Gok Cooks Chinese: Create mouth-watering recipes with the must-have Chinese cookbook
£19.80£23.80 (-17%)
Discover the master guide to simple, healthy and delicious Chinese cooking from the creator of the hit show Gok Wan’s Easy Asian
For Gok, Chinese food is all about sitting down, tucking into fantastic food that is fuss-free, healthy, and packed with flavour.
Now, in Gok Cooks Chinese, he gives us his personal and modern take on the Chinese food that he grew up eating.
With 80 different recipes and chapters on Chinese Takeaway Classics, Dim Sum, Street Food and One Pot Wonders (to name a few), you will find recipes for all occasions and moods, whether entertaining friends or enjoying a meal at home by yourself.
Filled with mouth-watering dishes including:
· My Perfect Fried Rice
· Spicy Sichuan Chicken
· Poppa Wan’s Amazing Pork Ribs
· Leftover Roast Duck Noodles
· Sweet and Sour Fish
· My Ma-Po Tofu with Chinese Omelette
Above all, Gok Wan will help you replicate your favourite takeaway dishes in your own kitchen!
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Additional information
| Publisher | 10th edition (10 May 2012), Michael Joseph |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 240 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 9780718159511 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0718159511 |
| Dimensions | 19.05 x 2.59 x 25.4 cm |
by Kindle Customer
Live this book!! It will improve your cookery
by Emmster
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[Edit 18-Jun-2012] I’ve changed the star rating on my review of this book from 4 to 5. What follows is the original review with edits – hope it makes sense.
This book is a set of Chinese cookery recipes that Gok Wan has either been brought up on, discovered on his travels or come up with himself (typically his variations of other recipes). As you would expect, Gok’s personality is injected into the book and he enthuses for a paragraph or two at the start of each recipe. I’m not a particular fan of his, but if you are I think it will give you a little insight into the man.
It’s a well made book and as colourful and vibrant as you’d expect from Gok. The first chapter is a short introduction, the second is ten pages called “all about ingredients” (includes an ‘essentials’ section) and the third is a single page on his recommended equipment (in total: chopping board, wok, cleaver, ladle, bowls and steamers). Then you’re at Page 27 and into the meat of the book. The recipes are standard format: an ingredients list, a numbered list of steps and a nice full-colour glossy of the end result. I always prefer a book that shows you what the end-result should look like.
A few of the ingredients will require a supermarket with a good Chinese ingredients section, or, more likely an actual Chinese supermarket. But on the whole, to my mind, he’s kept the recipes simple enough that making them won’t take longer than other cooking that I do.
I noticed that you cannot search the contents which, for a cookery book, seems ludicrous. I bought the book on the strength of a single episode of the accompanying TV programme; I was salivating over one of his dad’s pork dishes. But I think most people will want to know a bit more about the recipes actually in the book; and with that in mind – I’ve made my first Amazon review video! A silent movie that just scans the recipe names from the table of contents.
I hope it’s useful to someone and my apologies for the dodgy camera-work.
[Edit 30-May-2012] I made the Fried Rice recipe tonight which was very very good. The recipe calls for leaving boiled rice overnight in the fridge to let it dry out – this seems to do the trick as it had both a lovely taste and texture to it.
[Edit 18-Jun-2012] I’ve now made the Twice Cooked Melting Pork, the Roasted Crispy Pork Belly and the Super Speedy Noodles with Pork and Ginger (we like pork in our house!). Got to say that all three were absolutely delicious. It struggling to find the appropriate words – but the twice cooked pork was melt-in-the-mouth, the pork belly was excellently sweet & sour (you can dip it in sugar) and the noodles were just delicious and took about 15 minutes to prepare the ingredients + 3 minutes (tops) to cook. (I’m bumping the star rating up to 5 on the basis of the four recipes i’ve made as they’re all fantastic).
by Khardine
Bought it for a gift and got loads of recipes in it. If you love to cook Chinese food I would recommend this book.
by graham400uk
This is a great book full of great Chinese recipes, and easy to follow. Many of the recipes Gok had done on his TV shows too.
I use this cook book all the time, its great if you like Chinese food you cant go wrong.
by Samantha Conn
i like Chinese meals and they are all different meals arrived in great condition
by Natalie Hansen
I received this book a little before it’s official release date (Whoops, Amazon!) – so I had the chance to try out a few recipes before reviewing (this is a cookbook after all).
Now, I own a number of cookbooks, from Chinese, to Japanese, to Thai, and the reason why I bought yet another Chinese cookbook is because I admit it, I was in a bit of a rut, and it’s always good to have a wider pool of ideas to dip into. The deciding point, for me, was when I saw a sneak preview of a Dim Sum recipe or two, and I couldn’t believe they were from Gok Wan – so I thought I would give this a go and see what else he could do.
Now, the book is laid out in a non-intimidating, and logical way, with Takeaway Classics to dip your toe into, progressing through to some wonderfully adventurous, and modern dishes which you can build up to when you gain more confidence. Chinese food isn’t all about chow mein, don’t you know?
The book also presents us with a list of cupboard essentials and equipment, which is very handy for the Chinese cooking novice, and these are things you will be using again, and again (yes, you will use Fish sauce over and over again, and Sesame Oil will quickly become your best kitchen buddy). Almost all of these items could be reasonably found in a kitchen where a wok is used a lot, and can be found in most supermarkets, or bought online if you’re out in the sticks – nothing too daunting or scary, here.
One thing that’s good for someone new to Chinese cooking – if you do need to buy equipment, Gok offers some handy advice, and the essential items can be bought without too much expense (unlike a certain cookbook, by a celebrity chef, which initially had a half hour time limit, and gave you list of electrical equipment which would make any bank manager cry) – there is nothing worse than trying to learn to cook, when the initial outlay is off-putting. This is not such a problem here.
Lets try the food! The recipes are rather easy to follow, and the timings are about right. Gok offers advice on what can be substituted (if something just cannot be sourced) and what really shouldn’t. As much as I love Chinese takeaway classics, I am here for the family dishes and Dim Sum and party food! There are dishes that have wowed my friends when presented to them this weekend, but they were ludicrously simple to make, such as the Soy Glazed Chicken – for the love of God, try the chicken! Sesame Prawn balls are perfect for those who love their prawn toast, but want to do without the stodgy, greasy bread bit (try these, you might need to practice getting the texture right, but once you do, you will never go back!). Pork and Prawn Pot Stickers and Prawn and Scallop moneybag dumplings, was a little fiddly, but they all had a wonderful taste and “Blimey, you must have worked so hard on these” payoff! Mercifully, a lot (if not all) of the dim sum can be made in advance, so no last minute panicking – you can take your time to get these lovely bites perfect (again, a great dish for novices who want to gain confidence). I didn’t get much of a chance to present the dishes as beautifully as in the book before ravenous friends descended on the food like a pack of hungry wolves – and believe me, I made plenty!
The Hot and Sour soup is divine! It is better than anything I have tried at any take-out, and I am another advocate of the Steamed Cod with Tenderstem Broccoli dish as a must-try, for something tasty, different, satisfying and healthy. All the dishes I have tried were fresh, tasty and beautiful, oh, and not a whiff of MSG in sight.
If the book is so brilliant, why the 4 stars, and not 5? Well, I am a greedy little madam, and I couldn’t help but want a little more… like a dessert or two! (hint, hint), maybe there’s more to come from Mr Wan’s Wok if this takes off?
All in all, a very good book, with familiar and achievable (and all the more important, tasty!) dishes for novices, and ideas to stimulate and inspire more experienced Wok Wielding Warriors – just remember to provide your own pudding if you’re planning on entertaining.
by Captain S
I loved the background stories about Gok’s parents and their commitment to each other. Him mum being English learned what foods make her husband & children happy. A very heart warming book with gorgeous recipes.