About The Author
Shiao-jang Kung was born in Taiwan, and grew up learning traditional Chinese cooking from both her mother, a native of southern Taiwan, and father, a native of Sichuan Province, China, whose parents operated a noodle shop near Suining. She now lives in the United States.
Her philosophy toward cooking can be summed up as follows:
- Every meal should be balanced with all kinds of veggies, protein and starch.
- Take whatever healthy ingredients you can find, and squeeze them into the pot.
- Do not spend a lot of time chopping.
- Don’t worry about measurements. It’s not fun to cook when you’re paranoid about how much of a certain ingredient to add, or you start to sweat because the bottle of soy sauce is almost empty. A little variation is fine, and if you want to add more garlic, cut down on the salt, or otherwise alter the flavor to suit your own tastes — go ahead!
- Substitute ingredients, as needed. No scallions? No problem — just add onions instead!
- Meat doesn’t need to be browned. In fact, one of the recipes used in this book uses completely frozen chicken, dumped into the pot!
In general, the goal is to stay healthy — and not be overwhelmed! In addition, restaurant or take-out Chinese food often has a bad reputation for being too greasy or loaded with MSG. You will be relieved to know that all of the recipes in Easy Chinese Recipes In 30 Minutes use fresh vegetables, meat, and seafood, and there is no MSG or deep-frying involved.
All of the home-style dishes in Easy Chinese Recipes In 30 Minutes are original family recipes, adapted to ingredients that can be bought in Western supermarkets.