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“ The Woks of Life did something miraculous: It reconnected me to my love of Chinese food and showed me how simple it is to make my favorite dishes myself.”—KEVIN KWAN, New York Times bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians The family behind the acclaimed blog The Woks of Life shares 100 of their favorite home-cooked and restaurant-style Chinese recipes in ”a very special book” (J. Kenji López-Alt, author of The Food Lab and The Wok ) This is the story of a family as told through food. Judy, the mom, speaks to traditional Chinese dishes and cultural backstory. Bill, the dad, worked in his family’s Chinese restaurants and will walk you through how to make a glorious Cantonese Roast Duck. Daughters Sarah and Kaitlin have your vegetable-forward and one-dish recipes covered—put them all together and you have the first cookbook from the funny and poignant family behind the popular blog The Woks of Life . In addition to recipes for Mini Char Siu Bao, Spicy Beef Biang Biang Noodles, Cantonese Pork Belly Fried Rice, and Salt-and-Pepper Fried Oyster Mushrooms, there are also helpful tips and tricks throughout, including an elaborate rundown of the Chinese pantry, explanations of essential tools (including the all-important wok), and insight on game-changing Chinese cooking secrets like how to “velvet” meat to make it extra tender and juicy. Whether you’re new to Chinese cooking or if your pantry is always stocked with bean paste and chili oil, you’ll find lots of inspiration and trustworthy recipes that will become a part of your family story, too. JAMES BEARD AWARD NOMINEE • NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER • IACP AWARD FINALIST • PUBLISHERS WEEKLY STARRED REVIEW • “ The Woks of Life did something miraculous: It reconnected me to my love of Chinese food and showed me how simple it is to make my favorite dishes myself.”—KEVIN KWAN, author of Crazy Rich Asians The family behind the acclaimed blog The Woks of Life shares 100 of their favorite home-cooked and restaurant-style Chinese recipes in ”a very special book” (J. Kenji López-Alt, author of The Food Lab and The Wok ) ONE OF THE TEN BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: San Francisco Chronicle, Simply Recipes ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, Food & Wine, NPR, Smithsonian Magazine, Delish, Epicurious This is the story of a family as told through food. Judy, the mom, speaks to traditional Chinese dishes and cultural backstory. Bill, the dad, worked in his family’s Chinese restaurants and will walk you through how to make a glorious Cantonese Roast Duck. Daughters Sarah and Kaitlin have your vegetable-forward and one-dish recipes covered—put them all together and you have the first cookbook from the funny and poignant family behind the popular blog The Woks of Life . In addition to recipes for Mini Char Siu Bao, Spicy Beef Biang Biang Noodles, Cantonese Pork Belly Fried Rice, and Salt-and-Pepper Fried Oyster Mushrooms, there are also helpful tips and tricks throughout, including an elaborate rundown of the Chinese pantry, explanations of essential tools (including the all-important wok), and insight on game-changing Chinese cooking secrets like how to “velvet” meat to make it extra tender and juicy. Whether you’re new to Chinese cooking or if your pantry is always stocked with bean paste and chili oil, you’ll find lots of inspiration and trustworthy recipes that will become a part of your family story, too. "The family behind the acclaimed blog The Woks of Life shares 100 of their favorite home-cooked and restaurant-style Chinese recipes. While briefly living on different continents, Judy, Bill, Sarah, and Kaitlin Leung created the beloved blog The Woks of Life to document their family's history and traditions through food. Now, in their first cookbook, they present an in-depth and unique approach to the Chinese table with stories and recipes from each family member: heritage dishes from Judy, who was born and raised in Shanghai; restaurant-inspired dishes from Bill, who comes from a long line of chefs and cooked with his father in Chinese restaurants in upstate New York and New Jersey; and trend-driven, easy weeknight and vegetable-forward recipes from their millennial daughters, Kaitlin and Sarah. With four multi-generational voices in one book, the Leungs share a wide range of dishes, from simple and approachable meals like Shortcut Dan Dan Noodles and Sesame Crusted Tofu to celebratory ones like Cantonese Roast Duck and a whole collection of dim sum favorites. Kicking off the book is a wonderfully comprehensive look at how to build your Chinese pantry and fridge, essential tools (including the all-important wok), and the low-down on game-changing Chinese cooking secrets like how to "velvet" meat to make it extra tender and juicy. Woven through these treasured techniques and recipes are never-before-seen family stories from China and their home in New Jersey. Featuring gorgeous full-color photography alongside the recipes, The Woks of Life offers advice and traditions that will deepen your knowledge and empower your culinary growth-whether you're new to Chinese cooking or you already dabble in bean paste and chili oil"--. Provided by publisher The family behind the acclaimed blog The Woks of Life shares 100 of their favorite home-cooked and restaurant-style Chinese recipes. “For years, Bill, Judy, Sarah, and Kaitlin have been my go-to source for recipes and techniques that have roots firmly planted in Chinese tradition but with a uniquely American experience and voice. This is a very special book.”—J. Kenji López-Alt, author of The Food Lab and The Wok This is the story of a family as told through food. Judy, the mom, speaks to traditional Chinese dishes and cultural backstory. Bill, the dad, worked in his family’s Chinese restaurants and will walk you through how to make a glorious Cantonese Roast Duck. Daughters Sarah and Kaitlin have your vegetable-forward and one-dish recipes covered—put them all together and you have the first cookbook from the funny and poignant family behind the popular blog The Woks of Life. In addition to recipes for Mini Char Siu Bao, Spicy Beef Biang Biang Noodles, Cantonese Pork Belly Fried Rice, and Salt-and-Pepper Fried Oyster Mushrooms, there are also helpful tips and tricks throughout, including an elaborate rundown of the Chinese pantry, explanations of essential tools (including the all-important wok), and insight on game-changing Chinese cooking secrets like how to “velvet” meat to make it extra tender and juicy. Whether you’re new to Chinese cooking or if your pantry is always stocked with bean paste and chili oil, you’ll find lots of inspiration and trustworthy recipes that will become a part of your family story, too.