Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge: The Ultimate Guide to Mastery, with Authentic Recipes and Stories by Grace Young

Notes about this Book

Notes about Recipes in this Book

• Stir-fried beef and broccoli

  • Jane on November 15, 2011

    This has become the house stir fry. Just a wonderful mix of flavors that seem to work with any protein/vegetable combination. While prepping for dinner last night, it became clear that my oyster sauce was history. (Guess it needed to refrigerated!) Substituted Kecap Manis to great effect.

  • Breadcrumbs on January 04, 2011

    p. 89 - looks dee-lish!

  • sarahcooks on September 30, 2010

    I really loved this dish, it had a ton of flavor and the beef turned out so tender, I'm no longer afraid of stir frying beef! It was really good over chinese noodles and I will definitely be making it again.

  • foolcontrol on March 21, 2012

    This is really, really good. I love it.

• Stir-fried chicken with carrots and mushrooms

  • Cheri on November 21, 2010

    Used chicken breasts instead. Added minced ginger & garlic to corn starch and soy sauce marinade to chicken. Also added yellow squash, carrots, cremini and peanuts. Very Good.

• Hong Kong–style silky stir-fried minced beef

  • Breadcrumbs on January 04, 2011

    p. 99 - Recipe sounds good but process of hand mincing beef to 1/4 inch cubes seems a bit too laborious for me.

• Hot pepper beef

  • Breadcrumbs on January 04, 2011

    p. 85 - Looks tasty, easy and uses on-hand ingredients.

• Peppery vegetarian rice

  • Breadcrumbs on January 07, 2011

    p. 256 - It was the unusual addition of toasted pine nuts that attracted me to this recipe and though I’ve never seen them in a Chinese dish before, they really were a nice addition. Though Mr bc isn’t a fan of ginger, he loved this rice and even had second helpings. We’d definitely make this again and the only change I’d make would be to add some garlic as well next time. A few notes on some changes I made. I didn’t have any brown rice on hand so white rice was used and, I pre-cooked it the night before. Also, since I had some leftover pre-washed, julienned carrots on hand, I chopped those instead of a cup of carrot in 1/4 inch dice. The peppery aspect of this dish comes from the addition of 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes. Since our chicken dish wasn’t at all spicy, I decided to boost the heat here and used 1/2 tsp. of flakes instead. We did taste the dish prior to the addition and neither one of us would describe it as Peppery before adding the extra chilies.

• Minced pork in lettuce cups

  • Breadcrumbs on January 11, 2011

    p. 82 - We really liked this and would definitely make it again, even serve it to guests, but, and I must note this, in our view, it did need a flavor boost and I served the wraps with a dipping sauce that I make for gyoza that really did the trick. Though Young calls for dried shitakes, I had fresh so I used those. I have also found her recipes to contain more salt than we are accustomed to so I also omit any salt as we find the saltiness from the soy to be adequate. I also used a 50/50 blend of ground chicken and ground pork. The jalapeno didn’t bring enough heat for our tastes and, I had doubled the quantity. Once we drizzled the wraps w the dipping sauce, they were wonderful. Just enough sauce and heat. We loved them.

• Chinese American shrimp with lobster sauce

  • Breadcrumbs on January 11, 2011

    p. 179 - This was a totally new one for us. Maybe its because we’re Canadian but we’ve never heard of this dish before, there isn’t a Chinese-Canadian version! Since there wasn’t a photo in the book, I Googled the dish before preparing it just to see what I was aiming for. In the end, this wasn’t a beautiful dish but it sure was tasty. If I’d tried, I couldn’t have imagined this dish but boy did we enjoy it!! The shrimp were sweet and played beautifully with the heat of the chilies and the silkiness of the egg-infused sauce.

• Chinese Jamaican jerk chicken fried rice

  • Breadcrumbs on January 12, 2011

    p. 262 - I prepared the dish as Young suggests and, after tasting the rice, decided to add some of the marinade I’d reserved to give the dish a little bolder flavor. This especially brought out the fresh flavor of the lime and spiced it up a bit. We really enjoyed this dish for its Caribbean-influenced flavors. I even used the allspice and pepper flakes that I picked up on my last trip to Jamaica! Since this is a super-quick and simple weeknight dish if you roast the chicken in advance, I’ll definitely be making this again.

• Stir-fried napa cabbage with prosciutto

  • Breadcrumbs on January 12, 2011

    p. 199 - The market didn’t have Napa but I already had my Prosciutto so I picked up Savoy cabbage instead and carried on. I tasted the dish and found it to be . . . meh! I ended up drizzling in a bit of black vinegar and, voila, a much perkier dish suited to our tastes. With that modification, I’ll make this again.

• Classic dry-fried pepper and salt shrimp

  • Breadcrumbs on January 19, 2011

    p. 166 - We loved this dish. This is one of my favourites to eat in Chinatown and I’ve avoided making it at home until now for fear it wouldn’t be as good. Well, if we do say so ourselves, tonight we came pretty darn close to replicating it thanks to Grace Young! Based on the simplicity of ingredients and, cooking method, the only thing I can think of that helped make this dish restaurant-quality was the technique of soaking the shrimp in salt water, twice. I’ve definitely never done this before and even considered skipping the process here but since it was two quick soaks- 30 seconds each time I figured I’d give it a shot. The result was succulent shrimp that really popped when you bit into them. Superb!! 9k

• Stir-fried bean sprouts with chili bean sauce

  • Breadcrumbs on January 19, 2011

    p. 200 - Startlingly simple but truly tasty, these were a hot hit! My prep was further simplified by purchasing a bag of pre-washed, julienned carrots at the market. We just loved the crunchiness of this dish. So few ingredients yet such big flavors. We especially liked the hint of nuttiness that the sesame oil brought to the party and the significant heat that the chili bean sauce imparts. I’d definitely make this again for its flavor and, ease of preparation.

• Sichuan pork with peppers and peanuts

  • Breadcrumbs on January 19, 2011

    p. 95 - This is a quick dish to pull together. Pork is cubed and marinated in a mixture of egg whites, rice wine, cornstarch, minced garlic, sugar, pepper and salt is intended but I didn’t use. Mis-en-place also includes a sauce of soy, vinegar and rice wine. A little variation on Young’s typical recipe prep pattern in this one. Meat is added in addition to, but after the red onion and sliced garlic are sauteed. Then the usual pattern continues, meat sits undisturbed for 1 min. then is quickly stir-fried to sear on all sides but not cook through. In this case, chili bean sauce is added during this process. Meat is then removed from pan to make way for a quick softening of the peppers then is added back in to finish cooking along w the sauce and finally, the peanuts. Our pork was tender and flavorful but I would have liked a bit more heat so would increase the chili paste next time around. k9

• Chinese Indian chicken Manchurian

  • Breadcrumbs on January 25, 2011

    p. 142 - What this dish lacks in beauty, it more than makes up for in flavour. Looking for a quick and flavourful weeknight dish, look no further. Maximum flavours for minimum effort, this was a real winner at our house. Simple, delicious and surprisingly flavourful. The chicken was melt-in-your-mouth tender and we had the perfect amount of heat from the 2 chilis. Grace Young commented on my review of this dish in Chowhound.

  • sarahcooks on February 18, 2012

    This is a saucier dish than most of the recipes in the book. It has good flavor, but I think I should have put in more cilantro as for some reason it didn't come through as much as I expected. I used four very small thai chilies cut in half and there was just a very slight amount of heat. My 2 year old was able to eat it no problem, but my husband ate one accidentally and needed to be excused from the table ;)

• Beef chow fun

  • Breadcrumbs on January 26, 2011

    p. 269 -I craved this dish the moment I saw the photo in the book and even made a special trip to Chinatown to get the rice noodles. I’m happy to report that it didn’t disappoint. We thoroughly enjoyed the Beef Chow Fun and I’d definitely make it again. Despite the fact that it looked potentially complex, it was surprisingly simple to make. Noodles are purchased fresh and in a block so to speak. Sheets of noodles are folded together. Young has you cut the slab cross-wise in 1/2 inch wide strips. Thanks to a tip I knew to microwave the noodles for one minute on high to soften them a little and, assist in separating them. This was a little time consuming, as there were a number of layers in my block of noodles.The resulting dish is delicious. The noodles are tender, a little glutinous, a little crispy and a lot tasty! The beef was tender and flavourful and the bean sprouts rounded out the dish with their predictable crunch and nuttiness. This was a hit for us.

• Stir-fried lettuce with garlic chili

  • Breadcrumbs on January 30, 2011

    p. 195 - We really enjoyed this. Delicious, surprisingly good, refreshing dish that we’d definitely have again. Romaine lettuce is sliced at one inch intervals. A sauce of chicken broth, soy and rice wine is mixed together. Oil is heated then minced garlic and jalapeno are added and stir-fried until fragrant. I upped the ante and used 1tbsp vs 1tsp of jalapeno. Romaine is added and stirred until slightly wilted then the sauce is stirred in. Stirring continues for about a minute longer until lettuce is tender and bright green. Super-simple dish that delivers on taste and texture. Loved it.

• Chinese Jamaican stir-fried chicken with chayote

  • Breadcrumbs on January 30, 2011

    p. 133 - This fusion dish had early appeal for me and I was delighted to find some beautiful Chayote at the market this week so this dish was a must. Definitely did not disappoint, we really liked this unique, flavourful chicken. The final dish is so flavourful the Pickapeppa adds a richness that isn’t normally achieved in such a quick cooking process. We really loved this dish. There’s none left! We'll definitely make this again.

• Chinese Cuban fried rice

  • Breadcrumbs on January 30, 2011

    p. 264 - This is another one I’d eyed early on but had put off making because I couldn’t find bay shrimp. In the end, I decided proceed using baby shrimp and I’m glad I did, we really liked this fried rice. A couple of other changes worth noting: I used brown rice and, since neither of the protein dishes had any heat, I couldn’t help myself and added 3 slivered Thai bird chilis to this dish. Totally delicious. I think it was the use of dark soy that really sold us on this dish. It worked well w our proteins and, we loved the subtle heat that our Thai bird chilis added. I’ll add this to our rotation.

• Stir-fried hoisin pork with peppers

  • Breadcrumbs on January 30, 2011

    p. 94 - Yum, yum, yum! Prep is quick and simple, and a tasty dinner comes together in a flash. The pork was tender, juicy and flavourful. The sweetness of the peppers was balanced by the final addition of the rice vinegar which served to just brighten all the flavours and somehow, round out the dish. We really liked this dish and will definitely have it again.

  • sarahcooks on September 30, 2010

    We thought this was less flavorful than a lot of the other recipes in the book, though I did like the addition of vinegar at the end. It was quick to make.

• Chinese Burmese chili chicken

  • Breadcrumbs on February 01, 2011

    p. 140 - Another interesting fusion dish from Ms. Young. This one has bold flavours that really pop, its one of those dishes that warms you up inside because of deep flavours and, the punch from its spice combination. If I were to make this again, the only change I’d make would be to add the chili powder earlier on in the process as l felt it was a bit too prominent being added immediately prior to serving. This was a bit bold for K. I'd make the dish again.

• Five-spice chicken with sugar snaps

  • JoanN on May 19, 2012

    Very easy and full of flavor..

• Stir-fried ginger broccoli

  • smtucker on February 14, 2012

    Wildly simple, and delicious.

• Chinese Vietnamese lemongrass chicken

  • sarahcooks on March 01, 2012

    If I make this again, I'll add a big handful of chopped Vietnamese herbs for extra color and flavor.

• Macanese stir-fried chicken

  • sarahcooks on September 02, 2010

    This is a sweet and smokey stir fry, with a fairly soup sauce. A lot of flavor is coming from the chorizo, so I think it could taste very different depending on the brand. We didn't like it that much, but it did have a very unique and intense flavor.

• Spicy dry-fried beef

  • sarahcooks on October 23, 2010

    This was so good, and easy too. It was a bit scary when the meat let off a ton of juice, I was afraid it would never all evaporate, but it did and was amazingly flavorful and chewy. I undercooked the veggies a bit, but I'll definitely be making it again. It wasn't spicy at all though, maybe because I dumped a bunch of seeds out of the chilis.

  • foolcontrol on March 21, 2012

    This was some really good stuff. My picky kids chowed down on it.

• Hong Kong–style mango ginger chicken

  • sarahcooks on October 28, 2010

    This was a bit bland. Don't hold back on the mango because it's the strongest flavor in there. I think I will probably try it again but will add a bit more mango, soy sauce, and chili.

• Stir-fried garlic eggplant with pork

  • sarahcooks on October 24, 2011

    This is a very flavorful and delicious recipe.

• Velvet chicken with asparagus

  • sarahcooks on April 03, 2012

    This stir fry has a delicate flavor, mostly from the garlic and ginger, so don't skimp on that. Don't cut back on the salt either, it really needs the full amount. Still, it's a fairly quick and easy recipe, and nice and healthy, and gets a little kick of heat from the white pepper.

• Stir-fried cumin-scented beef with vegetables

  • sarahcooks on March 29, 2011

    Loved this! A little tricky what with having to deep fry the beef, but it was delicious. I especially liked the unusual and tasty addition of cauliflower and tomatoes.

• Chicken chow fun

  • krue on May 20, 2011

    thought this was pretty bland.

• Stir-fried chicken with pineapple and peppers

  • foolcontrol on March 10, 2012

    This recipe was just awesome. It is both sweet and sour. It also supports our healthy lifestyle. Our picky kids gobbled it down. I sprinkled a little crushed red pepper on top of my serving. We ate it without rice.

• Stir-fried salmon with wine sauce

  • foolcontrol on March 21, 2012

    It is some good stuff. It is a little different as far as the cooking method but the results were very good.

You must Create an Account or Sign In to add a note to this book.

Reviews about this Book

• ISBN 10 1416580735
• ISBN 13 9781416580737
• Linked ISBNs
  • 9781416580577 Hardcover (United States) 7/7/2010
• Published May 04 2010
• Language English
• Countries United States
• Publisher Simon & Schuster
• Imprint Simon & Schuster

Publishers Text

Other cookbooks by this author

• Afternoon Tea Delicacies
• The Best of Thailand: A Cookbook
• The Breath of a Wok: Unlocking The Secrets of Chinese Wok Cooking Through Recipes and Lore
• Great Taste - Low Fat: Over 200 Delicious Recipes Under 400 Calories
• Great Taste - Low Fat: Desserts
• Great Taste - Low Fat: Stir Fries and Sautés
• Old Fashion Country Favorites
• Pasta (Great Taste, Low Fat)
• Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge: The Ultimate Guide to Mastery, with Authentic Recipes and Stories
• The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen: Classic Family Recipes for Celebration and Healing