Low Bee Yinn - Easy Chinese recipes: family favorites from dim sum to kung pao

About Food Styling and Photography

All the photos in this cookbook, with the exception of the ingredients shots, are single-handedly styled and photographed by yours truly.

To prepare myself for cookbook-worthy food photography, I invested in a professional and full frame DSLR camerathe wildly popular Canon 5D Mark II as soon as I started working on the book. I also purchased a couple of great lenses for food photography and a tripod for the camera. I dont have a professional studio at home; my workspace is my dining table beside the side windows, which are taped with a layer of vellum paper to diffuse the natural lighta trick Ive learned from Matt Wright of Wright Food.

Even with the right gear and equipment, I have to acknowledge that food styling and photography for this cookbook had proven to be far more challenging than I had originally anticipated. While I shoot pretty decent photos on my food blog at Rasa Malaysia (rasamalaysia.com), food styling and photography for print and cookbook demand a completely different skill set, one that I unfortunately lack: professional composition of shots, lighting, set up, propping, styling, and a pair of keen and artistic eyes. Each photo has to be unique and convey a certain mood. They also have to be refined, perfected, and most importantly, the finished dishes have to look inviting and awaken the readers appetite.

My biggest struggle was food styling, mostly because I dont have a storeroom full of props to play or get creative with. Because of that, I developed a serious case of props envy whenever I flipped through my favorite cookbooks, food magazines, or whenever I visited gorgeous food blogs or websites.

I had spent hundreds of dollars buying props for my cookbook, but they just werent enough. Luckily, my friend Chef Robert Danhi came to my rescue by loaning his precious props to me. I would like to thank him and his wife Esther for being so generous. But I faced more challenges. As this is a Chinese cookbook, ideally all serving wares used have to be Chinese. My sister was able to bring me some of the supplies from homemy late mothers collection of Chinese bowls, chopsticks, and ceramic wares were put to good use in this book.

Not all pictures in this cookbook were styled or composed the exact way I would love them to, but I had basically tried my best. Some of the props are not Chinese, but I just had to make do with whatever I had on hand.

I am personally quite pleased with what I have produced, but there is always room for improvement. I hope you like what I have presented here and hopefully, every single shot of the finished dish would make your mouth water and tempt you to try the recipe!

Acknowledgments

If you had asked me five years ago if I had ever thought about writing a cookbook, the answer would be an absolute NO. But great things happened after July 2006, after I started my food blog, Rasa Malaysia (http://rasamalaysia.com). The site soon bloomed into one of the most popular Asian food blogs on the web, with hundreds of thousands of readers and growing traffic every month.

In July 2009, three years after the launch of Rasa Malaysia, I got an email from my editor Bud Sperry of Tuttle Publishing, who asked me if I would be interested in doing a Chinese cookbook. I jumped at the opportunity without any hesitation, and the rest, as you would say, is history.

I have to say that I have been extremely lucky regarding this project. I wasnt subjected to the painful process of writing a proposal, finding a literary agent, and shopping for a deal. It just sort of landed on my lap. However, this cookbook wouldnt have been possible if not for the support and love I have received from so many people. This includes my dear husband, G, who always believes in me and lets me pursue my every dream, all my family members back in Malaysia, especially my two sisters, my fans and readers from all over the world, and of course, my adorable baby G, who lightens up my day and is a constant reminder that I am truly blessed.

To my two good friends in Southern California: Shirley Lim, who gave me endless advice and tips, and to Farina Carr, who is always so much fun to be with. I wont forget all my good friends back home in Malaysia, Bee Ean, Wai Wan, and Joanne, who give me their support, albeit remotely. To Siew Loon, for buying me props whenever she travels, and most importantly, for helping me earnestly without ever asking for anything in return. And to my dear friend Jim Doane, who always encourages me in everything I do, and to Albert Biscarra, for your editing help during the early phase of this project. To Chef Alex Ong of Betelnut Restaurant in San Francisco, who always tries to help me with my culinary career.

Special thanks go to Jaden Hair of The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook for writing the Foreword of this cookbook and her continued support and friendship since we first met in 2007. To Robert and Esther Danhi, for loaning me your precious props and sharing your insider recipes. To Alice and Jared Zhao, of Zhao Photography, for taking the gorgeous ingredients shots. Also to Diane Cu and Todd Porter, whose portrait photography makes me look like a domestic goddess who can sell cookbooks!

To Robyn Eckhardt of Eating Asia (http://eatingasia.typepad.com) who is always an email away whenever I need an advice or just to vent. To acclaimed Chinese cookbook author Grace Young, who is so warm, friendly, and whose cookbooks inspired me to work on my own. To acclaimed authors cum food writers Andrea Nguyen, who encouraged me to write and shared food writing resources with me; and to Harris Salat, who gave me sound advice when I first started working on the book.

To Eleanor Hoh, who wrote the section about Seasoning a Cast Iron Wok on page 19. To Shao Zhi Zhong (http://www.friedwontons4u.com), Kamran Siddiqi (http://www.sophisticatedgourmet.com), and Jason Tong (http://www.jasontongphotography) for helping me with the mundane and boring blog-related chores when I was buried in this project. To Rachael Hutchings of Fujimama (http://www.lafujimama.com) who went props shopping with me; to Matt Wright of Wright Food (http://mattikaarts.com/blog/) who gave me food photography advice. To my Twitter friends Brian Lew and David Nguyen, for always being so kind and sweet. To Carolyn Shek, for tasting my food and taking Chinatown photos for me. And to all my fellow food bloggers for your encouraging words on my website, Facebook, Twitter, and email.

I would like to thank all my recipe testersespecially Debbie Wong and Irene Chan, who tested and retested many of my recipesI cant thank you all enough for your warm participation, honest feedback, and candid input.

Alexandra Taylor

Allison Day

Amanda Zimmer

Ananthi Parkin

Angie Ma

Anh Sawh

Ann Lee Ling

Brian Lew

Camila Santos Guimaraes

Carole Kweon

Chang Pick Yin

Chee Ann Williams

Cheryl Ng Collett

Dana Stradley

Debb Odell

Dennis Glorioso

Eleanor Hoh

Ellie Hoeve

Erika Pineda

Esther Danhi

Finla Noronha

Francois Lacoste

Gary Cote

Goh Yih Lin

Guillermo Fernandez Castellanos

Heng Ju-ee

Ho Siew Loon

Hui Leng Tay

Jason Tong

Jeffrey Siaw

Jennifer Mar

Jenny Kayano

Jit Fong Chin

Joanna Meyer

Joanna Repec

Josephine Lim

Julie Wan

Justin Timbers

Kamran Siddiqi

Karina A Santos

Katherine Dierking