Double Awesome Chinese Food: Irresistible and Totally Achievable Recipes from Our Chinese-American Kitchen

by Margaret Li, Irene Li, Andrew Li

Overview

Wildly inventive Chinese-American home cooking from the siblings behind Boston’s acclaimed Mei Mei restaurant.

Too intimidated to cook Chinese food at home but crave those punchy flavors? Not anymore. Put down that takeout kung pao chicken and get in the kitchen! Full of irresistible recipes that marry traditional Asian ingredients with comforting American classics and seasonal ingredients, Double Awesome Chinese Food delivers the goods. The three fun-loving Chinese-American siblings behind the acclaimed restaurant Mei Mei take the fear factor out of cooking this complex cuisine, infusing it with creativity, playfulness, and ease.

Take the Double Awesome: flaky scallion pancakes stuffed with two oozy eggs, sharp cheddar, and garlicky pesto; could there be anything better? Ridiculously delicious and unexpected dishes like Cranberry Sweet and Sour Stir-fried Pork and Red Curry Frito Pie will become new staples for your cooking lineup. Throw a hands-on dumpling-making party and let your friends decide whether to serve them chewy and pan-seared or crackly and deep-fried. Packed with pro-cooking tips, sauces to amp up any meal, sustainable sourcing advice, and over 100 delicious recipes, this book is your ticket to making the Chinese food of your dreams any night of the week.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611805574
Publisher:	Shambhala
Publication date:	02/05/2019
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	1,061,544
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 10.30(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Margaret, Irene, and Andrew Li are the sibling co-owners of a food truck and restaurant in Boston, Massachusetts. Their food truck, Mei Mei Street Kitchen, opened in 2012 and was soon awarded Boston's Best Meals on Wheels by Boston Magazine. Their brick-and-mortar restaurant opened in late 2013 and was named Eater Boston's Restaurant of the Year.
Margaret (aka Mei) currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and daughter and an ever-growing collection of cookbooks and board games.
Irene is a four-time James Beard Rising Star Chef semi-finalist who loves rescue dogs and hip-hop dance videos. She lives in Boston with her husband.
Andrew enjoys grilling, binge reading science fiction novels, and visiting every bouncy house in Greater Boston with his son, Jackson.

Table of Contents

Introduction: A Family Style Cookbook xi

Cooking at Home the Mei Mei Way 1

Ch.1 Our Favorite Pantry Recipes

White Rice 14

Garlic Panko 14

Soy Vinegar Dipping Sauce 15

Cranberry Sweet and Sour Sauce 15

Apple Hoisin Sauce 16

Soy Ginger Dressing 16

Miso Honey Dressing 17

Fermented Black Bean Dressing 17

Peanut Sauce 18

Ginger Scallion Oil 18

Chili Oil 20

Toasted Salt and Peppercorns 20

Fried Shallots 21

Honey Walnut Mayonnaise 21

Sriracha Aioli 23

Soy Aioli 23

Pickled Cranberries 24

Quick Pickled Carrots 24

Cabbage Pickles (or, Not-as-Quick Pickles) 25

Ch.2 Chinese Classics the Mei Mei Way

Rice Porridge Three Ways (aka Xi Fan, or Congee, or Jook) 31

Simple Rice Porridge 31

Thanksgiving Rice Porridge 31

Whole Grain Porridge 32

Beef and Broccoli 34

Ma Po Tofu with Apple Scallion Salad 37

Dim Sum Turnip Cakes with Bacon and Mushrooms 41

Cranberry Sweet and Sour Stir-Fried Pork 42

Dan Dan Noodles with Crispy Pork Belly and Brussels Sprouts 45

Jjajang Lamb Noodles 47

Stir-Fried Greens 48

Yu Xiang Eggplant with Cranberries and Almonds 51

Ch.3 Dumplings and Pancakes

Hot Water Dough 57

Traditional-ish Pork Dumplings 62

Beef and Blue Cheese Dumplings 64

Sweet Potato, Feta, and Brown Butter Dumplings 65

Pierogi Dumplings 66

Cranberry Sage Pork Dumplings 67

Three Sisters Dumplings 69

Chorizo Dumplings with White Bean Puree and Cilantro Oil 70

Cumin Lamb Dumplings with Mint Yogurt 73

Scallion Pancakes 74

The Double Awesome 77

The Kimchi Dog 80

Ch.4 Vegetables through the Seasons

Carrot Coconut Soup 87

Spring Dug Parsnip Soup 88

Hot and Sour Borscht 91

Smacked Cucumber Salad 92

Magical Kale Salad 95

Beekeeper's Salad 96

Charred Cabbage Salad 99

Golden Fortune Stir-Fry 100

Asparagus Tempura 103

Sweet Corn Fritters 104

Roasted Miso Maple Potatoes 107

Honey-Soy Butter Glazed Roots 108

Leafy Greens Gratin 110

Cheddar Scallion Bread Pudding 113

Ch.5 Rice, Noodles, Whole Grains, and Other Food in Bowls

Farmers' Market Fried Rice 119

Rye Fried Rice with Pickled Cranberries and Honey Scallion Goat Cheese 122

Summer Noodle Salad with Ginger Garlic Dressing 124

Soy Ginger Noodle Salad with Pickled Carrots and Tofu 126

Pan-Fried Noodles with Market Roots and Greens 128

Biang Biang Noodles with Curry Yogurt Sauce 131

Spring Green Curry with Halloumi 133

Harvest Moon Curry 137

Red Curry Frito Pie 138

Wheat Berry Salad with Pickled Cranberries and Goat Cheese 140

Our Favorite Market Bowls 142

The Heiwa Market Bowl, aka the Lil' Kim Chi 145

The Four Star Market Bowl 146

The Narragansett Market Bowl, aka the Chorizard 147

The Piggery Market Bowl 149

Ch.6 From the Pasture

Kung Pao Chicken Dip 154

Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings 157

Red-Cooked Beef Stew with Whole Grains and Winter Greens 158

Lion's Head Meatballs with Stewed Eggplant 160

Sesame Ssam Jang Brisket Lettuce Wraps 163

Apple Hoisin-Glazed Pork Chops 164

Roast Pork Belly 166

Cumin Lamb Shepherd's Pie 168

Maple Chili Garlic Rib Tips 171

Five-Spice Pork Shoulder with Whole Wheat Steamed Buns 172

Ch.7 From the Ocean

Salt and Pepper Shrimp with Summer Vegetables 180

Honey Walnut Shrimp with Ginger Broccoli Salad 183

Ginger Scallion Lobster Rolls 185

Clams with Black and White Beans over Noodles 189

Coconut-Dashi Clam Chowder 191

Miso Butter Mussels with Bok Choy 195

Red-Cooked Fish 196

Fish with Fennel, Cilantro, and Sesame Oil 199

Broiled Salmon Collars 201

Roasted Whole Fish with Summer Tomatoes and the Chinese Trinity 203

Ch. 8 Drinks and Desserts

Haymakers Punch 209

Woodsman's Refresher 209

Hot Buttered Fire Cider 210

Carrot Chocolate Mousse 213

Cranberry Upside-Down Cake with Bourbon Butternut Custard 214

Honey Beet Blondies 217

Oolong Panna Cotta 219

Strawberries and Cream 220

Corn Graham Cheesecake with Blueberry Compote 222

Oat Crunch Chocolate Pudding 225

Whole Wheat Black Sesame Shortbread 226

Miso Sesame Chocolate Chip Cookies 227

Acknowledgments 229

Resources 231

Index 233

About the Authors 240

Editorial Reviews

The Mei Mei trio have nailed the easiest and best aspects of what it means to cook Chinese food at home. From sides and sauces to crucial building blocks like stocks and chile pastes. This book is the true bridge from the cuisine of our Chinese grandparents to the way people are eating today; it’s the next wave of true Chinese American food. Double Awesome Chinese Food is traditional, honest, and authentic while at the same time blowing up our conventional definitions of Chinese cooking.”—Andrew Zimmern

“The food in this book is unique and as filled with personality as it is with flavor, as inventive as it is familiar and comforting. You’ll come away from this book wanting to jump into the kitchen. These authors have that one innate quality that all great chefs share: they know what delicious is, and more importantly, they know that delicious doesn’t have to be fussy or fancy.”—J. Kenji López-Alt, author of The Food Lab, Chief Culinary Consultant at Serious Eats, and Chef at Wursthall
 
“Double Awesome Chinese Food is chock-full of inspiring stories and fabulous recipes. Reading it brings me the same sense of joy as going into Mei Mei—I’m excited, and I know I’m going to stuff my face with amazing food. Kudos!”—Joanne Chang, author of Flour and Myers+Chang at Home

From the Publisher