Member Reviews
The author presents great stories and photos, giving life to his recipes and inspiring the readers to try them. They all look delicious and I cannot wait to taste them for myself in my own kitchen!
We have now tried 80% of the recipes in this cookbook with excellent results. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. We had to purchase a few items for the recipes but had the majority onhand in the pantry already. We can afford to eat our favorite Chinese food more often and share with friends and family. Chris Cheung's book has earned a place of honor in my kitchen!
Born and raised in Singapore and having moved back to Switzerland 17 years ago, I still love asian cuisine and am absolutely obsessed with Chinese food. In Europe it is a common thing that asian restaurants are taste-tested and recipes changed towarde the "european stomach", meaning there are either different or less flavours or especially less spice in these dishes served. It's difficult for me to find a good restaurant that reminds me of my time in Singapore, so I like to cook for myself with the ingredients that I like and as authentic as possible.
This cookbook has given me the opportunity to find fantastic chinese recipes to immitate and cook at home that have brought back very fond memories of food I've tasted in Asia and it has also given me some great tips on how to find the right stuff in my local "chinese" supermarkets, even though Switzerland does not really have any Chinatowns, as so many other big countries do! Instead of just providing recipes with instructions on how to cook, this cookbook really gives a lot of fantastic stories and tips to read surrounding cooking, well, damn good chinese food, as the title suggests! I would say even a beginner would have a great time following these guides and enjoying a fantastic meal after!
This was a very well written cookbook. I found the layout to flow well and the recipes were easy to understand and follow along to. I look forward to trying some of them out for my family.
I’ve read a few cookbooks about Chinese cuisine on here and this is one of those that made its mark. I love the intro and tips for each chapter. It’s clearly written with passion and experience. More than the easy to follow recipes, it’s the arrangement of the content that really appealed much to me.
This book is part storybook, part recipes - fun, full of tips and quite amusing. The author weaves the two sides well, and the book is an enjoyable read. The layout was a little lacking for me, but overall a pleasant book to read.
The recipe range is quite great - even including special meals, and BBQ. They are also approachable, and not too difficult to follow, with both easy, and more challenging recipes depending on your adventurousness. I look forward to trying more, and sharing with our neighbors, who also enjoy cooking Chinese food.
Thank you !
I am always on the lookout for yummy cookbooks. I've been gluten-free (by necessity) for 11 years now and I am always trying to find a good base of recipes to help with the fact that my favorite foods are deliciously laden with gluten. (sad face)
Damn Good Chinese Food has tons of recipes. Not all of them can be converted to my way of cooking but a fair amount are. The recipes all look seriously delicious. The pictures are fairly numerous, and the ingredients and instructions all read fairly accessible to a typical American home cook.
I am really looking forward to trying some of these recipes. My family will be thanking Chris for some new variety in the weekly meals.
Definitely recommend.
*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
A cookbook & more. Damn Good Chinese Food includes some history of Chinese dishes, techniques for cooking and lots of good recipes. I enjoyed Chef Cheung approach to a variety of recipes If you want to change up your cooking with some reliable Chinese recipes, I recommend this cookbook.
I received a copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my unbiased review.
Although there are dozens –maybe hundreds – of good Chinese cookbooks available online and in bookstores, Damn Good Chinese Food: Dumplings, Egg Rolls, Bao Buns, Sesame Noodles, Roast Duck, Fried Rice, and More―50 Recipes Inspired by Life in Chinatown is a cut above. While not a basic Chinese cookbook or “complete” cookbook including all of the recipes from China and more, this one has everything anyone might actually need. The Chinese recipes are mostly Chinese-American and are the recipes Chris Cheung, the author and celebrated chef, ate while growing up in New York City’s Chinatown.
Included are chapters on shopping at Asian markets and equipment needed to make luscious Chinese dishes at home. What stands out, however, are the dishes and the stories before every recipe that make them interesting and appealing. There are photographs of most of the dishes which add to the charm of the cookbook. There are recipes for many classic dishes found in Chinese restaurants in America, and recipes for Chinese snacks and even desserts. The recipes are easy to follow, but aren’t particularly simple – many have several steps and are time-consuming, which doesn’t take away from their appeal, but is a reality check where readers have to realize that some good dishes take time and can’t be made in 30 minutes or less.
The prose is fascinating and extremely well-written. This is a book that is good enough to curl up into a corner and read just like a good novel. The only problem is that the food looks so good, readers will need to get up at some time to cook dinner and it will be one or more of the recipes in this book. Anyone who wants to make excellent Chinese dishes and is willing to put in a little time will love this cookbook. Highly recommended for inclusion on every cookbook shelf.
Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.
Great Chinese cookbook filled with beautiful images and easy to follow recipe instructions. I would recommend this book.
I'm speechless while reading this book. Yes, reading. I love reading cook books that contains so many stories regarding the tradition, the foods themselves, when to eat and how to make them. The book is so rich, I can even imagine the situation back then, even though I'm far from it. There are some shocking things the author put inside the book, and some facts that make me realized how wrong I can be. LoL. It's a worth-to-read book, as well as worth-to-try recipes (can't wait!)
Hi. My name is Tracy and I am a certified cookbook junkie. I love to just read them before I even attempt the recipes, and Damn Good Chinese Food is no exception. The author’s memories of learning to cook with his grandmother and the emotions stirred up by eating certain foods were especially sweet.
As for the recipes, just as it says on the cover, this really is some damn good Chinese food. The author presents Americanized Chinese dishes as well as more traditional fare. Some of these dishes may be a bit intimidating for the novice cook, and the traditional ingredients might be a little challenging to track down (though the author does include some helpful ideas about how to source them). Fortunately there are enough recipes here that you should be able to find something to accommodate your skill level while you work your way up to more intricate recipes. I love a well-illustrated cookbook, and this has only small pictures for each recipe -- and while larger pictures might have been nice -- these do the job. As someone trying to expand my cooking repertoire, I am happy to have this cookbook on my bookshelf.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and SkyHorse Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Damn Good Chinese Food.
This is a book by a devoted Chinese man. he is devoted to his culture and his history. He spends the first quarter of the book making sure you know how to shop the Chinese markets to get the most out of the experience and to get the best food. His passion comes out on each page as he talks about ingredients. This is a book built on genuine love and respect for food, family, and culture. And the recipes are in fact, damn good.
A great Chinese cookbook, full of beautiful recipes and easy to follow. I would definitely recommend this book
This is an excellent Chinese cookbook. I loved every recipe I tried! Excellent recipes and easy to follow instructions.
Some of the recipes take a goid deal of preparation but it's definitely worth it but be aware this book doesn't have simple fast recipes. However, if you want some dang good Chinese this is definitely worth reading. Absolutely loved the book and it would make an excellent gift.
In Damn Good Chinese Food you get exactly what the title of the book says. Damn Good Chinese Food. Whether you regularly cook Chinese or are looking to try a few dishes, each recipe included provides easy instruction and some background of the dish to help you understand its roots and why it is prepared the way that it is.
Damn Good Chinese Food is split up into several different sections. Not every section is purely about different recipes. One of the sections that is worth mentioning is about cooking tools and equipment. Having an understand of what is used for Chinese cooking and why will be of great benefit to anyone who cooks Chinese cuisine.
Some of the sections that include recipes are about: Chasing the Perfect Dumpling, Fish and Seafood, Meat and Poultry, and Sweets. While you are all-but guaranteed to find recipes that you have yet to make, each recipes history and how to prepare it is explained in great detail.
I would highly recommend Damn Good Chinese Cooking to anyone interested in Chinese cuisine and is interested why it is made the way that it is.
This is one of the best Chinese cookbooks I have ever come across! Loaded with information, instructions and Damn Good Chinese Food!! Appropriately named, everything I tried was top notch! While this book is not for the faint of heart, you will learn how to cook some good Chinese food and it will motivate you into the kitchen to try your hand at these recipes! You will succeed as the recipes are detailed with easy to follow instructions. I really liked this book and will be buying it to use in my kitchen!
Some of us are blessed by living near a home-style Chinese restaurant. I stopped at Joe's Noodles yesterday and carried home a selection of favorites. Chris Cheung has written an ode to these dishes and urges us to try them at home.
Although I think this book is great and think Chris has chosen a wonderful selection for us, I really wonder how many of these recipes I will try. My kitchen isn't big enough, I don't have enough friends to share the meal. But if ever any book would entice me to try, this book is it.
My only complaint is that the names of the dishes are not written in Chinese. I often travel in Asia and would love to be able to order a wider range of treats in restaurants without English menus.
Chef Chris Cheung's enthusiasm for Chinese food is evident in his book. His love for the cuisine leaps from the page and engulfs the reader as he recounts family stories and his memories of the food he enjoyed in Chinatown. This is a love affair and it is contagious. The book is well structured, with reasons given for the equipment and ingredients needed. The recipes are detailed and I found his explanations on-point and helpful - he is brilliant at putting himself in the shoes of a novice cook. This is a comprehensive guide on Chinese cuisine and you will want to cook something from it straightaway. I think it combines Chris Cheung's personal history with the necessary practical, and informative methodology brilliantly. However, the lack and poor quality of its images lets this book down. Apart from that, I'm so pleased I read this and gained some insight into Chinese cuisine and domestic cooking.
In the past couple years I have started branching out into different cooking styles. I love trying new ingredients, cooking techniques and dishes. If you have any interest in learning to make Chinese food, I would definitely recommend this cookbook. Its not JUST that the recipes are good. (They are, though). The author has very noticeable knowledge and passion for the recipes that can only come from familiarity. That alone elevated this cookbook leagues above the recipes found during a quick internet search.