All Under Heaven

April 18, 2016
Phillips (The Dim Sum Field Guide) offers a comprehensive and thoughtful examination of Chinese cuisine, providing a wealth of appealing recipes for beginner and advanced cooks. Dividing the country into five regions, she identifies 35 distinct cuisines and offers a brief but informative history of each. Personal storiesâparticularly those of her late mother-in-law, who was born and raised in Tianjinâadd insight. She describes the North/Manchurian Northeast, home most notably to the cuisine of Beijing, and highlights pot stickers and zha jiang noodles, which use common ingredients such as pork, green onions, garlic, and ginger. Dishes from the Yangtze River area are noted for fish and shellfish, bamboo shoots, and pork, seen in dishes such as fish chowder and Dong Po pork. Phillips describes the coastal Southeast as flush with a wide range of treasures such as poultry, pork, and fermented ingredients. Recipes include oyster spring rolls, complete with assembly illustrations, and Hainanese chicken and rice. Chili peppers characterize the Central Highlands, where she highlights dry-fried chicken wings and mapo doufu. In the sparsely populated Arid Lands, ranging from lower Mongolia to the mountains of Tibet, she highlights lamb, dairy, and wheat. Lamb soup with biscuits and Xinjiang-style lamb kebabs are prime examples of local dishes. In addition, Phillips includes a valuable chapter on basic recipes, techniques, and useful advice. This is a broad and discerning approach to regional Chinese cooking.

Starred review from June 15, 2016

Phillips (The Dim Sum Field Guide: A Taxonomy of Dumplings) is a former Mandarin interpreter who lived in the Republic of China for eight years. Here she explores the intricacies of 35 regional Chinese cuisines, many of which have received little to no coverage in other cookbooks. Packed with 300-plus recipes (e.g., abalone shreds with mung bean sprouts, bitter melons in golden sand, lotus-wrapped spicy rice crumb pork), this unprecedented reference will thrill cooks who want to expand their knowledge and move beyond the mainstays of American Chinese restaurant menus. Those who enjoy the thoroughly researched cookbooks of experts such as Claudia Roden (The New Book of Middle Eastern Food) will appreciate Phillips's comprehensive treatment, which includes historical information, an extensive ingredient glossary, suggested menus, and useful advice. VERDICT Essential for academic collections.

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