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 2^nd-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).