Chinese-ish : home cooking not quite authentic 100% delicious

Chinese-ish Home cooking not quite authentic 100% delicious

Rosheen Kaul

Book - 2022

"A cookbook celebrating the blending of cultures and identity through food, with a bounty of Chinese-influenced dishes from all over South-East Asia As immigrants with Chinese heritage, Rosheen Kaul and Joanna Hu spent their formative years living between (at least) two cultures and wondering how they fitted in. Food was a huge part of this journey; should they cling to the traditional comfort of their parents' varied culinary heritage, attempt to assimilate wholly by learning to love mashed potatoes, or forge a new path where flavor and the freedom to choose trumped authenticity? They went with option three. Chinese-ish celebrates the confident blending of culture and identity through food--take what you love and reject what do...esn't work for you. You'll find a bounty of inauthentic Chinese-influenced dishes from all over South-East Asia, including all the best rice and noodle dishes, wontons, and dumplings. There are also plenty of tips and shortcuts to demystify any tricky-sounding techniques, and a reassuring list of pantry staples and where to find them."--

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Location Call Number   Status
2nd Floor 641.5951/Kaul Due Nov 3, 2024
Subjects
Cooking, Chinese.
Cooking, Asian.
COOKING / Regional & Ethnic / Southeast Asian.
Cookbooks.
Recipes.
Genres
Cookbooks
Recipes
Published
Northampton, Massachusetts: Interlink Books, an imprint of Interlink Publishing Group, Inc 2022.
Language
English
Main Author
Rosheen Kaul (author)
Other Authors
Joanna Hu (illustrator)
Edition
First American edition
Item Description
Includes index.
Physical Description
223 pages : color illustrations ; 25 cm
ISBN
9781623717995
  • Introduction: On feeling Chinese-ish
  • Part 1. Chinese Cooking 101
  • Key information for successful Chinese-ish cooking
  • Chinese cooking techniques
  • How to cook rice without a rice cooker
  • How to cook nearly every type of noodle and some great ways to eat them
  • How to make stock
  • How to make wontons
  • How to make dumplings
  • How to make fried rice
  • How to make congee
  • How to make some iconic condiments
  • How to stir-fry vegetables
  • Part 2. The Rebellion: How to Disappoint Your Parents
  • There and back again
  • The solo diner
  • An ode to eggs
  • Chinese-ish snacks that feel kinda wrong
  • Part 3. My Love Language is a Fruit Flatter
  • On the love of an immigrant parent
  • Old Chinese favorites and fond food memories
  • Great dishes for a crowd
  • A few desserts we don't hate
  • Acknowledgments
  • Index
Review by Booklist Review

Melbourne-based chef Kaul springs from mixed Asian ancestry and has a passion for all sorts of Chinese-influenced dishes passed down from previous generations--dishes that might seem fundamentally Chinese but that bear indelible marks of Malaysian, Indonesian, and Singaporean cooking. Enforced idleness brought on by COVID-19 made Kaul revisit her attachment to these hybrid foods and document their amalgamations; the result is this lively collection of personal cooking that home cooks can appreciate. Several variations on fried rice appear, from basic to a "billionaire" version with pricey dried scallops and flying fish roe. Dumplings and wontons make for good snacking or party offerings. Kaul transforms iconic Nashville hot chicken into a spicy, crispy Beijing version. She doesn't have a taste for many Chinese desserts, especially those featuring red bean paste, but does approve of some simplified egg custard tarts. Along with the book's photographs, bright, light-hearted illustrations from Joanna Hu perfectly match the recipes.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Chef Kaul and illustrator Hu (The Isol Cookbook) offer up a colorful and proudly inauthentic survey of Asian recipes. Drawing on her diverse ethnic background and experience as head chef at Etta in Melbourne, Kaul delivers on her promise of a "Chinese-ish story--vibrant, crispy, tasty, colorful, and incredibly delicious." The recipes are enlivened by whimsical depictions of delicacies by Chinese Australian illustrator Hu as the pair measure out handy tips (their take on XO sauce is a home-based recreation as easy on the budget as it is on time) and classic favorites, including fried corn with spiced salt, and mango dessert pudding. The dishes are rich in heritage and individuality, with staples like pork and prawn wontons that employ ready-made wrappers, Beijing hot chicken based on the Nashville classic but modified with a Northern Chinese spice mix, and a slew of noodle dishes that pay homage to taste and tradition--none more so than Sichuan favorite "ants climbing a tree," where clingy bits of minced pork evoke ants on the noodles. A solo dining section overflows with single-serve choices, and, for balance, Kaul and Hu offer up "great dishes for a crowd," including dong po pork, which is braised in rice wine and aromatics. Hu's illustrations amplify fanciful musings, as in the essay tracking her path away from what her parents considered an "acceptable" career and toward one in hospitality and later in art. Far-away flavors feel close to home in this delectable spread. (Dec.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

This unique and beautifully illustrated cookbook offers a combination of cuisines spanning Southeast Asia that reflect the authors' immigrant heritage. Kaul (born in Singapore to parents of Kashmiri, Peranakan Chinese, and Filipino descent) and Hu (whose parents are Chinese Australian) each offer moving introductions to their experiences growing up and how they became interested in cooking. They also include anecdotes throughout the book to give readers insight into their lives and the meaning of the food they detail. The first part of the book includes a section on useful ingredients and kitchen tools/appliances one will need for the recipes. They offer useful guidance on recipe basics like making stock and easy, step-by-step instructions for forming their wontons and dumplings--which are not to be missed. Among the book's other recipes are Sichuan-style cold noodles, blistered green beans, and dong po braised pork. VERDICT Kaul and Hu have written an excellent introduction to Chinese and Southeast Asian cuisine, recommended for intermediate to advanced cooks. Readers who just love reading cookbooks, even if they never step foot in the kitchen, won't want to miss it either.--Holly P. Skir

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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