cover image Helen Chen's Chinese Home Cooking

Helen Chen's Chinese Home Cooking

Helen Chen. Hearst Communications, $25 (358pp) ISBN 978-0-688-12756-5

Once planned as a mother-daughter collaboration with author and restaurateur Joyce Chen, this comprehensive yet unassuming collection of family recipes and practices became a solo venture when the elder Chen was stricken with multi-infarct dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Attempting to offer a complete view of the Chinese cooking experience, TV and cooking school teacher Chen first outlines the ingredients and techniques of the cuisine. She then turns to recipes, which range from well-known traditional Chinese dishes like ``steamed whole fish Cantonese-style and ``Chinese shrimp chips'' to less familiar fare. Instructions are simple and clearly written; background details on the cuisine, such as the importance of pork and the serving of tea at the meal, provide authenticity. Above all, in its detailing of the differences between everyday home-style cooking and banquet preparation, the attention to traditional Chinese recipes and the acceptance of compromise in the inclusion of popular but not truly authentic recipes like chicken chop suey, the book reflects the variety and practicality that defines a family. Born of experience and balance, it is a worthy alternative to more scholarly or exotic Chinese cookbooks. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Apr.)