Chin K. - Katie Chins Everyday Chinese Cookbook

About Tuttle: Books to Span the East and West

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Acknowledgments

Tell me and Ill forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and Ill understand.Chinese proverb

I have so many people to thank for this book but I am most grateful to my late mother Leeann. As if she was answering to a higher calling (the Kitchen God, perhaps?), she made it her steadfast mission in life to instill a love of Chinese cooking in her children. She could have done this purely by example, we as the willing and appreciative participants watching with amazement at her culinary prowess in the kitchen. This would not be the case. I can remember being five years old standing by her side while she showed me how to fold creases in her delicious potstickers. Shed watch patiently and work with me until I felt comfortable, practicing over and over again. In these early moments together, I began to understand.

This book would never have happened without the love and support of my husband Matthew. He loved my mother as much as he loved her cooking and despite the craziness of our lives, he encouraged me to write this book as a means of healing and because he knows how huge a gift my mothers recipes are to the world.

I could have never completed this book without the passion and dedication of my posse of recipe testers. They never complained and always gave me swift and honest feedback: Stacy Mears, Jeanie Chin, Jack Fike, Billy Chin, Laura Chin, Jodi Young, Eleni Jankosky, and Theresa Frederickon.

To my siblings who helped test this book, I love you. I know that because were Chinese were not supposed to say this to one another, but I did anyway. So there! Special props to my former sous chef Stacy who moved last year to Austin, TX. Despite the geographical distance, her encouragement via Skype and email helped me overcome any obstacles that stood in my way.

My mom signing one of her cookbooks.

My mom and I teaching a dim sum class at my house in Los Angeles.

On the set of one of my Chef Katie Chin Youtube shoots.

My elegant mom at one of her buffet restaurants.

I am indebted to Michele Speigel who worked tirelessly to edit and organize this book and make sense of my jumbled notes.

To Raghavan Iyer, thank you for your touching Foreword, and also for talking me off the ledge in the final stretch of writing this book. Having known my mother, you knew how emotional this process was for me and got me through it with warmth and humor.

Many people ask me how I get it all done. Im no different than any other working mom, but Id never survive without my A team. By A team, I mean our kick-ass housekeeper, Delfina Garcia, who spent hours cleaning up after my testing sessions and keeping our lives in order. Id also like to thank our au pair, Claudia Solano Vargas, who cared for our kidsespecially as I burned the midnight oil. To all the Hesby moms and dads: Thanks for all the carpooling, play dates and sleepovers!

Id like to thank my children: Kyla, Dylan and Becca. Your love and support mean the world to me and I appreciate your patience after eating twenty stir-fries in a row.

Many thanks to all of my dear friends who lift me up and support me no matter what: Sophie Ali, Kimberly Barth, Nicole Behne, Pamela Brown, Alex Chen, Logan Chin, Traci Ching, Diana Choi, Michael Dagnery, Wendy Diamond, Joan Donatelle, Rita Drucker, Marissa Durazzo, Greg Economos, Leslie Fram, Christos Garkinos, Christopher Gordon, Paul Hemstreet, Devery Holmes, Sabrina Ironside, Brad Jamison, Eleni Jankowsky, Scott Joyce, Laura Keller, Erika Penzer Kerekes, Fumi Kitahara, Stacie Krajchir, George Leon, Rob Levine, Heather Reid Liebo, Frank Lomento, Jeannie Mai, Dave Marchi, Patrick Martin, Carol Cheng Mayer, JJ McKay, Carla Moreira, Carol Morejon, Neil Newman, Kristin Nicholas, Jen Nolander, Michael Now, Harry Parrish, Steve Patscheck, Peter Petraglia, Hugo Rojas, Susie Romano, Rich Ross, Mary Sadeghy, Susan Safier, Adam Sanderson, Elayne Sawaya, Robert Schuller, Nicole Hirsty Seine, Valerie Shavers, Dennis Shortt, Mimi Slavin, Pam Slay, Terry Stanley, Andrea Stein, Michael Stone, Cynthia Sutter, Marianne Szymanski, Laura Takaragawa, Rosemary Tarquinio, Bil Tocantins, Trish Vogel, Mary Wagstaff, Katie Workman and Greg Yale.

Finally, Id like to thank the team at Tuttle Publishing who made this dream become a reality in such a gorgeous and meaningful way. Thank you to my editors, Jon Steever and Katherine Heins, and also Christopher Johns, June Chong, Irene Ho, Anna Perotti, Brandon Suyeoka, Stanti Schnbchler, Brandy LaMotte, photographer Masano Kawana, and food stylist Toshiko Kawana.

If Ive left anyone out, I apologize for the omission.

For those of you who knew my mother, I hope you can relive some of the wonderful memories we all shared cooking, eating and laughing together as you flip through this book.

Much love and Happy Cooking!

Basic Cooking Techniques and Tips

Many peoples attitude toward Chinese cooking is the same as their relationship status on Facebook: Its complicated. A lot of people are intimidated by Chinese cooking because it seems so involved. The truth is, if you have the right tools on hand and learn the basic time-honored Chinese cooking techniques (which are used over and over again in this book), it isnt complicated at all. In fact, you can make most of these recipes with the pots and pans you have in your kitchen right now. I actually just taught a Chinese cooking class for six twelve-year-old boys, and they couldnt believe how easy it was to make Chinese food (I heard a lot of Oh, so thats how you do it cool!). They practically jumped for joy when they got to make their own dumplings. One mother was astounded when her son ate a dumpling filled with tofu and veggies; she called later that day to report that he had made the recipe again for his whole family! No matter whether youre steaming, deep-frying or stir-frying, youll be able to master everything from Orange Chicken to Steamed Cantonese Whole Fish in no time if you use this section as your guide.

Seasoning a Wok