Myers+Chang at Home: Recipes from the Beloved Boston Eatery

by Joanne Chang, Karen Akunowicz

From beloved chef and author Joanne Chang, the first cookbook from her acclaimed Boston restaurant, Myers+Chang

Award-winning and beloved chef Joanne Chang of Boston’s Flour bakery may be best known for her sticky buns, but that’s far from the limit of her talents. When Chang married acclaimed restaurateur Christopher Myers, she would make him Taiwanese food for dinner at home every night. The couple soon realized no one was serving food like this in Boston, in a cool but comfortable restaurant environment. Myers+Chang was born and has turned into one of Boston’s most popular restaurants, and will be celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2017, just in time for publication of this long-awaited cookbook. These recipes, all bursting with flavor, are meant to be shared, and anyone can make them at home—try Dan Dan Noodle Salad, Triple Pork Mushu Stir-fry, or Grilled Corn with Spicy Sriracha Butter. This is food people crave and will want to make again and again. Paired with the couple's favorite recipes, the photography perfectly captures the spirit of the restaurant, making this book a keepsake for devoted fans.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Reference, Food and Drink

443 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 12, 2017

About the author

Joanne Chang is the chef-owner of Flour Bakery in Boston. She has a degree in applied mathematics and economics from Harvard University and was a pastry chef at Payard Patisserie and Mistral. She lives in Boston. Christie Matheson is the author and co-author of several books, including Salty Sweets. She lives in San Francisco. Keller + Keller are Boston-based food and lifestyle photographers."

Reviews

[Paula K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a Top Chef fan. Karen Akunowicz competed on Top Chef not too long ago and I thought she was terrific. Loved the pink streaks in her hair and her style. Karen is the Executive Chef at Myers & Chang a Boston Asian restaurant I’ve been meaning to get to!

My husband bought their cookbook for me this Christmas as a hint that he wants me to start cooking Asian again. He’s been the one cooking for the past 10 years. The cookbook has some nice dishes that I am looking forward to trying. I always loved using the wok.

Time to make a dinner reservation!

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a hard cookbook to talk about. First and foremost it makes me want to cook many of these recipes, and that's a great thing. On the negative side: Christopher Myers presents himself as a full asshole, and many of the recipes talk about how they are taken or adapted from other chefs. This last part is something that is not at all a problem in the cooking world since chefs inspire each other, but it is typically okay mainly because the hands of one chef are different from another's, and thus even similar recipes become different when created by a different person; but a recipe book lessens this impact, and even though the direct recipe belongs to those who write it, it still leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Then again, this might just be Joanne Change and Karen Akunowicz overstating their bibliography which would be both fair and reasonable. I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent recipes. I’ve tried the Green Monster (the pesto made with lime leaves (makrut), Thai basil and pistachios is excellent - you’ll find uses for it in stir fries and stirring into soups) and the corn soup which are really fine. The recipes seem to be on the sweet side so you do need to use the suggested sauces.

[Beth Kakuma-Depew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dang - there's a lot of bacon in these recipes! I guess I was expecting there to be 0% bacon, and there's some in the Mushu Pork, among other recipes. I have not yet cooked anything, but will soon. More to come. . .

[Mara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite restaurant ever

Finally, my favorite meals from my favorite restaurant can be realized in my own crummy kitchen with my crummy electric stove!

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cookbook, which came out in 2017, but my Facebook Cookbook Group featured it as the cookbook of the month in November, 2025, at which point I found it.
Joanne Change has written several baking books, of which Pastry Love is the one we have cooked out of most, but this one is full of recipes from the upscale Chinese restaurant she and her husband have in Boston.
She grew up eating only Chinese food and was well into elementary school before she had more typically American food, so she comes from a different food tradition than many of us do--she met her spouse when she was cooking in a restaurant after college, and this is a blend of what they like.
So if you are looking for a more traditional approach this is not it--Kenji's The Wok is the book for you, or give Fuchsia Dunlop's oeuvre a whirl--Every Grain of Rice is a good starting place.
What I very much appreciate about this book is the non-traditional dipping sauces they have because they are unlike others, and we as a family really love a good dipping sauce. We often buy frozen dumplings at the nearby Asian market, and are satisfied with the quality when we steam then fry them up, but then have to cobble together an acceptable sauce, and having another place to start to do that is a big plus to our cookbook collection.
I was able to buy this used for under $10, which is another plus.

[Alisa]

Intermediate-level asian fusion for the at-home chef (easy enough if you can source the ingredients). I learned a couple things while using this cookbook.

First, how to make those "styrofoam" noodles that sometimes garnish random dishes (deep fried vermicelli—the original calls for rice but I used bean thread, either way it's a messy ordeal that I immediately regretted).

Second, I like American Chinese food, Panda Express and its yuppie cousin PF Chang's as much as the next person, and you can think of these recipes as like the bistro version in that same vein. But if given the choice between gong bao ji ding and kung pow chicken, I'd take the former. This was an epiphany for me.

[Sufen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with easy to follow recipes for Asian food with a twist that is so characteristic of Joanne Chang. What I appreciate most about each of the books she has written (Myers+Chang at Home, Flour, Flour Too, Pastry Love) is her unique take on classic favorites by adding in new (and sometimes surprising) ingredients and her ability to make the reader feel like they are capable of preparing food that is restaurant-quality. I have tried her arctic char rolls, nirvana chicken congee and red miso carrots and they all turned out wonderful!

[a person · Rating 5 out of 5]

Potentially the best Chinese-American cookbook ever made. Clearly explains many of the ingredients that Asian Americans consider staples, but are only available in Asian groceries, along with pictures and brand names for those who can't read or don't know. It's very "just like mom used to make" for a native born American to a Chinese immigrant mother. As for its authenticity to the recipe's country of origin, I have my doubts in some cases... but leave that task to some other book.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pictures of Recipes? Yes.
Commentary on Recipes? Yes.
Nutrition Facts? No
Recipe style? Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai.
Any keepers? A few.

All of these recipes look amazing, and really makes me want to visit Boston again. You'll find some classics remixed, like adding bacon and calamari to Pad Thai. Some of the recipes and ingredient lists were quite lengthy.

[Steve Warsaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this gem when I realized the authors were both Bostonians and I had visited Joannes bakery Flour. The Asian inspired recipes are fantastic, easy, and efficient ranging from American Chinese favorites to wild fusion of east meets west. Pleasant surprised about the dishes.

[Wallis Chan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite: Taiwanese sesame cucumbers

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read, I don't think I'd be making any of these recipes though

3.5/5stars

[Nancy Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great staple cookbook for all your modern Asian recipes. Love many of the dishes from these Boston iconic chefs

[Aasinathena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't knew Joanne had this Asian restaurant !!! If so I would have definitely look up when I was in Boston ! Gosh but this book makes me hungry !

[Lizzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't wait to cook from this book and visit the restaurant!