I bought this book for recipes that I rarely see at a restaurant but are often found in home kitchens. While variations of these foods can be found in a good Chinese grocery or at specialized eateries in Chinese enclaves, these fascimilies often can't compare to the real thing. Most of these simple foods are ones that my grandmother used to cook as an everyday meal or health restorative. Some are elaborate preparations done for special holidays. The author takes care to point out the fusion dishes, so you know they are a product of migration and won't be found in the motherland. If you read Amazon reviews of the book, there are countless comments from disenfranchised Asian Americans going as rabid over these dishes as Proust with a madeleine. The book is light on technique but well organized with decent results. Young has a passion for reviving the tradition of cooking within the Chinese diaspora, those barely fluent, well-assimilated black sheep who went on to marry "foreigners". Anglo audiences will likely find her wok cooking books more accessible. Familiarity with ingredients will likely help. When I search for ethnic cuisine books, this kind of homey authenticity is what I'm hoping for.

An Invitation to Indian Cooking - Madhur Jaffrey
The instructions in this book are detailed but sometimes confusing as they are narratively structured and dense. The flavor results, however, are usually above other indian food cookbooks that I've come across, especially in balance. Once I started to understand the basic steps of marination, grilling meats, making pastes, and roasting or blooming spices, braising, and then adding flavoring spices or oil, this cuisine started to make more sense. When I look up new recipes online, I apply these techniques to the ingredient list and the final product is usually better for it. I ought to try some of Jaffrey's other books as well Sahni.

New Best Recipes - Cook's Illustrated
For great American recipes and basic western cooking techniques, this is the book to go to. The explainations and tips are wonderful, with simply organized (occasionally fussy for no good reason), clear and workable recipes. The ethnic dishes are somewhat lacking however, with flavors that are less complex and interesting than they should be. These Asian, South American, Italian or what-have-you recipes have servicable enough directions (that I sometimes incorporate in other dishes), but result in gateway cuisine that is unlikely to astound anyone. Stick to the more familiar items and you can't go wrong.

MAFC - Julia Child
Written in a friendly and exacting voice, MAFC is like having chef/mentor standing beside you in the kitchen telling you what to do next. The extra steps may seem fussy, but by following them, I came to understand how they related to increased flavor at the end. This book beats all others in organization, with a comprehensive index, accurate cross referencing and a 2 column layout which I find personally superior to most texts.

Japanese Food: A simple Art Shizuo Tsuji
This bible covers most everything you might want to cook, from grilled meats to donburi. The flavors in this book are simple (though soy heavy to my taste, although it could be the brand I use) and relies very heavily on good product ie very fresh vegetables, seafood and meat. Make an effort to find them. I appreciate the detailed instructions and in particular the illustrations, which are very exacting. There is diagram of where to set up your bowls of ingredients for making tempura most efficiently. Very Japanese.

I have a feeling that if I ever got around to finally buying a copy of my own, any of Lidia Bastianich's books would be in the top ten.