Random Things Tours: Chinese-ish by Rosheen Kaul and Joanna Hu

 

Chinese food is underrated. Reduced to the level of an ´exotic´ and cheap, eventually oily, ´fast food´ it is rather avoided - as per the high ´healthy´ standards of European diet and expected to be...cheap, oily and predictable. Oh, how I pitty those who never had the chance to take a bit of a Peking roast duck! We need more authentic Chinese food stories, explaining not only the history of the very diverse cuisine, but equally the techniques and the choice of ingredients. In fact, the lack of proper knowledge about the ingredients keeps many otherwise dedicate food lovers away from trying to prepare their own variants of Chinese meals. 

Chinese-ish. Home Cooking Not Quite Authentic. 100% Delicious by innovative chef Rosheen Kaul and brilliant illustrator Joanna Hu offers way more than it promises: an authentic food story which reflects the diverse identities of the authors, but also offers an exercise in taste, adapted to the palate of the Australian food lovers.

Even if you are not a great cook - like me, sometimes - the more than 200 pages of illustrations, tips and recipes are delightful in the most hungry way. The above mentioned Peking duck is there, alongside with a smart selection of stocks, noodle soups, dumplings, noodles and rice - I may revise over and over again the notes about ´how to cook rice without a rice cooker´. There are tips about techniques and pantry staples.

The recipes shared in the book convene memories and identity stories - both personal and generational. Through generations, exposed to various influences, those recipes developed into authentic identity stories. The next generation of Asians born in Australia will most likely rewrite those recipes and so will do their children and grand-children. It is part of the beauty of identity to be on the move. For the rest of us, reading about and/or maybe having a bit of the featured meals, it´s a story that repeats itself. Only to become better and better.

I only wish I can travel to Australia soon to experience myself the menus offered by Rosheen Kaul at Etta Dining. 

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own