In fact the one thing that's easiest about Chinese cooking is the fact that rice is just rice (unless you really want to go to the hassle of fried rice!), but potatoes deserve a little more effort. So the effort you save on the rice can go into a simple stir fry or two. And everyone knows that the most effort of Chinese cooking is invariably in the preparation. As long as you have your ingredients ready it's a doddle. Oh... with the exception of really good stir fried green veg with garlic - THAT takes endless practice. I agree it's not the kind of thing you want to fuss with on those nights when preparing a piece of toast is too much cooking, but even with Iris on hand there must still be times when you feel like cooking and being creative.

there are also loads of great recipe ideas for beancurd. And plenty of simple ideas for noodles that require minimal effort. I have a sneaking suspicion that if you do fried rice often it becomes a quick dish, but I rarely go to the effort unless I have plenty of people around, which is usually a mistake for fried rice because my wok just isn't that big! It took me ages to get the hang of fried rice... I thought that it must need tons of oil if it was fried, but it hardly needs any. Just add a drop of water if it starts to stick. My fried rice now rivals my FIL's.

one more thing before I leave this somewhat OT post... A lot of what the west sees as 'Chinese' food is actually Cantonese because all our Chinese takeaways were set up by migrating Chinese from Guangdong. Much of what I saw in my MIL's kitchenwouldn't even have come close to being 'Chinese' in my previous experience - Hokkien homecooked food is vastly different from Cantonese restaurant dishes. One dish which is a favourite in our house, which nobody would even consider to be 'Chinese' is a kind of saucy tomato and egg dish. DS loves it because those are his favourite two foods. It was actually created for me by my eldest SIL's father who understood that I didn't really eat a lot of the dishes they normally served. He's lived all his life in Beijing, so how can I say the dish isn't 'Chinese'!

errr... the point of that last bit was that you should always feel free to bastardise whatever foods you like in order to create new dishes. About the only thread which runs through ALL Chinese meals, regardless of the origin of the cuisine, is the idea of balance. Once doesn't have more than one fried dish, one doesn't have all vegetables or all meat, one often has a soup (especially if one is ordering out!). Balance of tastes (spicy and garlicky and sweet and salty...), balance of cooking styles and of ingredients. That seems to be the one thing that links any Chinese meal.

please people... if you ever want me to try for shorter posts, don't get me started on food or books!

the New me had lunch (although as Shaun put it, the Old me convinced the New me to make it pot noodles - they reached a compromise I guess!) and then the New Me took to her bed for an extended nap in the hopes of waking up human. And now I'd better think about my own dinner. I haven't really been in the mood of cooking for months now. Not since before Christmas I think.

Kerri.