Mooncakes and Milk Bread : Sweet and Savory Recipes Inspired by Chinese Bakeries.

ISBN:

9780785239000

Title:

Author:

Cho, Kristina.

Personal Author:

Cho, Kristina.

Edition:

1st ed.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (305 pages)

Contents:

Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Contents -- Introduction: From Hong Kong to Cleveland -- Cafe Culture -- Sharing Chinese American Stories through a Chinese American Lens -- Typologies -- Ingredients for a Better Bake -- How to Shop at an Asian Grocery Store -- Essential Equipment -- Chapter 1: Bread, Bing, Bao -- Fay Da

Local Note:

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2023. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

Click here to view book

Publication Date:

2021

Publication Information:

Nashville :

HarperCollins Focus,

2021.

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
641.5951	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ON-DEMAND	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

2022 JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER * Baking and Desserts

2022 JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER * Emerging Voice, Books

ONE OF THE TEN BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker Magazine, The New York Times

ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: Time Out, Glamour, Taste of Home

Food blogger Kristina Cho (eatchofood.com) introduces you to Chinese bakery cooking with fresh, simple interpretations of classic recipes for the modern baker.

Inside, you'll find sweet and savory baked buns, steamed buns, Chinese breads, unique cookies, whimsical cakes, juicy dumplings, Chinese breakfast dishes, and drinks. Recipes for steamed BBQ pork buns, pineapple buns with a thick slice of butter, silky smooth milk tea, and chocolate Swiss rolls all make an appearance--because a book about Chinese bakeries wouldn't be complete without them

In Mooncakes & Milk Bread, Kristina teaches you to whip up these delicacies like a pro, including how to:

Knead dough without a stand mixer Avoid collapsed steamed buns Infuse creams and custards with aromatic tea flavors Mix the most workable dumpling dough Pleat dumplings like an Asian grandma

This is the first book to exclusively focus on Chinese bakeries and cafés, but it isn't just for those nostalgic for Chinese bakeshop foods--it's for all home bakers who want exciting new recipes to add to their repertoires.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

In this delightful debut, Eat Cho Food blogger Cho presents dozens of sweet and savory treats inspired by Chinese-American bakeshops. To start, she offers her recipe for Chinese milk bread (akin to brioche or challah), which is repurposed for several recipes, such as coconut jasmine cream buns and miso corn buns. As Cho explains, ovens and baking were only recently introduced to Chinese culture, and thus there are plenty of goods that are steamed (egg custard buns), fried (Chinese doughnuts), or boiled (including jook, a slow-cooked rice porridge). Readers will relish Cho's sentimental introductions, which focus on family ("My goong goong always wanted to be a baker," she writes before sharing her late grandfather's almond cookie recipe) and fusing Chinese and Western cultures ("It cracks me up that Bisquick has been Pau Pau's secret ingredient," she confesses in an intro to her grandmother's steamed cupcakes). Some other recipes--such as deep-dish pepperoni bread and chocolate Nutella loaf--are a bit of a departure from the Chinese fare, but will appeal to those more familiar with Western baking, as will her thorough instructions, including Chinese cooking basics such as how to set up a steamer. This is a terrific introduction to a seldom explored baking niche. Agent: Katherine Cowles, Cowles Agency. (Oct.)

Booklist Review

The art and craft of Chinese bakery has become much better known and appreciated in the U.S. in the past few decades thanks to an influx of emigrants from Hong Kong and other Chinese regions who have opened bakeries here. Cho grew up in Cleveland, where her family had to travel to purchase the breadth of Chinese baked goods that now appear in so many urban areas. After architectural training, she returned to her roots and perfected a host of steamed and baked breads and buns that she adored as a child. After explaining the science of creating tender milk bread dough, Cho shows the sometimes-intricate steps to transform doughs into an amazing variety of steamed, baked, fried, and stuffed creations with color photographs. Pork buns are familiar, but Cho introduces buns stuffed with corn or hot dogs. There's even a sort of Chinese tuna melt. Cho's grandfather's almond cookies are delightfully easy for first-time bakers. Access to a Chinese grocery goes a long way to making Cho's baked goods at home less daunting, but online sources can be nearly as helpful. Cho's documentation of the astonishing array of Chinese baking illustrates how much it equals any Parisian or Viennese rivals.

Library Journal Review

This vibrant cookbook by food blogger Cho (Eat Cho Food) draws inspiration from the diverse range of steamed, baked, and fried treats on offer at Chinese bakeries. Cho offers classics such as egg tarts, Chinese sponge cake, and BBQ pork buns, alongside her own innovations (Asian Pear Turnovers with Miso Glaze; Everything Bagel Bao). Mooncakes are treated with particular fondness; Cho's recipes for these holiday favorites span a range of styles and flavors (including Cho's inventive "ice cream sandwich" mooncakes). Cho also presents an appealing selection of (mostly savory) breakfast options, such as Hong Kong-style French toast and bacon and kale pot-stickers. Most recipes rely on ingredients easily sourced at American grocery stores, and Cho's clear instructions and step-by-step photos guide readers through processes of rolling and shaping dough. The majority of the recipes are appropriate for bakers of most levels, but familiarity with yeast dough is helpful. VERDICT Cho offers an authoritative and delectable treasure trove of recipes for Chinese bakery treats, which generally get little attention in American cookbooks. Highly recommended for all home bakers and anyone who enjoys Chinese food.--Kelsy Peterson, Brighton Grammar Sch., Melbourne, Australia