Mrs. Chiang's Szechwan Cookbook

by Jung-Feng Chiang, Ellen Schrecker, John Schrecker

Mrs. Chiangs Szechwan Cookbook, the first authentic Szechwan cookbook, centers around the recipes of Chiang Jung-feng, the remarkable cook John and Ellen Schrecker met when they were studying Chinese culture in Taiwan. Mrs. Chiang grew up in Szechwan, in a household of demanding gourmets who raised most of their own food, butchered their own pigs, and made their own soy sauce and vinegar. Her mother was a superlative cook who understood very well that her daughter's fortune depended on her skill in the kitchen. Mrs. Chiang eventually found her way to Taiwan, where her cooking became famous. When John and Ellen Schrecker first Listed it they were astonished at the difference between authentic Szechwan food and American restaurant fare: they had discovered what the Chinese call the zhen wer, the true taste, a classical principle of careful preparation blithely ignored by virtually all Chinese restaurants in this country. John and Ellen brought Mrs. Chiang home with them to the United States, where her legendary cooking continued to delight her lucky guests with its fresh, natural, MSG - less quality.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Asian Literature

359 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1976

Reviews

[Shava Nerad]

Despite the whiff of empire that pervades Ellen Schrecker's "authorship" of the recipes of her hired help, this is second only to Fuchsia Dunlop in Sichuan cookbooks in English -- and I like the wonton recipe here better (and a few others).

I've actually had this book for ages, but I cracked it open to make wontons and compare the two recipes.

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Talk about cultural appropriation! An American academic couple go to China, and as the dust jacket puts it, brings "Mrs. Chiang home with them." A cookbook is written: according to the dust jacket, it is written by the wife, "with" the husband, with the actual cook's name relegated to the title. Oddly, the copyright information and Library of Congress information do list the cook as author.

As a cookbook, it definitely shows its age. I cringed at the direction to marinate a chicken for three days at room temperature. And, the recipes, while interesting, are not so novel anymore.

I do like the way the recipes are laid out. It is a very sensible way for any recipe that requires a lot of prep and then a final combination of the ingredients. And I will try some of the recipes, especially those from the vegetable section. They look perfect for helping me with the bounty from my CSA basket!

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing find in The Book Escape, my favorite Baltimore used book store ... Just browsing through the cookbooks looking for something to help me make sense of my new wok. This is more that a cookbook - it is the story of growing up in Schezwan; of being Chineese. As a cookbook, it has well laid out instructions that follow the preparation pathway of Asian cuisine (first you prep for a long, long, long time, then you cook with lighting speed and no time to revisit instructions!) it also provides excellent descriptions of foodstuff that will be foreign to most western cooks; with the names spelled out in character so you can share with your grocer at the local H Mart (should you be lucky enough to have one!)

Highly recommend !

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was published in 1976, and you can definitely tell. The layout of the recipes is really awful. And just looking at the concurrent columns of ingredients and instructions made me not want to cook from this book. In addition, the substitutions for Sichuanese ingredients seemed kind of laughable. For instance, substituting tomato paste for ladouban jiang. What!?! Tomato sauce as a substitute for hot chili paste!?! I know Chinese people think our food is bland, but seriously. I don't think I'll be cooking anything in this book before I return it to the library.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just moved to China for a year and without having found this book in the Kindle store would not have been able to make head or tail of the supermarket! Thanks to the easy to follow recipes and the Mandarin names for ingredients I can now navigate my way through the aisles and turn out tasty food which makes full use of the more exotic ingredients available. Except for the live turtles.

[John Vanore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Been cooking recipes from here since I bought the original in 1978.

[Steve Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my two favorite cookbooks. I have been cooking from it for more than 25 years. My boys grew up loving some of these recipes. All I have to say is "Ants Climb a Tree" and they say Mmmm...

I just happily discovered that the ebook has been really well done. At $5 and some change, it is a steal.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great cookbook from the 70s.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful look at how far we have come in North America since 1980. Each recipe is prefaced with notes on ingredients that may be hard to find at the supermarket but may be available in ChinaTown (Really? Was fresh ginger difficult to get at a supermarket in 1980?!)

The book is full of terrific recipes and offers a lovely glimpse into Mrs. Chiang's childhood meals growing up in Szechwan.