One of the Best Cookbooks of 2024―the New York Times • New York Magazine The Strategist • Washington Post • Bon Appetit • Saveur • National Post
“Sometimes you need a cookbook that won’t just tell you what to make for dinner, but explains how to make it better, too…. This is that rare book. And it has a lot more to teach you about cooking than how to use a wok (although it will do that, too)…. Brilliant.”―Paula Forbes, Washington Post (One of the 14 Best Cookbooks of the Year)
“Betty Liu… [is] an inspired home cook with a particular talent for communicating big ideas about meal planning, recipe riffing, and applying traditional techniques to nontraditional recipes.”―Food & Wine
“The Chinese Way, Betty Liu’s follow-up after a stunning debut cookbook, My Shanghai, begs to be read for its wealth of practical knowledge and lovely writing, though it quickly pulls you to the kitchen with its inventive recipe..Some of my favorite writing occurs in the chapter openers, where Liu thoroughly and clearly describes each technique…” Sanaë Lemoine, Bon Appétit (The 19 Best Cookbooks of 2024)
“By highlighting classic techniques and sharing traditional and nontraditional recipes, Liu empowers readers to embrace the adaptability of Chinese home cooking—their way.”―National Post (One of the 10 Best Cookbooks of 2024)
“With a breezy, approachable style, The Chinese Way makes it easy for beginners or experienced cooks to elevate their kitchen game…. [Liu’s] mission is clear: demystify Chinese cooking and empower readers.”―Boston Globe
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The Chinese way of cooking is not about who you are, strict traditional recipes, or even which type of soy sauce you use. Instead, it’s an ethos that builds on a set of eight powerful, adaptable cooking techniques that flex with your pantry and the seasons—and anyone can do it.
I am so delighted to share my second cookbook, The Chinese Way: classic techniques, fresh flavors, with you!! Too often, I hear that Chinese cooking is intimidating. That they don’t have access to the right wok, the right brand of soy sauce, black vinegar, a steamer, or Chinese spices. The truth is, you don’t need much to cook Chinese. Chinese cooking isn’t limited to traditional food – and even when I make a classic dish, how I make it won’t be the same as how my grandmother made it. Cooking isn’t stagnant; it evolves with us.
In this book, I hope to empower you to cook Chinese without the pressure to cook traditionally. Through the lens of a 2nd-generation Chinese American home cook who grew up with homestyle Chinese cooking, I want to teach you Chinese cooking. Adopting the medical way of teaching, see one, do one, teach one, I first introduce you to a classic cooking technique (such as steam) and show you how it’s used in traditional dishes, then show you how we can use this technique non-traditionally. Then, go forth and do it yourself! Many of these recipes are endlessly riffable. After all, whether you’re stir frying pork with chive flowers or pancetta with cauliflower – isn’t it still stir-frying a protein with a vegetable?
I’m excited to show you 8 techniques I consider essential to Chinese homecooking. A few of my favorite recipes include: caramelized shallot bing (wrap), citrus soy pickled lotus root (pickle), scallion oil potatoes (infuse), chorizo over tofu (sauce), corn mochi fritters (fry), red braised squash (braise), and dashi-steamed mushrooms (steam).