the chinese way by betty liu
on tradition/authenticity and a deeper dive into the cookbook
When The Chinese Way by Betty Liu landed in my mailbox, I started cooking from it immediately. Similar to the author, I grew up watching my parents and grandparents cook without written recipes.
My parents were born in Hong Kong and grew up in Canada. I was born and raised entirely in Canada. I find myself cooking a lot of Chinese food at home, as I don’t speak the language and it’s one of the few ways that I’m able to learn about and connect to Chinese tradition/heritage. In the intro, the author states…
“Chinese cooking is not a set of rules with strict, by-the book recipes. Instead, it’s forgiving, flexible and entirely applicable to your pantry because the Chinese way of cooking is really about adaptability.”
This is exactly how I cook. I’ve always grown up not feeling “Chinese enough” (coincidentally, this is also the title of the recently released book by Kristina Cho). Cooking from The Chinese Way by Betty Liu affirms to me that I’ve always been cooking Chinese food. I cook by taste and memory and consider recipes as suggestions and guidelines, rather than hard and fast rules.
About the Book
The book is sectioned into 8 chapters of techniques — first, how to master heat (Steam, Fry, Boil, and Braise) and then, how to create flavour combinations (Sauce, Infuse, Pickle, and Wrap). Each chapter has a few “foundational” recipes followed by more non-traditional takes.
How I “Test” a Book
First, I do an initial read of the introduction, then flip through the recipes back to front. Then, I take a pad of sticky notes and use the visuals to tag recipes I’m interested in cooking or baking. What stands out to me are two ends of a spectrum, (1) recipes that I already have most of the ingredients for (2) recipes with ingredients that I’ve never cooked with and require a trip to a specialty grocery store (a fun excursion!). Finally, I read the full selected recipes and cook. My goal is to make at least 10 recipes and hit each chapter or section of the book if I’m feeling ambitious.
