Soup For The Qan: Introduction, Translation, Commentary, and Chinese Text

Is there a more fun way to learn about populations’ culture and history than through their cuisine? A Soup for the Qan is much more than the scholarly translation of a 14th century cookbook. The 200-page introduction puts the cookbook in context. Despite being a small population, the Mongols managed to conquer a large swath of land from East to West, and ruled the largest empire that the Old World had ever seen. This cookbook was written at a time when Mongols ruled China, and includes recipes with influences from Persian, Near Eastern, Indian, Chinese and of course Mongol cultures. The book is peppered with fascinating footnotes about cuisine, food and ingredients. The authors also give you some tips in case you would like to reproduce these medieval recipes in your modern kitchen.