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Heart & Soul Heart & Soul, ISBN 9781920989224 and books by Kylie Kwong on sale at thebookshelf.co.nz Following the success of her first book, Kylie Kwong: Recipes and Stories, Kylie branches out from her Chinese culinary heritage to explore the cuisines of Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa. With the emphasis on intense flavours and the freshest and finest produce, she creates mouth–watering dishes out of inspired combinations of Western ingredients and Eastern techniques. From a fresh take on Chinese–restaurant classics to treasured family favourites, this is food to be relished. In Heart and Soul, which accompanied her first television series, Kylie Kwong shares the recipes for the dishes she most loves to cook – whether for a simple supper of Hokkien noodles, a family celebration in her own home or a stylish cocktail party. ExtractFrom memory, it must have been late September or early October 2002 when I received a phone call from a charmingly spoken Englishman called John Godfrey, wanting to know if I was even vaguely interested in meeting him to discuss an upcoming ABC television cooking series. At the time, I was in the middle of doing 150 different things and, quite frankly, was already feeling far too busy for my liking. But, as always, my undying curiosity and passion for new challenges took over … and I heard myself agreeing to an initial meeting.Several months later, it all seems like a blur and I find myself in a completely new and exciting phase of my life. In a philosophical sense, this whole experience is about energy and movement, change and opportunity. I love this essential nature of life, so I have chosen to go with the flow. I want to learn as much as I can from this experience – life is about receiving the gifts from experience, noticing how you react to certain situations you place yourself in, and learning what makes you tick. While we"re filming, I"m also writing this book to accompany the TV series. Although this has taken up a lot of time as well, I"ve really enjoyed developing and writing these recipes. I"m always thinking of the whole experience when I am creating a dish: what ingredients are in season – what do I love to eat the most – will the individual components of the dish, with their individual personalities, complement one another – how will the textures feel inside the mouth – will the dish look appetising, fresh and vibrant – will the layered and delicious sensations make the tastebuds come alive? The array of fresh produce that Australia has on offer continues to inspire and motivate me. The following recipes are a celebration of these delicious treats and are a reflection of all the other types of cuisines I love to draw from, the flavours I love experimenting with, the food I enjoy sharing with my friends and family. I created most of these recipes over the Christmas and New Year holidays, when I had lots of energy, time and space to devote to them. And maybe because it was summertime in Sydney, or maybe just because I was feeling extravagant, I found myself using lots of lobster, Wagyu beef, beautiful organic chickens and all kinds of gorgeous things. I cook with these ingredients because I love them, but please don"t feel intimidated: the most important thing is that you seek out the best that"s available to you. Ask your butcher what"s good – ask for the freshest lamb shanks, the finest beef fillet, the best free–range chickens and ducks – and you"ll eat well. Of course, we Chinese could just eat lobster for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but again it"s not essential in any of these recipes. You can easily substitute fresh prawns, crabmeat, or even a beautiful fillet of fish. As long as you use the freshest and best ingredients you can find, you can"t go wrong. Some of the recipes are complex, with lengthy ingredient lists and involved techniques. I adore cooking such recipes when I"m relaxed and have plenty of time. They require that you become completely absorbed – lost in the art and pleasure of cooking – and the result is truly gratifying. Many more of the recipes are very simple, and it is these ones that rely solely on the quality of the ingredients. If you have some Tasmanian scallops so pristine you almost can"t bear to touch them, or a prime fillet of Wagyu beef that cost a small fortune, then the simplest recipes are the ones to go for! I guess one of the things I want to achieve at my restaurant, through my books, and now in this TV series is to raise awareness of authentic Chinese cooking: to show that it"s not all about lurid sweet and sour pork, MSG–laden sizzling beef, and chicken and cashew nuts in a gloopy sauce. I want to show you the intricacies and delicacy of real Chinese cuisine, and to show how these same skills and techniques can be applied to Western cookery. So, although my roots are in the Chinese culinary tradition, many of the recipes in this book are based on European and North African cuisine – only a handful are truly Asian in their inspiration. What I found interesting as I was creating and testing these recipes and then making them over and over again in the studio is that, even though they"re mostly Western–style dishes, I actually cook a lot of them in a very Asian fashion. No matter what cuisine I"m cooking, I always strive for a balance of sweet, sour, salty and hot flavours. It"s all about following your instincts, keeping in mind harmony between flavours, textures and ingredients – Yin and Yang. This book is divided into eight chapters, which loosely reflect the episodes in the TV series. The chapters are arranged around themes that have influenced me, and which I continue to find relevant and meaningful. These are the things that inspire me, filling my life with substance, enduring memories, warmth and understanding.
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 "Heart & Soul")