Exploring China : A Culinary Adventure

Ken and Ching cook their way across China to create a definitive, modern classic of a cookbook on the world’s most popular cuisine.
Ken and Ching have transformed the way we cook and eat Chinese food. In this exciting new book, they journey through China on a culinary and cultural odyssey to find the old, the new and the unexpected.

China’s emergence as one of the world’s most influential cultures has ignited our interest in this enigmatic country, but Ken and Ching also have their own quests to explore. They arrive in Beijing to explore the influences of the West on traditional Imperial cuisine and talk to cutting-edge chefs about their take on Peking Duck.

They cook with local families, en route to discover the influence of Buddhism on vegetarian food and whether the Chinese did actually invent tortellini in remote Kashgar before travelling to Sichuan Province, China’s gastronomic capital.

But this is more than a culinary journey, this is a homecoming for Ken and Ching, and they make their own pilgrimages to Guangdong and Fujian to discover their personal and culinary roots.

Ching admires Ken’s experience and knowledge, while Ken respects Ching’s modern influences. Together they bring a unique and authoritative perspective on Chinese food that will surprise and inform.

About the Author

Ken Hom was born in Tucson, Arizona after his Cantonese parents left China after World War II. He is an internationally regarded authority on Chinese and Oriental cooking, has 28 years’ experience as a television chef and has written over 30 cookery books. In 2008 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Oxford Brookes University and in 2009 was awarded an honorary OBE for ‘services to the culinary arts’. Ching-He Huang was born in Taiwan and is a self-taught and passionate cook, and an ambassador for easy, healthy Chinese cooking. Her ancestors emigrated from the Fujian province in China to Taiwan during the Ming Dynasty. Ching’s dynamic approach to modern, healthy Chinese food has seen her present such series as Chinese Food Made Easy on BBC2, Ching’s Kitchen, Ching’s Chinese Food in Minutes and Easy Chinese in the US, which have been seen around the world. She has published a number of cookery books, including the bestselling BBC title Chinese Food Made Easy, China Modern, Chinese Food in Minutes and Ching’s Fast Food.