Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge

April 5, 2010
Stir-frying may have been pedestrianized by generations of vegetarian college students, but this beautiful, comprehensive cookbook restores it to its rightful place among the most elegant cookery techniques. The virtues of stir-frying, Young writes, are many: it makes bounty out of small amounts of meat and oil; it emphasizes healthful vegetables; and most importantly, it creates '”alchemic” flavor out of raw ingredients. Young (The Breath of a Wok
), has a scholarly yet impassioned approach, and she fuses personal anecdotes, meticulously researched history, and stir-fry–related arcana to illuminate her subject. She covers types of woks and utensils and a recommended stir-fry pantry, including a photograph of sauces with tricky-to-decipher packaging. At the book's heart are the classic techniques and dishes of China's regional cuisines, such as Hunan-style cumin beef, Cantonese chicken with black bean sauce, and stir-fried Sichuan beans. Still, for Young, who always travels with her own wok, the story of stir-frying is also the story of the Chinese diaspora. By tracing the stir-fry around the world, she demonstrates all of the diversity it can contain: Jamaican stir-fried chicken with chayote, Cuban fried rice, and Peruvian stir-fried filet mignon. For the serious home cook, this informative, lyrical tome is an inspiration. Photos.

June 1, 2010
Most people associate stir-frying solely with Chinese cookery, but this classic method of flash cooking has influenced cuisines throughout the world due in large part to the Chinese diaspora. Young, whose expertise in wok technique has already enlightened American cooks, has now gathered recipes for stir-frying reflecting culinary traditions as far-flung as Indonesia and Peru. Familiar Chinese dishes such as Sichuan Pork with Peppers and Peanuts and Shrimp in Lobster Sauce honor classic flavor combinations, but Jamaican Chicken with Chayote shows that stir-frying can adapt to other cultural impulses. For the novice, Young offers lots of basic yet learned advice on shopping for unfamiliar ingredients and on assembling a Chinese pantry. Photographs and step-by-step instructions make fundamental wok tools and techniques accessible to even the least experienced. Her sidebars featuring talented stir-frying masters from all over the world add human dimension to the recipes.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)