Conference turris::cooks

    
        The best that I've seen is by Calvin B.T. Lee & Audrey Lee, and it 
    is called "Gourmet Chinese Regional Cooking" (or something very 
    similar to that).  It is not only Szechwan, but has a section for 
    southern, eastern, and western Chinese cooking as well as northern.
    
        The authors know what they are talking about, and it is an 
    excellent book either for a beginner or someone who has put in some 
    time in a kitchen (chinese or otherwise) before.
    
    --Don

A good book to have is the Joyce Chen cookbook.  It is to Chinese cooking as
Joy of Cooking is to American.  You can get it and most any Chinese cooking
sundries that you want at the Joyce Chen store on rte. 2A in Acton.  Unlike
gourmet cookbooks, hers tends to give simple recipies that are not more
bother to make than eat. (I haven't read the book in .-1, but that is my
general reaction to "gourmet" in a given title.)

There is another good book title something like "The Complete Encyclopedia of
Chinese Cooking" or something very like that, which gives a lot of good
recipies, some losers, and a lot of backgroud information, that for me at least,
makes cooking more fun.  (For example, did you know that Szechwan cooking
didin't come about until the New World was discovered?  That's where the hot
pepers came from.  I always tend to think of Chinese things going back 
thousands of years...)

Have fun.				>>>==>PStJTT

Try one of these:

Szechuan and Northern Cooking: From Hot to Cold ($5.95)
	Rhoda Yee
	(Taylor & Ng, San Francisco, 1982)

Chinese Regional Cooking
	Kenneth Lo				($10.95)
	(Pantheon Book,s NY, 1979

Mrs. Chiang's Szechuan Cookbook ($8 used) *** PERSONAL FAVORITE ***
	Ellen Schrecker
	(Harper & Row, NY, 1976

Henry Chung's Hunan Style Chinese Cookbook ($???)  -- not Szechuan, but close
	Henry W. S. Chung
	(Harmony Book, NY, 1978)

The Good Food of Szechuan: Down-to-Earth Chinese Cooking
	Robert A. Delfa
        OOPS .........s <--
	(Kodansha International Ltd., Tokyo, 1974)


I'd reccommend Mrs. Chiang's, if you can get it or order it (might be out of
print though).  I have a couple of those huge encyclopedic Chinese cookbooks
but seldom use them; I don't use Joyce Chen's much anymore either, though
it was, I think, the second Chinese cookbook I ever owned.

Sorry about this right paren key....

Enjoy cooking Szechuan!

/Charlotte

	My favorite Chinese cookbooks are the 8 1/2 x 11 " wire bound
types, one is from SUNSET and the other is also a cheapie.  The big
benifit is that they have large delicious looking pictures of each
dish, and step-by-step directions.  If you're looking for a few easy
recipes for beginners, these should do just fine.  If you're looking
for some specific recipe, then I'd try the big encyclopedias.  By the
way, the Marlboro library has some good cookbooks, as does the one
in Acton, and the one in Merrimack, where I've recently moved.  It's
cheaper to try out a few and find out which ones you like, than to
buy them all.

If you want Chinese cookbooks with beautiful pictures of what the result is
supposed to look like, check out the Wei-Chuan series of cookbooks - you can
get them at Ichiban on route 9, among other places.  They are printed in
Taiwan, and some of them are not in English, but they have very detailed
instructions (the English is somewhat whimsical, but not inscrutable)
and beautiful color pictures of the finished product and important steps
along the way.  The ones they think are designed for beginners also have
color pictures of the various ingredients, so you can identify, say, a
bitter melon, at the Chinese grocer-who-doesn't-speak-English without
knowing how to say it in Mandarin.

If you aren't a cookbook collector, the library is a good option.  If you
want known successful recipes for particular things, let us all know
which dishes, and I will enter some of my favorites.  Sichuan food is
not "haute cuisine" fare, and most things are pretty easy to make.

	There is a woman who lives in Concord, MA who gives classes
in all styles of Chinese cooking in her home.  Classes are limited to
4 people per session and run for about 6 weeks, one night a week.  I
took her 'class' last summer and found it to be a wonderful introduction
to all aspects of Chinese cooking.  Each class she creates a full course
meal, and you eat as you go along.  Her name is Carolyn Schaeffer and
her number is 369-8282.  

	I have never been able to make a Szec. dish with a good sauce. Every 
time I try all I get is a very dry dish. If I add more oil, I just get oily 
dish. Yes, I have electric range on which I use a regular wok.

	Is there any trich which will make good rich and thick sauce? Whether I 
add more marination or marinate for longer time did not seem to do any help. I 
usually try to cook chicken dishes.

Thanks,
- Vikas

Whenever I begin putting together a Chinese dish for the wok, I always get
chicken broth ready.  If the dish looks like its getting too dry, add a couple
of tablespoons of broth.  If you find that you've added TOO much broth and
the dish looks soupy, sprinkle in small amounts of corn starch to thicken it
a little.

Don't add more oil.. like you said, you just end up with a greasy dish.  I
have a recipe book, Madame Wong's Chinese Cooking for the Good Life.  It is
excellent.  The recipes are very easy to follow and I've never cooked a bad
dish.

We cook our food in the wok almost every meal.  We started experimenting
with it a couple of years ago, and now it seems that whenever we open the
freezer door for beef or chicken, we wonder what we can make with it in the
wok!  It's easy, its fast, mostly lo-cal, and delicious.

I find that Arrowroot works better than cornstarch.  

	You can also use chestnut powder as a thickener. I read that
in a chineese cookbook that I have. I was able to find chestnut powder
in a chineese supermarket.

I've read that authentically prepared Sichuan dishes are less saucy and
drier than what you usually find in restaurants in the U.S.  If the dish
is too dry for your taste, add a small amount of broth or water mixed 1:1
with starch (corn starch, water chestnut powder, arrowroot starch--anything
that is translucent when cooked; do NOT use flour, as it is white when cooked
and will spoil the final color of the dish).  Add the starch/liquid mixture
at the final stage of stir-frying.

--PSW

    I've gotten lots of good recipes and useful hints from this notesfile
    this summer, so I wanted to make a contribution before I go back
    to school.  This is one of my favorite home-cooked chinese dishes.
    I go heavy on the red pepper!!

    --Sharon
        
    
    
                          Szechwan Chicken Stir-Fry
	
         	       (Bon Appetit, June 1986, p. 41)


			1 tablespoon soy sauce
			1 tablespoon cornstarch
			1/2 teaspoon sugar
			1 garlic clove, minced
			1 whole chicken breast, split, skinned,
			  boned and cut into thin strips
			
		  	1 cup water
			3 tablespoons soy sauce
			4 teaspoons cornstarch
			1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper 
			    flakes, crushed
			
			2 tablespoons vegetable oil
			2 medium carrots, sliced diagonally
			  1/8 inch thick
			  (I cut them into slivers instead)
			1 3/4 cups coarsely chopped onion
		 	2 small zucchini, halved lengthwise,
			  sliced diagonally 3/4 inch thick
			  (I leave it out)
			1/4 cup unsalted peanuts

			Freshly cooked rice

			
	Combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, sugar 
	and garlic in medium bowl.  Add chicken and stir to coat.
	Set aside.

	Blend water, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 4 teaspoons cornstarch
	and red pepper flakes in another bowl.  Set aside.

	Heat 1 tablespoon oil in wok or heavy large skillet over
	high heat.  Add chicken mixture and stir-fry until chicken is
	opaque, about 2 minutes.  Remove chicken and set aside.  Heat 
	remaining oil in wok.  Add carrots and onion and stir-fry 
	3 minutes.  Add zucchini and stir-fry 2 minutes.  Return chicken to
	wok with soy sauce mixture.  Cook until sauce boils and thickens,
	1 to 2 minutes.  Stir in peanuts.  Serve immediately over rice.


	I prefer to also add brocolli, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots.

    
    	Thanks!!
    
    	I love szechwan food!    I'll have to try it out.  One of
    	my favorite szechwan dishes is "Shrimp in Hot Pepper Sauce
    	with Peanuts"  It just contains shrimp, celery and peanuts.
    	The same dish with Chicken is good too.  I've tried to 
    	make it myself but haven't been able to get the hot sauce
    	right so I think I'll borrow the hot sauce from this recipe
    	and see it it work!!
    
    	Good luck back at school!  Hope you aren't going back to
    	dining hall fare!
    
    	Karen

    

RE: .1

Your shrimp in hot pepper sauce with peanuts is in this file somewhere under
the name Kung Pao.  You can cook any meat this style (Kung Pao Chicken is
the most common).  Also, you can add various vegetables such as celery to it.
Try a SEARCH "kung pao" on this conference.

--PSW

    One dish that I have consistently enjoyed eating out has been General
    Tso's Chicken.  I believe that it may be deep fried boneless pieces
    then cooked stir-fried in a wok.
    
    Anybody with a recipe?  I have been unable to find one anywhere.
    
    -Ls-

    General Tso's is my husband's favorite, too!  I don't have a recipe,
    per se, but the trick is to add a couple small dried red chili peppers,
    including the seeds.  I don't deep fry the chicken, but marinate
    chicken pieces in soy sauce and cornstarch.  For crispness, dredge
    in cornstarch before frying.  Cook only until it turns white, so
    it will still be tender.  Remove chicken, toss in garlic, scallions,
    ginger and the peppers, brown lightly.  Add whatever you are using
    as a cooking sauce, let thicken, return chicken to pan/wok. 
    
    I have found that it only takes about 4 peppers for enough chicken
    for 2 people - the restaurant dishes seem to have a lot more, but
    I haven't figured out why yet!
    
    The recipe in the base note is good, have you tried it yet? 
    
    Terry
    

    Why not try some Pillipine dishes.  My wife is a Filipina, and I have
    found that I like those dishes a bit more.  This is due to the fact
    that they use more meat ie. pork, chicken, fish, and lots of shrimp. 
    Most of the Philipine foods are low calorie one pot (Wok) dishes.  One
    of the biggest keys to oriental cooking is the soy sauce, which you
    really can't find a good one in a regular store.  I have found that the
    best suited (to our taste anyway) is a brand called Pina~.  The only
    problem is that it is hard to find.  My wife and I make monthly trips
    into China town to stock up if anyone needs supplies let me know. 

	We were given a three tier bamboo steamer as a wedding present,
	and an electric table top grille (this, we were told was for
	grilling vegetables at the table and then dipping, a Japanese
	system of eating).

	I would appreciate any recipes for using the bamboo steamer,
	and suggestions for things to grill and dip at a dinner...

	We are having the gift-givers over for dinner this Saturday
	and I would like to use their gifts but cannot find recipes.
	(I tried asking them.  The grill givers bought a dinner in
	their home in Pennsylvania, and didn't recognize most of the veggies,
	only help was "try to find bulldog sauce."  The bamboo steamer
	givers said they knew it was healthy and hoped I would share recipes
	when I found some).

	Any help is most appreciated!!!  Thanks.

	jill

    I don't know what you do with a tabletop electric grill - don't own one
    of those.
    
    Bamboo steamers, at least the kind I have, are made to go over a wok
    (doesn't take nearly as much boiling water this way though I have seen
    people use them over a rice cooker).  Various Chinese dumplings and
    bread-like things (rice cupcakes, etc.) are steamed this way, as are
    mushrooms and fish.  I think most of the recipes for things like
    steamed spareribs in blackbean sauce involve boiling the ribs first
    since it would take a long time to steam them.  Check out some of my
    dimsum party recipes for things cooked in bamboo steamers.
    
    For larger things, like roast-pork buns or bean-paste buns, I use a big
    aluminum Chinese steamer, but that is mostly because I don't own a
    gigantic restaurant-sized wok (wouldn't fit on my stove if I did), so
    the largest size bamboo steamers that fit in my wok aren't deep enough
    for the larger yeast-dough-based sorts of dumplings.
    
    Since owning an oven is really rare in China, lots of things you would
    normally think of as being baked as steamed - cakes, for example.  But
    those won't fit in the usual sort of bamboo steamer,as I said, so I use
    the big aluminum one for those - I am making a turnip cake tonight.
    
    /Charlotte

    Re the last couple.  I would buy thin strips of good quality steak,
    cubes of chicken , tiger prawns and grill them for as long as you 
    require.  You could also grill chunks of peppers, onion, courgette,
    mushrooms, and make/buy some dips to dip them in.  Make up some 
    salad, coleslaw, potato salads, jacket pototates to accompany it.
    
    There is a name for these type of grills but I can't remember the
    name.
    
    julia

	These are VERY helpful--Thanks!!!

	A shy READ-ONLY NOTER also wrote me offline and 
	suggested grilling eggplant, muschrooms, etc. and
	using balsamic vinegar as a sauce, with Wm Sonoma
	oils (garlic, basil, hot pepper oils) on the grill.

	I've looked for dim sum recipes but so far haven't
	found any.  May "cheat" and go to a Chinese restaurant
	and ask them to make up items to steam or grill to 
	supplement...

	jill	

    If you are near a Chinese grocery store (or one with a big "gourmet"
    section, maybe) you can often get various Chinese dumplings frozen -
    much, much easier than making your own.  I would thaw them before
    steaming, so that they cook evenly.
    
    /Charlotte