Katie Chin’s Everyday Chinese Cookbook: 101 Delicious Recipes from My Mother’s Kitchen

Chin (Everyday Thai Cooking) grew up in the restaurant industry—her mother was the driving force behind the successful Leeann Chin restaurant chain—but had forgotten how to cook by the time she moved to L.A. She called her mother for tips, and the two reconnected over cooking. Those recipes are shared in this solid collection, weighted fairly evenly between American Chinese classics (such as mu shu pork, hot and sour soup, kung pao and General Tso’s chicken, and sweet and sour pork) and must-try dishes such as Peking duck summer rolls, luscious hoisin-lacquered ribs, Chinese glazed salmon, and the impressive and elaborate braided fish steamed with ginger and green onions. Readers who are inspired to create their own hoisin sauce, chili paste, or sweet-and-sour sauce are given directions to do so. Home cooks will do themselves a disservice if they skip over Chin’s text to get to the recipes, as she sprinkles in terrific advice on cooking the perfect pot of rice, eliminating the “fishy” taste of shrimp (soak it in salt water), and tenderizing meat. Though this isn’t the definitive take on American Chinese cooking, it’s a practical and applicable one. Readers who want to stop ordering out and attempt their own Chinese fare will find this to be a helpful guide. (Apr.)