Chinese Recipes

''Chinese recipes by Nellie C. Wong'' is a cookbook written in the early 20th century. It presents practical Chinese home cooking for everyday tables, emphasizing staple seasonings like soy bean sauce and ginger and featuring distinctive vegetables such as mushrooms, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots. The book opens with notes on ingredients, oils, and portions, then gives clear, brief recipes organized by dish type. It covers tea and soups, the proper way to cook rice and reuse leftovers, and many seafood preparations (notably several shrimp dishes, plus sweet-and-sour fish, fish balls, and pineapple fish). Meat and vegetable dishes include broiled pork, bean sprouts with pork, spring rolls, cabbage rolls, meat custard, chicken with corn or walnuts, stuffed mushrooms, tomato-and-egg (Wang Shih), and string beans. There is a noodle centerpiece in almond chow mein and two desserts—sweet potato balls and a “precious pudding” of rice, barley, and candied fruits—finished with a simple lemon syrup. Techniques center on quick stir-frying, steaming, and deep-frying, with frequent use of soy sauce, ginger, and cornstarch for light gravies.