Cook Like a Local: Flavors That Can Change How You Cook and See the World: A Cookbook

by Chris Shepherd, Kaitlyn Goalen

Chris Shepherd, James Beard Award-winning chef of Houston's Underbelly Hospitality, is a champion of that city's incredibly diverse immigrant cuisines. In his restaurant, he calls out the names of the cooks--Vietnamese, Korean, Indian, and others--who have inspired him, and in his book, he teaches you how to work with those flavors and cultures with respect and creativity.

Houston's culinary reputation as a steakhouse town was put to rest by Chris Shepherd, the Robb Report's Best Chef of the Year. A cook with insatiable curiosity, he's trained not just in fine-dining restaurants but in Houston's Korean grocery stores, Vietnamese noodle shops, Indian kitchens, and Chinese mom-and-pops. His food, incorporating elements of all these cuisines, tells the story of the city, and country, in which he lives. An advocate, not an appropriator, he asks his diners to go and visit the restaurants that have inspired him, and in this book he brings us along to meet, learn from, and cook with the people who have taught him.

The recipes include signatures from his restaurant--favorites such as braised goat with Korean rice dumplings, or fried vegetables with caramelized fish sauce. The lessons go deeper than recipes: the book is about how to understand the pantries of different cuisines, how to taste and use these flavors in your own cooking. Organized around key ingredients like soy, dry spices, or chiles, the chapters function as master classes in using these seasonings to bring new flavors into your cooking and new life to flavors you already knew. But even beyond flavors and techniques, the book is about a bigger story: how Chris, a son of Oklahoma who looks like a football coach, came to be "adopted" by these immigrant cooks and families, how he learned to connect and share and truly cross cultures with a sense of generosity and respect, and how we can all learn to make not just better cooking, but a better community, one meal at a time.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, Collections

288 pages, Hardcover

Published September 3, 2019

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars

A fantastic cookbook that just reading it makes your mouth salivate! The introductions to dishes makes you want to try every dish listed and the "thought processes" explanations encourages you to try combinations of food and spices you never thought went together. If you buy only one "ethnic" cookbook, this IS the one you want.

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like this cookbook flirts with greatness, but somehow falls just short of it. I do love that it is divided by ingredients, and that his favorite chile condiment is gouchujang and his favorite clie sauce is Sambal Olek (both of which you should have on hand if you get this. There are several things that I will take away from the month of cooking out of it with our Food 52 Cookbook group. The first is that I have a whole new nacho game. His queso recipe is heads and shoulders above others we have made in the past, and this is the one. His nacho meat and a quick pickle for canned beans are also pretty game changing and an easy weeknight meal or snack. The whole fish recipe, which uses a full 3/4 c. of fish sauce, is the best i have ever had. And the condiment Nuoc Cha I have used to make THE BEST cucumber salad with just a dash of sesame oil and chili oil. I love the pickled eggs and have made them twice, so they will go in the rotation. I really like that several of the ingredients that you make show up in another recipe, so you can use half for one and half for another. I will not remake the tater tot casserole, the vegetables are not his strength, although the kale with hoisin is a keeper. All in all, I enjoyed the cook, but am writing down some recipes and returning the cookbook to the library.

[Misha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely, absolutely a great cookbook and I love what the chef is doing through the cookbook and his efforts in Houston. That said, being vegetarian it is somewhat less helpful in cooking than in just reading the section headings and sidebars about ingredients. That should not put anyone off! A deep dive into individual ingredients... not quite, but not just a surface using of them like many cookbooks. I really like this and support the effort. It’s both a resource and a slice of American eating at this moment.
I am also reading Vietnamese Any Day and they both have an ethos is use what you can find readily available to make food you want to eat reflective of but not stiflingly static of the many food ways we are lucky to have in the US.

[Reading Fool · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the dedication: "To the individuals who have risked everything to come to this country and start a new life." Chris Shepherd has taken elements of various Asian cultures - Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian - and blended it with his creative cooking in his Houston restaurant. It's the epitome of diversity and assimilation. I've tried two recipes so far: Oxtail Bo Kho and Eggplant with Spicy Bean Paste. The recipes are well written and easy to follow. Photographs are beautiful. You will learn so much about Asian ingredients from this book. Highly recommend.
Thanks for the free book, @clarksonpotter!

[Tricia Buzzelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

The presentation of the dishes in this book is delightful. I want to eat every single thing is each photo. This book is organized by ingredient, but not just protein or vegetable but by spice, sauces, rice, etc. It is interesting to read the stories of how Chris Shepherd is connected to each recipe and what information he has about the history of each recipe. His narrative is very approachable and witty and is easy to read and inturpret the recipes. Thanks for the free book @clarksonpotter!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting take on the concept of local food. Shepherd focuses on local cultures and new flavors that arise in global cities like his hometown of Houston. Recipes are arranged around a central ingredient with background information that is interesting, but his narrative gets a bit repetitive. The few recipes I've tried so far have been good. His BBQ Baked Field Peas turned black eyed peas into something I will actually consider eating, even if I did find them a bit tangy. Def worth a read.

[Libraryassistant · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read mainly because he is so passionate about the foods he’s learned to love, but even more about the people he’s learned from. There were a few things I actually hope to make, though I freely admit I would prefer to go out and eat them - wink.
But the recipes are well organized even when they seem a little complicated for my regular schedule.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

What makes this book so wonderful is how Chris takes you along his own personal journey as a chef. There is humility and gratitude which may be the two most important ingredients you want in your kitchen.

It is also a deeply personal love letter to my hometown, Houston, Texas. It’s a beautiful place, and Chris tells its story wonderfully.

[Donda Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great because it really broke down some pantry staple items, like rice, soy sauce, fish sauce, etc. I wouldn't make many recipes because they involve seafood and I have 2 children allergic to seafood and I don't eat seafood. I am going to go to an Asian market soon to shop.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This cookbook definitely is not for everyone. You best like your food spicy or you’ll be disappointed. Most of the recipes won’t make it into your regular repertoire. Some recipes might have been more appealing with accompanying photos - but many of the photos included are amateurish, so...

[Mairzi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gorgeous photography and some interesting information but I disliked the way it was organized and was not tempted to make any of the recipes. I also think that phonographs in cookbooks should identify the recipe and page when they are next adjacent to the recipe.

[Johnny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Shepherd is the most impressive Chef I've ever encountered. A simple look at 6 elements of his Chef trademarks and personality. A fun read with some insane recipes.

[Alan Shultz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Houston personified

[Onceinabluemoon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just not appealing to me... When I checked out from digital library the previous person rated it one star, before I opened it I thought how could a cookbook get such a low review, was doubley shocked I felt the same way!