Chinese Enough: Homestyle Recipes for Noodles, Dumplings, Stir-Fries, and More

How does traditional Chinese home cooking interact with popular American standards, already the product of multiple hybridizations? James Beard Award-winning author Kristina Cho demonstrates some of the rich possibilities in this book, which also draws on her upbringing in a Cleveland suburb and time spent in California.

This is a meticulous cookbook, offering instructions on knife skills and ingredient selection, and strong step-by-step sequences for dumpling and wonton filling and folding.

There are a few recipes for dishes Cho’s immigrant grandparents served, but much more common are those her mother developed after watching American cooking shows, and Cho’s own inventions which link Chinese cuisine to many other cultures.

For example:

• Creamy tomato udon noodles

• White and black bean dip

• Lemon togarashi grilled chicken

• Chicken, corn, and jalapeno wontons with miso butter

• Grilled peaches and coconut sticky rice

While some books in the growing genre of second or third generation culinary ferment can feel jarring, nothing here feels equivalent to spam-stuffed falafel or pizza topped with poutine. Cho articulates the inspirations behind what she offers in a way that invites us to participate in her sense of discovery and possibility.

Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.