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Kristina Cho has penned her debut cookbook in celebration of Chinese baking - the first English-language book ever to focus exclusively on Chinese bakeries and cafes - in Mooncakes and Milk Bread: Sweet and Savory Recipes Inspired by Chinese Bakeries (12 October release date; HarperCollins).
The seasoned San Francisco recipe developer, and blogger of Eat Cho Food, offers the uninitiated a delicious deep-dive into a world of beautifully conceived mooncakes, fruit-adorned cakes, flaky tarts, and juicy dumplings, in such a fresh and uncomplicated way you want to roll up your sleeves and have a go too.
There are over 80 recipes to pick and choose between, including plenty of savoury and drinks ideas, from steamed BBQ pork buns and pineapple buns with a thick slice of butter, to silky smooth milk tea and sunny egg tarts for those who don't want to skip straight to dessert.
For those new to baking, or Chinese baking in particular, the book also offers plenty of handy technical advice like, 'How to Press and Stamp Mooncakes with Ease' and 'How to Laminate Chinese Puff Pastry', complete with photos and illustrations making it all the easier to get impressive results.
Cho also gives the recipes context by offering brief glimpses into four US Chinese bakeries, from Fay Da in New York City, to Phoenix Bakery in Los Angeles, which makes for fascinating insight.
Below Cho shares two recipes from the book to get started straight away:
Red Bean Mooncakes with Salted Egg Yolk - Get the recipe
Honey and Pistachio Mooncakes - Get the recipe here
Photographs copyright Kristina Cho. Used by permission of Harper Horizon, an imprint of HarperCollins Focus LLC.
