The Oldest Chinese Cookbook, Part Two

How did China cook fourteen centuries ago? Roasts, noodles, breads, zongzi and pickles from the oldest surviving Chinese cookbook. Around the year 540, the official Jia Sixie wrote the Qimin Yaoshu 齊民要術, "Essential Techniques for the Common People," a complete guide to running a farming household in northern China. Its kitchen chapters are the oldest complete body of recipes to survive from China, with exact quantities and step-by-step methods. This volume presents Chapter Nine in full, the table of the sixth-century kitchen: a roast suckling pig whose skin is "like amber, or like true gold," lamb sausages, goose kebabs and grilled oysters; the earliest Chinese breads and noodles, from meat buns and marrow flatbreads to noodles pulled "thin as chive leaves"; zongzi and the oldest explanation of their meaning; the Cold Food porridge and the legend of Jie Zitui; vegetarian braises; more than thirty pickles and salads, the ancestors of kimchi and Japanese narazuke; and malt candies as clear as amber. At the very end come the classic recipes for glue, writing brushes and Chinese ink. This edition includes: The complete original Chinese text of all 116 entries, with a faithful new English translation Modern Kitchen notes for every entry, clearly marked Cook it today, Needs a substitute, or Read, don't cook, with honest food-safety advice Color paintings and food photographs of dishes you can cook today An introduction to Jia Sixie and the meeting of Chinese and steppe cuisines in sixth-century northern China Recipes preserved from lost books such as the Food Classic and the Order of Dishes For food historians, home cooks, lovers of Chinese culture, and anyone curious about where noodles, dumplings and pickles came from. The Imperial Kitchen Library brings the forgotten cookbooks of imperial China to English readers, one complete text at a time. Read with Book 3 for the complete kitchen chapters of the Qimin Yaoshu.