Recipe Cards

green pepper steak.jpg

Both recipes being analyzed can be found on page 23 of the cookbook. The name of the first recipe is Green Pepper Steak. All of the recipes included in the cookbook are listed without an author. It is chosen to demonstrate how not only is it a very easy to make dish, but also a personal favourite in which I have grown up eating. What is unique about this recipe is the exquisite blend of flavours incorporating a little peppery taste with a smooth garlic-ginger beef taste usually served over white rice. The ingredient list consists of: corn oil, salt, garlic clove, green peppers, sliced onions, sirloin steak cut into silvers, shallot, accent seasoning, soy-sauce, sugar, pepper, red wine, ginger, chicken broth and cornstarch. The majority of ingredients present on this recipe are common ingredients found in many households and what makes this recipe very favourable is the lack of difficulty in preparation. Although Green Pepper Steak could be considered a dinner food.it is also served either at lunch or preferably dinner. The measurements included in the cookbook are clear and I assume are directions for 4 – 6 servings. This recipe tells us about how simple and resourceful Chinese cuisine is. For instance, the use of minute rice exemplifies a quick the quickness of preparation. This recipe proves to be a very convenient dish especially when low on time, it takes approximately 8 minutes to prepare after gathering the ingredients.

sweet and sour chicken.jpg

The second recipe is for Sweet and Sour Chicken. There is no individual author attached. I chose it because Sweet and Sour Chicken is a very popular North American dish and also one of my personal favourites. It is a unique dish because it combines the tangy and sweet flavours as a delicious topping for chicken. The ingredients listed are chicken, eggs, flour, salt, baking powder, water, green peppers, tomatoes, and corn oil. It is a protein component of an entree and would be served on top of rice. The instructions and measurements are very clear and unambiguous. I would say that the preparation of this meal would be very easy due to the limited preparation time required as well as the relatively short ingredient list. This recipe tells us a few different things about Canadian cuisine. Firstly, it tells us that Chinese cuisine was an easy food to integrate into Canadian culture due to the fact that many of the ingredients very easy to acquire. Also, it shows that an emphasis was being placed on simplicity when it comes to making recipes with a low learning curve required. This illustrates the openness of Chinese culture in that they would like the foods of their culture to be shared with as many people as possible. Aside from the sweet and sour sauce, we can speculate that this recipe is highly popular is lower income areas of Asia as all of the ingredients are easily accessible and are ingredients common in a farming village. When brought to North America, the taste for sweet and sour sauce influenced the version of this recipe highly favoured today.

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