Chinese Cooking at Home

by: Tine Zhang

Middletown DE: 2016, $9.00, Hardbound
ISBN: 978-1-52390-641-3

Reviewed by: Jacqueline M. Newman
Spring Volume: 2017 Issue: 24(1) page(s): 21

Subtitled: From Soups to Stir-fry, this volume has fifty recipes in eight chapters. Each one lists its ingredients, their preparations is written as a single paragraph, no matter its length. There is one color photograph, it is on the cover. The book begins with a four-page Table of Contents, and one page with copyright and related information. The last chapter, titled: Conclusion, simply tells readers what they already did tell them within its pages.

Crisp Pork Belly
Ingredients:
1 pound Pork tenderloin
½ teaspoon five-spice powder
3/4 Tablespoon sugar, brown or white
1 Tablespoon oil
1½ Tablespoons hoisin sauce
1½ Tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
½ Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon thin soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
few drops of food coloring, optional

Preparation:
Prepare marinade by bringing all ingredients except pork tenderloin to a simmer in a small saucepan. Allow marinade to cool for fifteen minutes. Pour back into zip lock bag, add pork and seal and massage until pork is fully coated. Set in the refrigerator for a minimum of three hours, ideally overnight. When ready to roast, remove and set at room temperature. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 25 minutes, spooning leftover marinade over pork about halfway through cooking process. Finish by broiling for 2 to 3 minutes after brushing on a final coating of marinade. Allow to cool about 10 minutes before serving.

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