, with many regarding Chinese eating habits as repugnant. Chinese food was brought back to the West merely as a curiosity. The Western encounter with a wider variety of Chinese cuisine dates from the first half of the 20th century, when Chinese food spread to the West with emigrant communities. The author shows how Chinese cooking has come to be regarded by some as among the world’s most sophisticated cuisines, and yet is harshly criticized by others, for example on the grounds that its preparation involves cruelty to animals. Roberts discusses the extent to which Chinese food, as a facet of Chinese culture overseas, has remained differentiated, and questions whether its ethnic identity is dissolving. Written in a lively style, the book will appeal to food historians and specialists in Chinese culture, as well as to readers interested in Chinese cuisine.