Serves: 5

A typical Chinese meal will include several "main" dishes, with the number based on the number of diners. A meal for four, for example, calls for four dishes plus rice a meal for six, six dishes plus rice, etc. * (Each dish is placed in the center of the table and shared by all, family style. Thus, the more people, the more dishes and the greater variety within a given meal.)

This is not a hard-and-fast rule. The cook who wishes to serve fewer dishes need only increase the quantities of each dish. If she wishes to serve only one main dish, Western style, she can ad just the recipes to the amount of meat and vegetables she would normally use. (She should, however, increase the seasonings-not proportionately, but according to personal taste.)

Measurements for fresh ingredients are given after slicing, shelling, etc. Measurements for dried ingredients are given before soaking.

The amount of oil specified in stir-fry recipes may have to be adjusted according to the pan used. A wok, for example, needs less oil than a skillet.

* In Chinese restaurants, most dishes are prepared in smaller quantities. Diners, when ordering, should plan on one dish per person in addition to soup and rice.

The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook. ©1994 by Gloria Bley Miller.

More Recipes from the Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook Cookbook:
01- The Chinese Diet
02- Food as Art: A Venerable Tradition
03- Chinese Cooking: The Spirit and the Essence
04- Regional Variations: The Schools of Cooking
05- The Ingredients
06- Techniques of Chinese Cooking
07- Cutting
08- Kitchen Equipment
09- The Basics: Stock
10- The Basics: Rice
11- The Basics: Tea
12- A Note on Quantities