Chinese Food Made Easy by Ross Dobson
Chinese Food Made Easy by Ross Dobson
A cookbook to demystify Chinese cooking
Chinese food is one of the great loves of my life. Ask my husband what I’d spend all our money on if I could, and he’d say dim sum. But as much as I enjoy eating Chinese food, I don’t know much about cooking it. So, when I saw the title of my latest cookbook – Chinese Food Made Easy by Ross Dobson – I knew I was going to have to take it home with me.
Ross Dobson uses his latest cookbook, Chinese Food Made Easy, to really explore what it means to talk about Chinese food. In the West, a lot of what we know as Chinese food is more specifically Cantonese food, mainly from Hong Kong.
But there’s a whole range of other Chinese food traditions we don’t see much of. Dobson charts these culinary meccas in a useful map, which begins in Hong Kong with Cantonese food, then journeys to Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Anhui, Hunan, and Szechuan. His cookbook has a brilliant map, and annotations about how the food varies as you travel through China.
Dobson then briefly talks about pantry staples and key ingredients, before diving into the recipes. You’ll find most ingredients in a big grocery store, but may have to go to a Chinese supermarket for a couple of things like Chinese vinegar and bamboo shoots. Or you could just do without/make a substitute. Whatever works for you.
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What are the recipes like in Chinese Food Made Easy by Ross Dobson?
Dobson’s cookbook is broken down into various recipes, from starters and soups through to sweets. He has a great selection of smaller dishes to try at home, including sui mai dumplings and prawn spring rolls. Then there are the fish, meat and side dishes, as well as rice and noodles.
What’s great about Chinese Food Made Easy is how simply the recipes are laid out. Although some of them can be quite detailed, in keeping with how they’d traditionally be made, you can also tell that Dobson’s done his best to be concise. Which is something I really like in a cookbook.
I also enjoy how each recipe has a picture to go alongside it, which is especially useful for the lesser-known dishes. And the photography is beautiful too.
What’s more, there are also two-page spreads with illustrated instructions on how to do certain things. One shows you how to use a Chinese cleaver to chop a whole chicken. Another tells you all about making Chinese tea.
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Hot and sour soup recipe
I’m a sucker for a tangy Asian soup, and although there isn’t a recipe for Tom Yum, there is one for hot and sour soup. That’ll do.
I flick to it on a Monday lunchtime, needing something quick but delicious to eat in my one-hour lunch break. It takes me just 10 minutes to cook the soup from start to finish, and has my tastebuds tingling.
Who knew you could make something so delicious by combining chicken stock, fresh tomatoes, and Chinese vinegar? I also like the addition of mushrooms and tofu, which add a necessary heft to an otherwise light dish.
Stir-fried beef and broccoli with oyster sauce recipe
Chinese Food Made Easy is filled with chicken and meat main dishes, so there’s lots to choose from when you’re flicking through.
I’m a big fan of oyster sauce with beef, so I set about making Dobson’s stir-fried beef with broccoli. It’s a friendly sort of recipe, with just a few short sentences telling you what to do, and less than a handful of ingredients.
I love how little faff there is in making this, but next time round I’d use a lot more of the liquid ingredients. I was expecting a wetter, juicier dish, but instead it’s turned out on the drier side. I’d also be tempted to double the garlic to amp up the flavour. It’s a recipe I’ll try making a second time with a couple of tweaks.
Sesame noodles with garlic chives and bean sprouts recipe
I have a confession to make. I don’t know what a garlic chive is, or where I’d even begin to look to find one. Not to be put off, I still plough on ahead and make these sesame noodles, subbing with spring onions. And the result is perfectly fine :)
Although it’s a very tasty dish, these are dry noodles, so you’ll need a saucier main to eat them with. Or just add a bit more soy sauce and some of the noodle cooking water.
Vegetarian fried rice recipe
This dish is the answer to the age-old question of what you should do with leftover rice. Well, if I’m honest there’s never much leftover rice happening in my house. It always gets eaten. But this time I make a concerted effort to make too much rice and am rewarded the next day in the form of this veggie fried rice.
And it’s another easy dish to make. There are again just a handful of ingredients, all readily available at your local grocery store. With the minimum amount of effort, I’m able to whip up a Chinese lunch in just 15 minutes. Result!
Overall thought on Chinese Food Made Easy by Ross Dobson
Perhaps unfairly for my readers, this week I’ve chosen a couple of the easier dishes to make. But then I thought about it and concluded that everyone is probably strapped for time. And that I’d do a better job making things that come naturally to me. Which are those quick, no-fuss meals.
In that respect, Ross Dobson has put together a great cookbook. Chinese Food Made Easy really does show you an easier way to make Chinese food. And I can’t wait to make even more meals from it.
Buy Chinese Food Made Easy by Ross Dobson.
Have you tried Chinese Food Made Easy by Ross Dobson? Do you have any favourite recipes? Let us know :)
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Rainbow Dim Sum at Baozi Inn, Soho
