The Chinese Way

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).