The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen: mastering the cuisine goes beyond simply learning the techniques

Grace Young’s first lessons in traditional Chinese cuisine did not come in a formal classroom setting. Instead, the cookbook author, food writer and cooking instructor learned about Chinese food through everyday life with her parents in the United States.

In the introduction to her book, The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen (1999), Young writes, “In Chinese cooking, every ingredient and dish is imbued with its own brilliance and lore. When I was a young girl growing up in a traditional Chinese home in San Francisco, this knowledge was passed on to me through a lifetime of meals, conversations, celebrations and rituals. I felt every food we ate in our home had a story […]

“Early on, my brother Douglas and I observed that the principles of yin and yang – a balance of opposites – were integrated into our everyday fare. For example, vegetables considered cooling, such as bean sprouts, were stir-fried with ginger, which is warming. Or stir-fried and deep-fat fried dishes were eaten with poached or steamed dishes in the same meal to offset the fatty qualities of the fried dishes. After a rich meal special nourishing soups were served to restore balance in the body […]

“Like many first-generation Americans, I didn’t give my culinary heritage much thought until I was well into adulthood. Growing up in San Francisco, I ate Cantonese homestyle food every day. These were not dishes found on restaurant menus, but rich, savoury dishes with pure, simple flavours that are the hallmark of a home cook.”

It wasn’t until Young began working professionally as a recipe developer that she became aware there was a lot she didn’t know. “As I began to record my family’s recipes, I realised there were huge gaps in my knowledge, having learned Chinese cooking only through casual observations and not from formal study.