China Moon Cookbook

Winner of an IACP/Julia Child Cookbook Award

The "Julia Child of Chinese cooking" (San Francisco Chronicle), Barbara Tropp was a gifted teacher and the chef/owner of one of San Francisco's most popular restaurants. She was also the inventor of Chinese bistro, a marriage of home-style Chinese tastes and techniques with Western ingredients and inspiration, an innovative cuisine that stuffs a wonton with crab and corn and flavors it with green chili sauce, that stir-fries chicken with black beans and basil, that tosses white rice into a salad with ginger-balsamic dressing.

Casual yet impeccable, and as balanced as yin and yang, these 275 recipes burst with unexpected flavors and combinations: Prawn Sandpot Casserole with Red Curry and Baby Corn; Spicy Tangerine Beef with Glass Noodles; Pizzetta with Chinese Eggplant, Wild Mushrooms, and Coriander Pesto; Chili-Orange Cold Noodles; Sweet Carrot Soup with Toasted Almonds; Wok-Seared New Potatoes; Crystallized Lemon Tart; and Fresh Ginger Ice Cream.

Barbara Tropp was the chef and owner of China Moon Cafe, a small Chinese bistro-style restaurant in San Francisco. Before establishing herself as one of America's foremost chefs and cooking teachers, Barbara studied Chinese language, poetry, and art history at Columbia, Yale, Princeton, and the University of Taiwan. While living in Taiwan, she developed her passion for the simplicity of fresh home cooking, Chinese-style. Barbara was an elected member of Who's Who in Food & Wine in America. She was profiled in the New York Times Magazine, House Beautiful, Bon Appetit, Metropolitan Home, Self, and in the PBS series Great Chefs in San Francisco.