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| The Breath of a Wok: Unlocking the Spirit of Chinese Wok Cooking Through Recipes and Lore | 
 enlarge | Author: Grace Young
Creator: Alan Richardson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book
List Price: $35.00
Buy New: $21.34
You Save: $13.66 (39%)
New (29) Used (14) from $17.84
Avg. Customer Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 53596
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.3
Dimensions (in): 10.3 x 8 x 0.9
ISBN: 0743238273
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.5951
EAN: 9780743238274
ASIN: 0743238273
Publication Date: August 24, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Great Wok Book January 5, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Not only does this book tell you about the history and quality of woks, it has wonderful recipes and stories about woks and cooking with woks. A wok has a spirit related to the person using it and the food served from it. It is wonderful reading as well as a great teaching book about woks and wok cooking. I wasn't aware before I read this book that many early woks were made from cast iron.
I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in woks and wok cooking. I am a fairly accomplished cook with a large collection of cook books -- both inherited and purchased -- and I am almost anal about food and cooking techniques. I love to cook and eat. I love cooking for friends and family. This is a great book!
 Ignorant book - Wok Hei is caused by flames and chemistry October 3, 2006
21 out of 77 found this review helpful
Despite its premise, this book misrepresentes the key quality of wok cooking. Wok hei is not an emotional trait. Rather Wok hei (the "breath") is a term in Cantonese Chinese referring to the flavour, tastes, and "essence" imparted by a hot wok on the food. The word "hei" (transliteration based on Cantonese Chinese) is equivalent to "qi" (transliteration based on Mandarin Chinese).
In practical terms, the flavour imparted by chemical compounds results from caramelization and the maillard reactions that come from charring and searing of the food at very high heat in excess of 200C (approximately 400F). To impart "wok hei", the food must be cooked in a wok over a high flame while being stirred and tossed quickly, typically catching on fire. A large amount of cooking oil is often used to enhance the "wok hei". When cooked correctly, the "essence" and "liveliness" of the food comes through the flavour and is said to "have wok hei".
Skilled chefs very carefully modulate the amount of flame -- thus controlling the amount of hei. No firebursts yields dull food, but too much fire yields an excessively charred/smoked flavor.
This is impossible to achieve on an electric stove because the wok is not hot enough on the sides, and there are no flames.
Excellent, excellent, excellent June 17, 2006
15 out of 17 found this review helpful
Without a doubt, one of the best Chiinese cookbooks, period. I am a pro cook, but don't get to do a lot of oriental at work. I like to cook Chinese at home, and this is one of two books that I turn to regularly. Very well written and photographed, nicely printed.
If you do not have a wok, or are unhappy with yours, read this book before making a wok purchase, as it has a LOT of information on woks.
The only downside is that as a Chinese cookbook it concentrates mostly on stir fries, and there is little on techniques like red cooking. Since stir fries are the predominate Chinese cooking method, this is not a deal buster.
The other book I recommend is Martin Yan's Feast. I know Martin, and he says this is his best cookbook. I agree.
On note for both these books, The times given for various steps are for 'normal' residential ranges. If you have a more powerful range like a DCS or Bluestar, or a dedicated wok burner, you need to reduce the times.
A great book for those wishing to learn about wok buying and cooking May 27, 2006
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
First off, I am an American-Born Chinese. These days, a lot of young ABC's know very little about authentic Chinese cooking. This book is a good wake up call for those who have lived in America all their life. After all, those from the homeland should already be familiar with basic wok cooking and selection procedures.
The author did a great job of explaining wok selection, seasoning, and cooking techniques. I used her tips and suggestions to season the wok I bought yestserday. I am 21 years old and currently in college. With the aid of this book, I hope to improve my cooking techniques in the years to come.
Rare passion found in story telling. March 4, 2006
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
Breath of a Wok is more than just a bunch of recipe's. You will find an author who is passionate about the subject of woks and the people who use and make them. This book makes me want to gut my kitchen, set up a chinese style kitchen and just cook every meal i eat in my wok. I don't think that is the point of this book however. Young goes into details of how a wok is used in an American kitchen. The collection of recipes included in this book are from differant sources and are very usefull in a home kitchen for everyday eating. In other words you wont find ingrediants you can only get by flying to brazil, hiking six days thru a rain forest, picking fresh from a tree and then smuggling through customs in your bum like some cookbook authors seem to think every one has the luxury of doing nowadays.
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