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Chinese Heritage Cooking From My American Kitchen: Discover Authentic Flavors with Vibrant, Modern Recipes
From growing up in Beijing to attending culinary school in California, to making her name in the restaurant world and on Top Chef, today Shirley Chung is dishing out new and dazzlingly delicious takes on Chinese cuisine. These recipes are fresh and inspired, yet approachable for home cooks. Here are a few you won’t want to Sweet-and-Sour Baby Back Ribs, Five-Spice Seared Duck Breast with Kumquat Mustard, Scallion Pancakes with Hazelnut Pesto, Seared Scallops with Spicy Black Bean Sauce, Spinach Egg Drop Soup and Beijing-Style Hot Pot.
These recipes use simple ingredients and techniques, but have the standout flavor and texture you expect from top-notch restaurants―no wok required! Plus you’ll find fascinating history and chef’s tips tucked away in the headnotes and instructions that will make you a better cook. Shirley brings the same lively energy to her book that made her a fan-favorite on Top Chef. She’ll make you excited to cook, and her recipes―each with a gorgeous photograph―will have you drooling over the pages. With Shirley in your kitchen, every meal becomes a fun and delicious celebration.
313 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 23, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 12, 2026
Once again reading a cookbook cover to cover and reviewing without having tried anything so take my score with a grain of salt.
I have an Internet-the-Book tag; should I consider TV-the-book as one? I am not a regular Top Chef viewer though so I don't know how Shirley got to be runner up in one and winner in another (also, kinda taking me out of Andrew Zimmern writing a foreword that acknowledges the long history of American Chinese food in the face of discrimination, only for this to be published the same year he tried to launch Lucky Cricket as an alternative to the "bullshit restaurants" that serve American Chinese in the Midwest? Though it looks like it died so I shouldn't hold the grudge THIS long.)
Anyway, re: the book itself everything looks straightforward, and there's some tips gleaned from the speedy show challenges like blending rice until it's broken to make congee and rice pudding faster. One side of Shirley's mom's family is from northeastern China with its wheat and noodle recipes, her dad Cantonese with its emphasis on vegetables and rice dishes (and, she grew up in Beijing with her grandparents before moving to the US as a teenager, and her husband is Singaporean so it's a real chop suey of diaspora influences, heh) I think most of these could be made with ingredients at your grocery store (though it does help that Asian condiments are more accessible now too - soft power babyyyy), and there's some fun mixed methodology like the milk-braised napa cabbage using French techniques. I also appreciate that the dessert section doesn't involve baking- most traditional dishes aren't, though I do love those culturally influenced pastries (see Kat Lieu's 108 Asian Cookies instead for that).
I have an Internet-the-Book tag; should I consider TV-the-book as one? I am not a regular Top Chef viewer though so I don't know how Shirley got to be runner up in one and winner in another (also, kinda taking me out of Andrew Zimmern writing a foreword that acknowledges the long history of American Chinese food in the face of discrimination, only for this to be published the same year he tried to launch Lucky Cricket as an alternative to the "bullshit restaurants" that serve American Chinese in the Midwest? Though it looks like it died so I shouldn't hold the grudge THIS long.)
Anyway, re: the book itself everything looks straightforward, and there's some tips gleaned from the speedy show challenges like blending rice until it's broken to make congee and rice pudding faster. One side of Shirley's mom's family is from northeastern China with its wheat and noodle recipes, her dad Cantonese with its emphasis on vegetables and rice dishes (and, she grew up in Beijing with her grandparents before moving to the US as a teenager, and her husband is Singaporean so it's a real chop suey of diaspora influences, heh) I think most of these could be made with ingredients at your grocery store (though it does help that Asian condiments are more accessible now too - soft power babyyyy), and there's some fun mixed methodology like the milk-braised napa cabbage using French techniques. I also appreciate that the dessert section doesn't involve baking- most traditional dishes aren't, though I do love those culturally influenced pastries (see Kat Lieu's 108 Asian Cookies instead for that).
December 25, 2022
Chinese style shrimp and grits? Scallion pancakes with hazelnut pesto? Cheeseburger pot stickers? Milk braised Napa cabbage? Steamed egg custard with minced pork? Soooo many amazing recipes in this book, from very authentic to some with American twists. My only complaint is not all the ingredients are easy to find—I'm lucky enough to have an Asian market nearby but some may have trouble sourcing some items. Great book and easy to follow.
January 31, 2020
I found lots to try in this book. Can't wait.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews