Bao Family Cookbook
Recipes from the Eight Culinary Regions of China
The complex flavors and textures of eight types of traditional regional Chinese cuisines are demonstrated with style and aplomb in this visual treat of a cookbook.
Céline Chung was born in France to parents from the Zhejiang province. Here, she describes the mild, slightly sweet flavors of the vegetable and fish dishes of the region, contrasting them with bolder, spicier Sichuan and Hunan cuisines and the varied cooking techniques and foods of Anhui, Guangdong (or Cantonese), Fujian, and Shandong cooking. The illustrated introduction provides essential information on types of condiments, noodles, flours, vegetables, and other ingredients and utensils for cooks. Other pages elaborate on the complexities of wrapping wontons, chopstick protocols, and how to eat Peking duck.
There’s a vibrant mix of grainy black-and-white photographs of chefs at work with candy-striped, eye-popping color backgrounds and photographs of the dishes. The recipes, spanning from breakfast to dessert, are a varied sampler of traditional Chinese cooking, with familiar dishes like Hot-and-Sour Soup and Spring Rolls alongside tastes like Fried Milk and Zongzi (bamboo-wrapped parcels of pork belly, dried shrimp, and glutinous rice). Snout-to-tail eating is displayed in various preparations featuring pork rind and belly and every tasty scrap of meats, fish, and vegetables.
The stars of the book, however, are the bao—steamed, fried buns filled with luscious concoctions featured at Chung’s Petit Bao and Gros Bao restaurants in Paris. There are detailed instructions on how to prepare traditional Charsiu (barbecued pork) Bao, Sheng Jian (pork rind jelly and ground pork) Bao, and their dim sum cousins: dumplings, shu mai, and turnip cake.
The Bao Family Cookbook introduces elevated Chinese dishes with reverence for sharing food and having it define “the rhythm of the day.”
Reviewed by
Rachel Jagareski
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
