Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge (Squid with Black Bean Sauce)
August 27th, 2010 | Chinese, Chinese Recipes, Cookbook Review | 10 Comments
My cookbook manuscript is due in the next few days and I am very happy—and relieved—that I am almost done, well, at least the toughest part: cooking, shooting, writing, recipe testing, and editing. To prep me for the writing part of my cookbook, I have read and researched many Chinese cookbooks in the past few months. One of my recent favorites is “Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge” by Grace Young.
I have been a fan of Grace Young since I first read her award-winning cookbook “The Breath of a Wok” and then discovered “The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen.” Her deep knowledge and intense passion for Chinese woks (and stir-frying) are eminently admirable. To me, her investments—both in time and dedication—in these fundamentals of Chinese cooking is way beyond being a cookbook author; in fact, she has become a scholar in my eyes, the ones that I hold high respect and regard for. Even though I grew up eating Chinese food and watching my late mother cooking with a wok, my knowledge about these subjects was mostly taken for granted. I’ve never questioned the why’s and how’s, until I read Grace’s books. Needless to say, I have personally learned so much about Chinese stir-frying and the wok from reading her books…
