22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Chef Yin-Fei Lo Has Done It Again!!!!, 28 Mar 1999
By Sabarina@aol.com - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Chinese Way of Low Fat Cooking (Hardcover)
No, I'm not surprised. Chef Eileen Yin-Fei Lo has a fan for life!
One would never guess that the recipes (complete with nutritional information) are "healthy".
As always, the chef explains all terms and methods in detail and the list of ingredients necessary will be helpful to beginners and those who infrequently cook Chinese.
I especially enjoy the comments at the beginning of each recipe.
The section titled "My Special Preparations" is invaluable! Here you will find recipes for almost all of the wonderful Stocks, Infused Oils, Pickled Veggies, and even Basic Rice (more difficult for some people than you might imagine!).
The recipes!! This Chef can cook! I have yet to find a recipe that I was not completely pleased with. I feel the personal touch she gives to each dish adds greatly to the over all appeal.
My favorites (at least this week) are "Steamed Duck With Pickled Peaches", Steamed Bean Curd With Shrimp, Veal Stir-Fried With Mushrooms and Tomatoes, Shrimp With Lobster Sauce, Stuffed Scallops, and Barbecued Pork Stir-Fried with Scallions.
Thank you again Chef, for another work of wonder and work of art. You *are* an artist and deserve much more praise than you seem to receive.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Best Chinese cookbook I've used, 19 May 2006
By M. Chuong - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Chinese Way of Low Fat Cooking (Hardcover)
I have made several dishes from this cookbook and all of them have turned out great. My husband is Chinese and has not been impressed with dishes I've tried from other cookbooks, but he has really enjoyed the dishes prepared from this book. The flavors are very authentic, and not overly sweet or oily, like you normally find in restaurants.
The layout of the recipes are very easy to follow. She breaks the ingredient list into separate categories, such as "marinade", "sauce", "to complete the dish", so you can easily prepare the dish in stages.
I also like that the recipes are healthy, and I don't feel that taste is sacrificed to make the dishes healthy. She also uses many of the same ingredients throughout the book, so you'll probably need to stock your pantry with items that you'll need to go to an asian market for, but once it's stocked, you'll be set for a while.
The only modification I normally make is adding about double the meat to the dishes. Her versions are more authentic, being that in China meat is not as central to meals like it is in America, but I like having more meat.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantasic food !!!, 23 Aug 2001
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Chinese Way of Low Fat Cooking (Hardcover)
A great book. I had been searching for an authentic Chinese cookbook for some time. I took a gamble on this book by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo, and it was a rewarding pay-off. This book has everything. Some information on the history of Chinese cooking, on buying and seasoning a wok, on steam-proofing dishes, on some of the more hard to find ingredients, and personal stories from her upbringing. Not to mention, some fantastic recipies including one I've wanted to try for some time, fish soup. While prep-work is not one of my favorite parts of cooking, (although somewhat necessary in these recipies)the reward of a fantasic dish is well worth it. Added bonuses are sections on how to properly make rice (harder than you may think), and calorie counting information for every dish. I can't wait to try some of the other books by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo. If they're 1/2 as good as this one, they already have my approval.