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Cook Like a King: Recipes from My California Chinese Kitchen
In her debut cookbook, Top Chef All-Stars champion and award-winning chef Melissa King shares 120 of her favorite dishes, blending her California sensibility with the Chinese cuisine of her childhood.
From the moment she could see over the kitchen counter, King would spend hours in the kitchen with her mom. For King, the kitchen was a place to play with fire and knives. Now, it's a space where King can express herself, melding the Cantonese flavors with which she grew up and the French, Italian, and Californian ones of the Michelin-starred restaurants in which she trained.
Cook Like a King features 120 unforgettable dishes that showcase King's effortless blending of these cuisines, like in her Lemongrass Cioppino and Miso Caesar with Gai Lan and Chrysanthemum Greens. She includes nostalgic, homestyle dishes like her grandmother’s Shanghainese Lion's Head Meatballs and her mother’s Black Vinegar Ribs, and, of course, her famous Hong Kong Milk Tea Tiramisu, which made renowned Italian butcher and Top Chef guest judge Dario Cecchini shed tears of joy.
King keeps the needs of the home cook in mind, making recipes accessible while inspiring readers to experiment with food, culture, and flavor. Her recipes, crafted from a lifetime spent cooking for her Chinese family, in restaurants, and on television, show how simple techniques, attention, and graceful application of the Asian pantry can elevate familiar dishes and create new, thrilling classics. With stunning photography, personal stories, and expert guidance, Cook Like a King is a thoughtful, playful examination of the flavors that shape our lives.
From the moment she could see over the kitchen counter, King would spend hours in the kitchen with her mom. For King, the kitchen was a place to play with fire and knives. Now, it's a space where King can express herself, melding the Cantonese flavors with which she grew up and the French, Italian, and Californian ones of the Michelin-starred restaurants in which she trained.
Cook Like a King features 120 unforgettable dishes that showcase King's effortless blending of these cuisines, like in her Lemongrass Cioppino and Miso Caesar with Gai Lan and Chrysanthemum Greens. She includes nostalgic, homestyle dishes like her grandmother’s Shanghainese Lion's Head Meatballs and her mother’s Black Vinegar Ribs, and, of course, her famous Hong Kong Milk Tea Tiramisu, which made renowned Italian butcher and Top Chef guest judge Dario Cecchini shed tears of joy.
King keeps the needs of the home cook in mind, making recipes accessible while inspiring readers to experiment with food, culture, and flavor. Her recipes, crafted from a lifetime spent cooking for her Chinese family, in restaurants, and on television, show how simple techniques, attention, and graceful application of the Asian pantry can elevate familiar dishes and create new, thrilling classics. With stunning photography, personal stories, and expert guidance, Cook Like a King is a thoughtful, playful examination of the flavors that shape our lives.
272 pages, Hardcover
Published September 23, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 22, 2026
What a beautiful, well-written, gorgeously designed debut cookbook! Everything in the book is written expressively, not just the recipes, making it a pleasure to read. There is a warmth to her storytelling style that doesn't always come through in cookbooks.
Then there are the food photos, which are works of art and look like a Michelin Chef prepared them, even the familiar dishes like guacamole and labne dip. There's a nice spectrum of dishes ranging from less fancy like wings to very fancy like raw oyster and crudos, many of which the author adds Asian flavours to in an interesting chef-y way.
The only critiques are if you don't know how to shuck an oyster there weren't any instructions (and you can hurt yourself if you do it wrong) and in the Miso Caesar Salad recipe if you do not read the head notes you might feel a bit lost because that is where she explains what the asian greens in the recipe are comprised of.
Despite these minor quibbles, this would be a wonderful book for any cook looking for tasty, chef-y dishes to make at home. The ones I plan to try my hand at are Garlic Soy Sauce Noodles, Green Beans with Pancetta and Carmelized Soy Sauce, and King's Focaccia.
Then there are the food photos, which are works of art and look like a Michelin Chef prepared them, even the familiar dishes like guacamole and labne dip. There's a nice spectrum of dishes ranging from less fancy like wings to very fancy like raw oyster and crudos, many of which the author adds Asian flavours to in an interesting chef-y way.
The only critiques are if you don't know how to shuck an oyster there weren't any instructions (and you can hurt yourself if you do it wrong) and in the Miso Caesar Salad recipe if you do not read the head notes you might feel a bit lost because that is where she explains what the asian greens in the recipe are comprised of.
Despite these minor quibbles, this would be a wonderful book for any cook looking for tasty, chef-y dishes to make at home. The ones I plan to try my hand at are Garlic Soy Sauce Noodles, Green Beans with Pancetta and Carmelized Soy Sauce, and King's Focaccia.
October 21, 2025
Really unique, creative, and delicious recipes. If you're looking to mix up menus, this book is for you. The pantry list is invaluable to use as a guide for the ingredients. Buy it for the Lion's Head Meatballs recipe alone. Ten Speed Press provided me with a complimentary copy of this book, but the opinions are all my own.
December 24, 2025
A few Cantonese staples here. The rest is, make it Asian! I.e., put chili crisp or Sichuan pepper in it. I just made her Vietnamese flan, wow what a to-do/semi-disaster! The trouble with cookbooks is that there's no kind reviewer giving tips.
December 28, 2025
Lots of great recipes but definitely special occasion shit. Be prepared to have to hunt down lots of ingredients (and support local markets when you do!!!).
January 30, 2026
Great reading but I haven’t tried the recipes. Most look manageable for someone with intermediate cooking skills. I’ll comment again when I’ve tried them
February 3, 2026
a beautiful book with some great classic dishing I want to come back to!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews