From the inspiration of a 5,000-year-old culture comes The New Classic Chinese Cookbook. Mai Leung Thayer's original Classic Chinese Cookbook earned her a reputation as one of the most admired chefs of Chinese cuisine in America." Now as the world turns toward the new face of China, Mai Leung brings to us an extensively revised edition of this classic. Here you will find dozens of new recipes, including an amazingly enticing and richly authentic chapter on dim sum, and an added section on tofu and vegetables.She presents more than 200 carefully detailed recipes which represent the best-loved dishes from Peking, Szechwan, Hunan, Canton, Fukien and Kiangsu. Many of the recipes in The New Classic Chinese Cookbook introduce Chinese ingredients which have only recently become available in the West. Mrs. Thayer, attentive to modern dietary concerns, adapts many recipes which previously called for flying in oil, to steaming techniques, substituting less meaty and fatty ingredients in sumptuous dishes which lose none of their flavor while gaining in healthfulness.Mai Leung Thayer is famous for making even the most complex and subtle cooking techniques easy for the amateur to understand and practice. Her recipes are always clear and concise, taking the cook step-by-step through the experience of preparing authentic Chinese dishes. A teacher of Chinese history and philosophy, Mai Leung also tells the reader the story behind the recipes. She describes Chinese history, past and current, and delves into the background and mythology of particular foods.