Zhongkuilu 中饋錄

Zhongkuilu 中饋錄 "The book of the chef" is a cookbook written during the very late Qing period 清 (1644-1911) by Ms Zeng Yi 曾懿 (1853-1927), courtesy name Boyuan 伯淵 or Langqiu 朗秋, from Huayang 華陽 (today part of Chengdu 成都, Sichuan). Her father was Zeng Yong 曾詠, her husband Yuan Xuechang 袁學昌, and her son Yuan Lizhun 袁勵準 (1881-1935). Zeng Yi has a brief biographical entry in the official dynastic history Qingshigao 清史稿 (509 Lienü zhuan 列女傳).

The book must not be confounded with the Wushi zhongkui lu 吳氏中饋錄 from the Song period 宋 (960-1279) or the Yuexiang zhongkui lu 越鄉中饋錄 from 1916 which was written by a certain Chongzhai Jushi 衝齋居士 and focuses on the cuisine of Shaoxing 紹興, Zhejiang.

Zeng Yi's book is intended to urge housewives to learn to cook by themselves rather than let it be done by the servants. The text is divided into 20 chapters, with a general introduction and two appendixes. It explains 22 practical methods of pickling, brewing or fermenting, cooking, and storing food as it was common in the southeastern provinces of China at the end of the 19th century.

Foods covered in the book include ham, sausages, meat floss (rousong 肉鬆), fish floss (yusong 魚鬆), smoked fish, Shandong sautéed fish (zaoyu 糟魚), Fukienese "wind fish" (fengyu 風魚), "drunk crabs" (zuixie 醉蟹), century eggs (pidan 皮蛋), egg pickles (zaodan 糟蛋), fermented chili beans (douban 豆瓣), fermented soybeans (douchi 豆豉), fermented bean curd (furu 腐乳), soy sauce, sweet sauce, "kimchi" (paocai 泡菜), preserved vegetables (dongcai 冬菜), sweet wine (tianjiu 甜酒) and mooncakes (yuebing 月餅). The dishes are easy to prepare, and the text is clearly organised and written in an easy-to-understand way. Zeng Yi's book was a highly influential guide to household foods, and many of the methods are still in use today.

The book was first printed in 1907 and is included in the collected writings of Ms Zeng, Guhuanshi quanji 古歡室全集.