Four authors with four points of view could be a recipe for cookbook disaster. “The Woks of Life: Recipes to Know and Love from a Chinese American Family” instead hinges on the four varied — yet complementary — stances of the members of the Leung family: dad Bill, mom Judy and daughters Sarah and Kaitlin.
Digital to analog — forever delicious
It’s a formula the Leungs know well. In 2013, Sarah launched a blog by the same name, The Woks of Life. In the ensuing years, the site enlisted the other three family members, grew to monster size and became a contemporary resource for fans of cooking a variety of Chinese dishes.
The cookbook take on that same mission, “The Woks of Life,” is divided into ten chapters: Dim Sum, Starters, Noodles, Rice, Poultry & Eggs, Pork Beef & Lamb, Fish & Shellfish, Vegetables & Tofu, Soups & Stocks, Sauces and Desserts & Sweet Things. Much like the blog, a different Leung often introduces each recipe. You learn who likes what, and you can adjust your recipe preferences.
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Predictably, the dim sum section is labor-intensive. If you crave homemade pan-fried garlic, chive and shrimp dumplings, you’ll require three kinds of starch (wheat, tapioca and corn) for the wrappers, then a whole lot of rolling and pleating. The plush, crackling result warrants the effort, and the Leungs’ clear instructions encourage success.
Other sections trumpet both Chinese American fixtures and more traditional regional Chinese home cooking. Sesame chicken is a sticky, comforting similitude of the takeout staple; torn cabbage leaves, stir-fried with garlic, ginger, oyster sauce, black vinegar and an optional modicum of thinly sliced pork shoulder, embodies the healthy resourcefulness of much Chinese home cooking.
How to succeed in Chinese cooking
Any great cookbook needs to give you the tools to triumph. The Leungs stack the front of “The Woks of Life” with a series of guides that cover cooking tools, a slim, nine-ingredient pantry compilation and a short primer on cooking techniques, including a four-step map to achieving wok hei, the “complex charred, savory aroma and flavor” central to the best stir-fries.
And if you want to dig deep, the final section of the book is a nine-page glossary of additional Chinese pantry and refrigerator items — with a handy QR code that links to the same information on The Woks of Life blog. Keeping it all in the family is just what the Leungs do.
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