A Sneak Peek Into Authentic Chinese Cooking From 'Feeding The Dragon'

Here at KitchenDaily we constantly scour new cookbooks for great recipes -- so when we find books we love, we're eager to share them with you. Our latest favorite focuses on authentic Chinese recipes that are easy to replicate at home.

Chinese food is more than just a take-out order of sesame chicken -- there's an entire world of Chinese food very different from what we know. In the cookbook and travelogue Feeding the Dragon, brother and sister Nate and Mary Kate Tate seek to uncover the different and very unique cuisines of China. Over the past 10 years (at first, Nate thought it would only take one year for the book) the two have traveled throughout the country looking for classic and characteristic foods. On their journey they discovered more than just that -- they were also humbled by the warmth they received from the Chinese people, many of whom allowed them to step into their own homes and restaurants to show the siblings how they cook.

The book covers nine major regions in China: Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Macau, Fujian, Sichuan, Yunnan, Tibet and Xinjiang. Unsurprisingly, each region has its own customs, cuisine, and even language. Hong Kong is known for its British influence. Neighboring Macau was once a Portuguese colony, which resulted in a unique fusion cuisine (think chorizo in fried rice). And mountainous Tibet, a Chinese controlled territory, is known for its very basic cuisine, which incorporates yak or yak products, such as butter, into almost every meal.

Below find recipes taken directly from the book. There's a recipe for each of the nine regions Nate and Mary Kate traveled to.

Purchase Feeding the Dragon: A Culinary Travelogue Through China with Recipes