What inspired you to write your book?
Delicious Chinese food and the meaning behind it! I love food and I am curious about different cuisines. Food plays an important role in the Chinese culture and I noticed that food is a lot more than just ‘food’, something we eat every day. Chinese ‘food symbolism’ attaches a specific symbolic meaning to food, whether it is an apple or fish, and many Chinese eat certain foods to enhance either their luck, wealth or health. Long noodles, for example, are a symbol for long life. Chinese who wish to have a long life do not cut their noodles, but eat them uncut. Especially during Chinese New Year, Chinese will eat foods that bring wealth and success in the New Year and not surprising, the number of rich Chinese is every increasing. Thus, the immense wealth and impressive careers of many Chinese, paired with optimism and happiness, all wrapped up with a love for cooking and food, inspired me to write a ‘Chinese cookbook for happiness and success’.
About your Book:
A ‘Chinese cookbook for happiness and success’ is a concoction of modern Chinese cuisine recipes, Chinese culture & success psychology and a big portion of happiness. The book gives insight into happiness and success definitions, their history and research, Chinese cooking methods, recipes and guides you to become as happy and successful as you want to be – in and outside of your kitchen. Bon appetit!
Cuisine Style or Food Genre
Chinese fusion
Sample Recipe or Food Advice
For most people, cooking is an every day activity and necessity, which takes time. Most cookbooks teach you only one thing: how to cook food. THIS book teaches you how to cook and how to use the time you spend on cooking for enhancing your happiness and success at the same time!
Eight Happiness Soup for a strong immune system and happiness
Ingredients:
• 1 liter vegetable stock
• 5 slices of ginger
• 5 cloves garlic, halved
• 100 gram shredded Chinese cabbage
• 200 gram chopped, firm tofu
• 100 gram mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 100 gram peas
• 100 gram thinly sliced bamboo shoots (canned)
• 100 gram thinly sliced water chestnuts (canned)
• 100 gram sliced carrots
• 100 gram chicken liver, sliced (optional)
• 3 tbsp. chopped coriander
Directions:
1. Combine stock, ginger and garlic. Simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Remove garlic and ginger. Add remaining ingredients to flavored stock and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Add coriander and chicken liver and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve.
Exercise: De-clutter your kitchen for good health and happiness.
A kitchen is not a place to accumulate clutter. Chinese believe that a dirty or cluttered kitchen will have stagnant and negative energy ‘chi’, which interferes with your ability to cook and enjoy healthy, nourishing food, and be in good health and happy.
Therefore, while the stock is simmering, take action:
• Empty the garbage bin. Do this every day from now on and keep the waste baskets clean and out of sight.
• Put the brooms and other cleaning tools out of sight, to let chi flow freely.
• Check all your stored food and throw away the foods that are past their expiration date. This includes the stored food in the pantry or freezer if it exceeds a reasonable amount for you and your family.
• Throw away old stale food even if the expiration date is not over.
• Clean out your food cupboards and refrigerator. From now on clean them at least once every two weeks, preferably with an organic cleaner with orange smell.
• Throw out junk food, it is junk for your body. Try one of the Chinese desserts instead or buy a snack pack once in a while.
• Give away gadgets and cookware which are not used. Those attract stagnant chi, which might cause health problems.
• Make sure that your kitchen is shiny, clean and smelling fresh, using high quality, environment friendly cleaner. Use air re-freshener if necessary.
• Throw away chipped plates and damaged equipment, they represent stagnant chi.
• Install bright lights and throw away bulbs that are not working.
• Put fresh flowers, a bowl of fruit with plenty of fresh and different types of fruits or a living plant on your kitchen table, for example windowsill.
• Throw out old fruits and dying flowers in the kitchen, as they represent stagnant chi.
What formats are your books in
eBook
How do you see writing a food/cookbook as different from writing other genres of books?
Writing a cookbook needs practical experience. For example, if I were to write about Japanese food I should know the major ingredients, cooking styles and have tried the recipes for many times in order to give the best possible instructions.
Advice to someone that is thinking about or currently working on a food book or cookbook
First define your target groups, identify their wants and wishes regarding content, layout and design. Use this information to create a cookbook that can meet the expectations of your target groups. And be passionate about what you’re writing! Don’t write about topics you are not hundred percent interested in.
How did you decide how to publish your book and where is it published through:
I was looking for a writer-friendly, time-saving way to publish and came across epubli, a company who advertised their e-book section. I had noticed that many cookbooks were huge, heavy hardcover books, which were not easy to carry around. So I decided to publish an e-book, which can be taken anywhere and I hope to save people’s time – no need to write shopping lists anymore!
Nadine Nicole Körner is a freelance writer and head of geography in a leading International Baccalaureate boarding school in China. She studied geography, spatial planning and sociology in Germany, South Africa and China and received her Ph.D. from the University of Göttingen (Germany). Since 2004 she resides in South China and contributes to ‘That’s Guangzhou’, a local magazine with focus on Chinese culture, especially food.
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