Brimming with lavish photography, this book is organized as a series of lessons which expand your abilities in logical increments. Many of the recipes and techniques mirror those found in Kuo's classic (and sadly out of print) "Key To Chinese Cooking," and while the latter has a broader range of preparations, the slightly narrower focus of this book may make it preferable as a (still surprisingly thorough) introduction to the cuisine.

You come away from the book with a better understanding of the tools, the ingredients, and most importantly, the principles of Chinese cooking - while I think a survey course in any subject as wide ranging as this will inevitably suffer certain weaknesses, this is probably the best available all-in-one Chinese cookbook in English I've encountered. This is not simply a reference - cooking your way through each section with devoted study will reap many rewards. That said, I am more likely to incorporate Fuchsia Dunlop's or Grace Young's ideas into my every-day preparations. ( )