A Tradition of Soup: Flavors from China's Pearl River Delta

I really love this book! It is so beautiful, and the descriptions are very informative. I have always been interested not only in the flavor and taste of ingredients I cook with, but the holistic healing aspect of them - and this book addresses both.I also like that the book has different foods for different seasons. Some recipes are more complicated than others, but you can definitely find easier ones to start with. Some are SUPER easy, like mung bean soup - what a healthy, easy snack to make in the summer! I would say this cookbook is for chefs of all levels - some easy, some more challenging recipes. I would probably rate myself somewhere in the middle.I haven't researched what the market is like for books like this, but it seems pretty unique.My colleague introduced this book to me and I'm so glad she did!

The book is excellent. Soups and ingredients are well photographed, precise explanations are given, cooking methods are well detailed and the reasons why soups are to be consumed are included. This book illustrates food is medicine very well. This is the best addition to my Chinese cooking library. Born and raised in America you can miss the nuances and subtleties of your family culture because of lack of exposure. No aunties or grandmas to guide, teach and explain the whys and wherefores can leave you in a cultural no man's land.

A little historical perspective, personal anecdotes, and great soup recipes. Sections on ingredients and Chinese medicine are useful. A nice addition for someone interested in "healing" soups. Invaluable to 2nd and 3rd generation Cantonese people who want to reconnect with tradition and want to recreate the soups they remember Grandma used to make.

It's very thorough in introducing the food ingredients and method of cooking.Even though I'm not totally thrilled by the long chapters about the history andculture of the pearl river valley, I'm happy that it includes almost every typeof soup and congee dishes in Chinese cuisine. My favorite part is the sweetporridge and dumplings. Those are my favorite treats and the recipes are noteasy to find elsewhere. The author is very good in covering all kinds ofinterest in soup dishes and local favorite.It has a chapter introducing Chinese herbs, very interesting and useful if youlike to cook tonic soups for special population such as pregnant women,high blood pressure patients, etc..

My wife loves this book. She is Chinese-American, and grew up drinking her mom's homemade soup. But because her mom didn't know English names for many of the ingredients, she could never duplicate her mom's soup. This book explains things very well, and includes great pictures. There is no more guessing on the ingredients, as there is an encyclopedia section explaining each ingredient with pictures.The recipes are very traditional, so be prepared for a lot of roots, tree bark, and Chinese herbs, but the end result is well-explained recipes for a variety of soups the Chinese believe promote health and happiness.

This book has recipes for many of the classic Cantonese-style herbal soups that Mom used to make. I especially like that it provides a list of common soup ingredients along with photos and their English and Chinese names. I never knew what I had been drinking all these years until I got this book! The author also explains the healing properties of soups according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) principles.

Perfect book for Chinese Americans/Canadians who grew up with traditional soups and want authentic recipes in English. My mom passed away before I could get her recipes and this helped fill in some of the gaps. This is my favourite cookbook for authentic Chinese recipes. I've tried these soups out on my dad and he approves.

I cook a lot of Chinese food, especially soups. After reviewing this book through the library's copy, I decided to purchase it for myself. The book is written well with great pictures. Recipes are very authentic and not intimidating.

Excellent, I didn't expect it to have so much variety and the pictures are excellent. They split the soups by seasons, vegetarian or not, medicinal, exotic soups. It also introduces the common ingredients in the first few sections with names in english, pinyin, and cantonese pinyin. Really helpful for me to learn to read more characters.I'm very excited to try many of the soups out; it is a great guide especially for someone not living with the family anymore and sometimes forgetting exactly what might have gone into what soup. I'll probably try some out and combine the ideas with what my family has made in the past, but obviously the ingredients here should be followed to follow the traditional flavours.

Este libro me encanta. Tengo que reconocer que tiene ingredientes dificiles de encontrar y recetas realmente peculiares. Pero es un gran trabajo de recopilacion de recetas tradicionales auténticas en donde se habla directamente con las personas que por tradicion han hecho esas sopas en su familia. Muy específico, pero muy bien hecho.

Beautifully organized. Well written. A perfect intro to TCM as well as delicious soups. A rare attention to detail and editing.

Very well written with helpful ingredients overview. I tried a number of recipes for the meal type of soups and had no problems.

you are getting older when soups become interesting. its a terrible thing.Wanna try your hand?