quick and easy

I give Ken Hom's Quick Wok only four stars because it is a good book, but one should think twice before buying it.

A major warning sign is that it is a thin, oversize format book with lots of pictures and half the content for two thirds of the price of a 'full size' cookbook. This consideration can be nullified by the fact that the book's contents are much better than the run of the mill oversize picture book if that were the whole story. A second consideration is that Ken Hom has a similar oversized many pictured book published at roughly the same time by Dorling Kindersley (DK) entitled 'Foolproof Chinese Cooking'. This book is superior to the 'Quick Wok' in many ways. First, the 'Foolproof' book gives much more detailed recipe instructions and the many pictures are specifically dedicated to assisting in the communication of the recipe steps. Second, much of the introductory material in 'Quick Wok' is duplicated in 'Foolproof'. Thus, if one were interested simply in a good introductory book on Chinese cooking, the 'Foolproof' book would be the one to choose.

There are some reasons to own both books. The 'Quick Wok' book focuses not only on recipes done in a wok, but also recipes which are fast even by the standards of wok cooking, which are normally as fast or faster than a sauté in French style cooking. Another reason to consider this book is that wok cooking is not all about stir-frying. It includes deep-frying and steaming and the book even includes some dessert recipes done by steaming.

The major chapters on recipes in this book are:

Starters and appetizers
Soups
Fish and shellfish
Poultry
Meat
Vegetables
Noodles and rice
Desserts

Unlike the 'Foolproof' book, the table of contents does not list the names of all dishes. Another strike against it.

There are two other observations, which may weigh on whether this is the book for you. First, since the theme of the book is fast cooking, there are a large number of prawn recipes, since these cook extremely fast. If you are not fond of shrimp, you may want to consider this. Second, while the pitch of the book is speed, I question some of the prep timings. I'm sure a professional chef can prep seven vegetables in 20 minutes, but I can't. I also discount the claim of fast cooking when the recipe involves a long marinade. That immediately discounts the recipe as suitable for a quick after work preparation.

There are tips in the back of the book on entertaining and menus, which have the feed of something being copied from some other work. They all appear to be common sense. I would go to Martha Stewart for more detailed recommendations. The photography and food styling are competent, but not up to the quality one would expect in an oversize format with lots of pictures.

The author has a great reputation in his field, but this is by no means his best effort. I recommend the contents of this book, but give some alternatives some thought as well.

I give Ken Hom's Quick Wok only four stars because it is a good book, but one should think twice before buying it.

A major warning sign is that it is a thin, oversize format book with lots of pictures and half the content for two thirds of the price of a 'full size' cookbook. This consideration can be nullified by the fact that the book's contents are much better than the run of the mill oversize picture book if that were the whole story. A second consideration is that Ken Hom has a similar oversized many pictured book published at roughly the same time by Dorling Kindersley (DK) entitled 'Foolproof Chinese Cooking'. This book is superior to the 'Quick Wok' in many ways. First, the 'Foolproof' book gives much more detailed recipe instructions and the many pictures are specifically dedicated to assisting in the communication of the recipe steps. Second, much of the introductory material in 'Quick Wok' is duplicated in 'Foolproof'. Thus, if one were interested simply in a good introductory book on Chinese cooking, the 'Foolproof' book would be the one to choose.

There are some reasons to own both books. The 'Quick Wok' book focuses not only on recipes done in a wok, but also recipes which are fast even by the standards of wok cooking, which are normally as fast or faster than a sauté in French style cooking. Another reason to consider this book is that wok cooking is not all about stir-frying. It includes deep-frying and steaming and the book even includes some dessert recipes done by steaming.

The major chapters on recipes in this book are:

Starters and appetizers
Soups
Fish and shellfish
Poultry
Meat
Vegetables
Noodles and rice
Desserts

Unlike the 'Foolproof' book, the table of contents does not list the names of all dishes. Another strike against it.

There are two other observations, which may weigh on whether this is the book for you. First, since the theme of the book is fast cooking, there are a large number of prawn recipes, since these cook extremely fast. If you are not fond of shrimp, you may want to consider this. Second, while the pitch of the book is speed, I question some of the prep timings. I'm sure a professional chef can prep seven vegetables in 20 minutes, but I can't. I also discount the claim of fast cooking when the recipe involves a long marinade. That immediately discounts the recipe as suitable for a quick after work preparation.

There are tips in the back of the book on entertaining and menus, which have the feel of something being copied from some other work. They all appear to be common sense. I would go to Martha Stewart for more detailed recommendations. The photography and food styling are competent, but not up to the quality one would expect in an oversize format with lots of pictures.

The author has a great reputation in his field, but this is by no means his best effort. I recommend the contents of this book,especially if fast recipes are your major interest, but give some alternatives some thought as well.

I bought this book looking to start trying some new Asian recipes. I had looked at a number of other books, but this was appealing for two major reasons:
1) Nothing required absurd amounts of prep time;
2) It has a variety of different recipes -- it's not just Chinese, Thai, etc.
It works on both fronts.

If you're totally new to Asian cooking or are looking to broaden your horizons, there's a lot of good information early in the book about types of ingredients you'll use (broken down into smaller categories such as sauces, spices, etc.) and a brief discussion of them. There's also information (short) on cooking techniques, equipment needed, etc.

If you're looking to do these recipes exactly, you may need to find an Asian market where you can get some things; many recipes call for Shaoxing rice wine and two types of soy sauce. The only place I was able to find these were at an Asian market - I tried every other grocery store around me before finding them there.

Finally, the recipes are great. My favorite so far is pineapple pork -- like most of the recipes, it takes only a couple minutes to prepare and tastes great.