By Manos Angelakis

“Feeding the Dragon” is the title of the decade-long adventure of  a twentysomething brother and sister writing and photographing team. Nate and Mary Kate Tate explored China on train, cart, bicycle  and foot, to meet and befriend the real people of that vast and distant land and first hand discover their culture and culinary peculiarities and bring the information and, more importantly  recipes and cooking techniques, back to the US.

They collected these savory recipes and images of the dishes, as well as photos of the people preparing them, by cooking with individuals in family kitchens, in restaurants and street food stalls, in bakeries and monasteries. The stories, photos and recipes cover nine provinces, from Beijing, Honk Kong and Macao to Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Hunan, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Fujian and Shanghai.

Many of this writer’s favorite Chinese dishes, like spicy Sichuan Green Beans, Chicken (or for authenticity, Pigeon) in Lettuce Cups, and Vanilla Custard Cups are included, as well as more esoteric preparations such as Tibetan Tsampa with Tomato Chutney Sauce and Polo Carrot Rice from Uighur. And all the recipes are prefaced by very interesting tales about the people and places associated with this exotic fare.

For more on China from the Tates http://www.feedingthedragon.com

© November 2011 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.