Chinese-ish: Home cooking, not quite authentic, 100% delicious

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It was at the beginning of the pandemic that her employer shut the doors and as a project to occupy herself, Rosheen began documenting all the inauthentic Asian recipes she most loved to eat each day. Modern, unconventional, innovative, vibrant, tasty, colourful and incredibly delicious—this is a cookbook from two authors who consider themselves wonderfully Chinese-ish. In these pages you’ll find a bounty of inauthentic Chinese-influenced dishes from all over Southeast Asia, including the best rice and noodle dishes, wontons and dumplings, classic Chinese mains and even a Sichuan Sausage Sanga that would sit proudly at any backyard barbie. Chinese-ish celebrates the confident blending of culture and identity through food—take what you love and reject what doesn't work for you. Readers who just love reading cookbooks, even if they never step foot in the kitchen, won't want to miss it either.

Get yourself a carbon steel wok (as my husband did recently; he’s loving it), hit up the supermarket’s international aisle or your local Asian market, and you’ll be dishing up variations on fried rice, Sichuan-style noodles and chiffon omelets in no time. The authors spend a lot of bandwidth explaining their merge-y ethnicities and how the recipes are merely Chinese- inspired so don’t come here looking for authenticity. When the rice is ready and starting to sizzle, add the white pepper, salt, sugar and MSG (if using) and stir through.Hu's watercolor illustrations play so nicely with the vivid photography throughout and the recipes are remarkably accessible. Kaul and Hu have written an excellent introduction to Chinese and Southeast Asian cuisine, recommended for intermediate to advanced cooks. Thank you to Anne Cater, Random Things Tours and Murdoch Books for my stunning gifted copy and for having me on the blog tour for this book.

This unique and beautifully illustrated cookbook offers a combination of cuisines spanning Southeast Asia that reflect the authors’ immigrant heritage … They also include anecdotes throughout the book to give readers insight into their lives and the meaning of the food they detail … Kaul and Hu have written an excellent introduction to Chinese and Southeast Asian cuisine, recommended for intermediate to advanced cooks. The Singapore-born chef has teamed up with illustrator (and former waiter) Joanna Hu, who hails from China's Hunan province. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.

Readers who just love reading cookbooks, even if they never step foot in the kitchen, won’t want to miss it either. Rosheen Kaul was born in Singapore to parents of mixed Asian heritage (Kashmiri, Peranakan Chinese, Filipino). Australians Rosheen Kaul and Joanna Hu confront their blended-Chinese heritage by exploring classics of home cooking like wontons, fried rice and stir-fries—while also going where nobody’s grandma has gone before, with ‘very inauthentic Shrimp Toast’ and ‘Microwave Cheong fun’ rice noodle rolls. 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 shepherd’s pie, or forge a new path where flavour and the freedom to choose trumped authenticity?

Crafted out of a desire to share family and personal experiences, new tastes, and a legacy of adapted recipes, Chinese-ish is a cultural and culinary testament.Modern, unconventional, innovative, vibrant, tasty, colourful and incredibly delicious―this is a cookbook from two authors who consider themselves wonderfully Chinese-ish . I’ve chosen a recipe for you that seemed to me an excellent introduction to the food in this happy-making book: Burnt Spring Onion Oil Noodles, just perfect for when you need a simple but richly flavoured solo supper. As I was writing this review, what also struck me, is how pertinent the arrival of this book is now, with many people (myself included) seriously impacted by the UK cost of living crisis…my favourite Chinese takeaway treats, are just a memory but this book has brought me hope, I can now cost effectively still indulge in some of my favourite food. Continue to stir-fry over high heat until the sausage fat begins to render and the noodles are lightly charred, 2-3 minutes.