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  4. 10 Best Chinese Cookbooks in 2022 (Katie Chin, Fuchsia Dunlop, and More)
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10 Best Chinese Cookbooks in 2022 (Katie Chin, Fuchsia Dunlop, and More)

Chinese cuisine is vast. There are so many regional cooking styles and, in America, we've got something else entirely—Chinese-American food. But have you ever wanted to cook orange chicken at home? Or better yet, wanted to make authentic, flavorful Chinese food by hand? If so, then we recommend getting a cookbook.


However, maybe you don’t know how to find a cookbook that’s authentic (but easy!), and you don’t know if you want to focus on dishes from a single region or from all over China. Well, we've covered what to consider when finding a book in our top 10 list and buying guide, so keep on reading! For the easiest, most authentic cookbook, however, take a look at Katie Chin's Everyday Chinese.

Last updated 09/26/2023
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Table of Contents

How to Choose a Chinese Cookbook – Buying Guide

There are a lot of things to think about before purchasing a Chinese cookbook that suits your purposes. So, below, we've prepared a handy buying guide that we hope answers some of your questions about what to consider!

1

Look for Simple Cookbooks If You're Busy or a Beginner

Authentic Chinese cooking can be difficult in technique and in what ingredients need to be gathered. An advanced cookbook is good if you already have a basic foundation for Chinese cuisine and you’re looking for new inspiration. 


However, if you don’t have a lot of time on your hands or are new to cooking, you’ll want a cookbook tailored to beginners.

Make Sure the Cookbook is Meant for Home Cooks in America

Make Sure the Cookbook is Meant for Home Cooks in America

The average commercial burner used for Chinese stir-fry can produce temperatures nearly 10 times as high as the standard burner in your kitchen can. So if you aren’t careful when you pick up a Chinese cookbook, you could end up with limp, leaky veggies and chewy, characterless meat because you don't have the right tools for the job.


Some cookbooks give you the option to use American-styled skillets, making them more convenient. But other times, they'll ask you to use woks, knives, or other gear you don’t have or otherwise aren’t willing to buy, so it's important to look for important keywords like “Simple” and “Home Cooking” when it comes to Chinese cookbooks.


You also want to check how many spices the cookbook utilizes. Since we now have e-commerce sites selling pantry items, and more and more grocery stores are stocking rarer Chinese condiments and spices, cookbook-required items like chili bean sauce can be more easily found near you.


However, this isn't always the case. So if you're too far from your nearest Chinese supermarket or you don't want to pay for shipping from online retailers, then look for a book that calls for as few rare spices as possible.

Look for One-Dish Meals that are Fast and Nutritionally Balanced

Look for One-Dish Meals that are Fast and Nutritionally Balanced

Chinese side dishes usually have just one main ingredient—so you have just a pork dish or just a vegetable dish. That means that, for a complete meal, you’d have to make at least two side dishes, as well as get the rice going in the cooker. And who has the time or energy for that on a busy weekday night after work?


So if you’re looking to cut down on prep time, see if the cookbook offers one-dish meals that also ensure you meet your daily dietary requirements.

2

Find a Book That Explains the Spices and Cooking Methods and Offers More Inspiration

Find a Book That Explains the Spices and Cooking Methods and Offers More Inspiration

If you do decide to go for a book that uses a bunch of different spices, see if it includes explanations of them–aroma, taste, about methods of use, or more. That way, when you’re ready to start experimenting in the kitchen, either crafting your own Chinese dishes or dreaming up fusion-cuisine, you can incorporate these spices in novel ways.


Likewise, books that offer general how-tos for Chinese cooking methods and tools will be invaluable to beginners who are just learning how to cook and leave you with the freedom to use those tools and methods in different ways.

3

Pick a Region or Go for All Cuisine Styles

China is huge, and each of the regions has a different taste to offer. Here, we'll go over the “Eight Great Cuisines”—made up of eight regions famous for their distinctive tastes—so that you can pick and choose what you want included in your cookbook.

Sichuan and Hunan: The Two Spicy Ones

Sichuan and Hunan: The Two Spicy Ones

You’ve probably heard of Sichuan cuisine (also known as Szechuan). It’s known for its biting hot chili and pungent, refreshing peppercorns. The taste, in Chinese, is often described as “mala“–or numbing and spicy


A lot of Sichuan dishes will also have a sweet or sour component playing underneath, perfect for people who like complex, layered flavors. A famous representative of Sichuan cuisine is mapo tofu.


Hunan is another bright and spicy region, but it doesn’t use copious amounts of peppercorn, so you don’t get that distinct tingling sensation. Instead, the aroma of garlic and the savoriness of meat give Hunan dishes their bold flavor profile. 


Hunan is known for its “dry pot” dishes—stir-fries with very little moisture, which leaves the meat crunchy without, the vegetables crisp, and spices fragrant.

Guangdong or Cantonese: Lighter and Easier on the Stomach

Guangdong or Cantonese: Lighter and Easier on the Stomach

All the spice and oil in a Sichuan dish could lead to potential indigestion if you aren’t careful. So if you’re looking for something lighter and more refreshing, perhaps pick out a Cantonese cookbook. 


The Cantonese are famous for dim sum–or “morning tea”–which often consists of steamed dishes light enough for a morning meal. Their rice noodle rolls are a particular highlight.


Cantonese congee is the ultimate comfort food, too. The most popular variety is Century Egg-Lean Pork Porridge, which infuses rice with the umami of meat and preserved egg.

Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang: Seaside Regions with Savory-Sweet, Braised Dishes

Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang: Seaside Regions with Savory-Sweet, Braised Dishes

Tender and savory-sweet isn’t, of course, all these regions have to offer, but it’s one of their main tastes. Shangdong has rich, nourishing flavors featuring clear broths that have bubbled for hours, deep, milky soups, sweet and sour carp, and the creaminess of sea cucumbers.


Jiangsu offers more balanced flavors. Jiangsu chefs stress the use of fresh ingredients, and sugar is a popular seasoning, so you get sweet and mellow undertones. It makes good use of the hong shao method, where you braise pork in soy sauce and rice wine. 


Jiangsu is also famous for salted duck and sweet and sour Mandarin fish (pictured in the photo above), which you will not be able to make at home.


Zhejiang is directly south of Jiangsu, and it utilizes the same savory-sweet approch and attention to fresh ingredients and seafood. Its dishes are quite dainty and not quite as greasy and overpowering as other Chinese dishes. 


It’s also home to the city of Shaoxing, famous for its wine, so its braised dishes–such as the tender and succulent Dongpo pork–are both clear and flavorful.

Fujian and Anhui: Hearty, Nourishing Fare

Fujian and Anhui: Hearty, Nourishing Fare
Fujian is another seaside province, and its dishes are rich, with a number of thick broths, stews, and soups known as “geng.” This region also loves to pickle its food and use Chinese rice wine, giving dishes a slightly sweet, crystallized, heady taste.


Anhui is further insland, neighboring Jiangsu, so their fare can be quite similar at times. However, Anhui is a mountainous–and not a coast-side–region, so their dishes utilize a lot of wild herbs, plants, and animals. There is less emphasis on stir-frying and more on stewing–think of the famous and multifarious Li Hongzhang Hotchpotch.

4

Make Sure It’s Easy to Read

Make Sure It’s Easy to Read
There can be a lot of recipes in one book, so you need to make sure they’re laid out in a way that makes sense to you. Check first if the index is extensive and easy to follow.


After that, see how the recipes are arranged. Is it by the type of main ingredient? That style is good if you’re looking for nutritional balance and a variety of side dishes. Is it by cooking method? If so, then it'll be good for if you’re looking to budget your time.


Then look at the recipes themselves—are they written out in a way that’s easy to read, or is there a lot of text that obscures the instructions? Are there icons and visual cues? Is there cook time and serving size and, if you need it, nutritional information listed out? 


Amazon has a LOOK INSIDE! for a lot of its books, which will come in handy if you want to quickly look at the layout.

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10 Best Chinese Cookbooks

Here are 10 of our favorite cookbooks that will have you working magic in your kitchen.
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1

Katie Chin

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

Katie Chin Tuttle Publishing – Katie Chin’s Everyday Chinese Cookbook: 101 Delicious Recipes from My Mother’s Kitchen 1

$15.99

Low Mid

Authentic Recipes and Fresh Spins From Two Renowned Chefs

2

Bee Yinn Low

Tuttle Publishing – Easy Chinese Recipes: Family Favorites from Dim Sum to Kung Pao

Bee Yinn Low Tuttle Publishing – Easy Chinese Recipes: Family Favorites from Dim Sum to Kung Pao 1

$21.68

Mid

Best if You Don’t Know What You’re Doing in the Kitchen: Has All the Basic Tips and Tricks

3

Fuchsia Dunlop

W.W. Norton & Company – Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking

Fuchsia Dunlop W.W. Norton & Company – Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking 1

$25.02

High Mid

Includes a Comprehensive Introduction to Ingredients, Equipment, and Methods

4

Charmaine Ferrara

Rockridge Press – The Healthy Wok Chinese Cookbook: Fresh Recipes to Sizzle, Steam, and Stir-Fry Restaurant Favorites at Home

Charmaine Ferrara Rockridge Press – The Healthy Wok Chinese Cookbook: Fresh Recipes to Sizzle, Steam, and Stir-Fry Restaurant Favorites at Home 1

$15.19

Low Mid

Teaches You How to Choose Healthier Ingredients for Healthier Dishes

5

Kei Lum Chan, Diora Fong Chan

Phaidon Press – China: The Cookbook

Kei Lum Chan, Diora Fong Chan Phaidon Press – China: The Cookbook 1

$33.77

High

650+ Recipes from All Over China

6

Naomi Imatome-Yun

Rockridge Press – The Essential Wok Cookbook: A Simple Chinese Cookbook for Stir-Fry, Dim Sum, and Other Restaurant Favorites

Naomi Imatome-Yun Rockridge Press – The Essential Wok Cookbook: A Simple Chinese Cookbook for Stir-Fry, Dim Sum, and Other Restaurant Favorites 1

$14.39

Low Mid

Includes Authentic Recipes and Americanized Favorites

7

Grace Young

Simon & Schuster – Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge: The Ultimate Guide to Mastery, with Authentic Recipes and Stories

Grace Young Simon & Schuster – Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge: The Ultimate Guide to Mastery, with Authentic Recipes and Stories 1

$23.99

Mid

Learn Everything About Stir-frying Techniques and Delicious Recipes

8

Carolyn Phillips

Ten Speed Press – All Under Heaven: Recipes from the 35 Cuisines of China

Carolyn Phillips Ten Speed Press – All Under Heaven: Recipes from the 35 Cuisines of China 1

$31.74

High Mid

Detailed Recipes and Eloquent Descriptions of Culinary Culture

9

Irene Kuo

Knopf – The Key to Chinese CookingHardcover

Irene Kuo Knopf – The Key to Chinese Cooking 1

$10.69

Low

The Primer of Chinese Cooking from the 70s

10

Jung-Feng Chiang, Ellen Schrecker, John Schrecker

Harper & Row – Mrs. Chiang’s Szechwan Cookbook

Jung-Feng Chiang, Ellen Schrecker, John Schrecker Harper & Row – Mrs. Chiang’s Szechwan Cookbook 1

$20.83

Mid

A Classic Cookbook from 1976 Full of Spicy Dishes

If you don't see the product you're looking for, you can request that it be listed.
No.1

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

Tuttle Publishing – Katie Chin’s Everyday Chinese Cookbook: 101 Delicious Recipes from My Mother’s Kitchen 1
Source:amazon.com
Reference price
$15.99
Low Mid
Reference price
$15.99
Low Mid

Authentic Recipes and Fresh Spins From Two Renowned Chefs

This book is beginner-friendly, and yet it has you making dishes that taste like they come from the hands of a seasoned chef. It includes traditional dishes, as well as restaurant favorites like orange chicken and sweet-and-sour pork. 

There are also interesting twists, like Chocolate-Raspberry Wontons and Lychee and Ginger Sorbet. The recipes come with drool-inducing photos of not only the dishes, but more unfamiliar techniques (such as dumpling wrapping).


There’s even a robust salad section–a rarity in Chinese cookbooks, but a real gift when it’s a summer night and you’re tired and sweaty and not in the mood for stir-fry. The recipes are prefaced with personal anecdotes from the life of Ms. Chin and her mother, a renowned chef. If you want a variety of tastes, we highly recommend this book.
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No.2

Bee Yinn LowTuttle Publishing – Easy Chinese Recipes: Family Favorites from Dim Sum to Kung Pao

Reference price
$21.68
Mid

Best if You Don’t Know What You’re Doing in the Kitchen: Has All the Basic Tips and Tricks

Even if you don't have any knowledge of Chinese cuisine, Bee Yinn Low's book can help you cook up a mean and great-tasting dish. 

Her cookbook includes a recipe for steamed rice, as well as tips and tricks on how to cut meat, deep-fry, stir-fry, season woks, and produce perfectly bouncy shrimp. There are explanations on common utensils and ingredients as well.


The recipes and ingredients are accessible enough, but there’s still a huge range of food for you to try. The book is organized by type of dish: appetizers, soups, dim sum, beef and pork, seafood, vegetables, noodles, and desserts and drinks. 

Reviewers mention that there’s no information on prep time, though most dishes take less than 20 minutes to make. And the photography is gorgeous.

No.3

Fuchsia DunlopW.W. Norton & Company – Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking

W.W. Norton & Company – Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking 1
Source:amazon.com
Reference price
$25.02
High Mid

Includes a Comprehensive Introduction to Ingredients, Equipment, and Methods

Fuchsia Dunlop is a pretty big name in Chinese cooking, being the first Westerner to train at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine. Out of all the Chinese cookbooks she’s published, this one is the most accessible

The ingredients aren’t too hard to find. She includes bite-sized introductions to popular Chinese spices, kitchen equipment, and cooking methods. And they’re all rounded out with glossy photos, which helps with identifying everything.


The dishes are organized (more or less) by main ingredient: tofu, meat, fish & seafood, leafy greens, root vegetables, soups, and so on. They’re quick and simple enough to make, but none of them can really be a meal on their own. 

Overall, though, this book is extremely authentic in its recipe crafting and selection and is suitable for beginners.

No.4

Charmaine FerraraRockridge Press – The Healthy Wok Chinese Cookbook: Fresh Recipes to Sizzle, Steam, and Stir-Fry Restaurant Favorites at Home

Rockridge Press – The Healthy Wok Chinese Cookbook: Fresh Recipes to Sizzle, Steam, and Stir-Fry Restaurant Favorites at Home 1
Source:amazon.com
Reference price
$15.19
Low Mid

Teaches You How to Choose Healthier Ingredients for Healthier Dishes

This book starts off with a bit of a primer on health. You learn about the healthiest oils, how to choose leaner cuts of meat, how avoid sauces with MSG, and how to maximize spice and minimize salt and sugar

The dishes are easy, the ingredients are mostly available at your supermarket and, if not, Ms. Ferrara includes some of her favorite online suppliers.


The recipes include beginner-friendly tips and are heavy on vegetables and light on oil. She often compares the nutritional content of her dishes to their take-out cousins, so there’s an easy way to keep track of your calories. That means you get both traditional Chinese platters and Panda Express favorites. 

And this book even includes sauce recipes that are both versatile and delicious. If you're looking for delicious food with low sodium and oil content, then pick up this book.

No.5

Kei Lum Chan, Diora Fong ChanPhaidon Press – China: The Cookbook

Phaidon Press – China: The Cookbook 1
Source:amazon.com
Reference price
$33.77
High
Reference price
$33.77
High

650+ Recipes from All Over China

If you are looking for new recipes to add to your already stuffed arsenal of Chinese cooking, this cookbook contains over 650 recipes from all over China. The first 40 pages are a discussion of history, geography, technique, and equipment, and the rest of the 700-page book is almost all recipes.

All the recipes are meant for home chefs, though they're not meant for people who lead busy lives. However, there’s information about how long each dish will take at the top of each page, the layout is very clean, and the instructions easy to read. 

The ingredients can get a little exotic, but there’s very little you can’t buy off Amazon. There’s also a selection of dishes from internationally famous Chinese chefs. So if you're looking for the definitive Chinese cookbook, get this one.


No.6

Naomi Imatome-YunRockridge Press – The Essential Wok Cookbook: A Simple Chinese Cookbook for Stir-Fry, Dim Sum, and Other Restaurant Favorites

Rockridge Press – The Essential Wok Cookbook: A Simple Chinese Cookbook for Stir-Fry, Dim Sum, and Other Restaurant Favorites 1
Source:amazon.com
Reference price
$14.39
Low Mid
Reference price
$14.39
Low Mid

Includes Authentic Recipes and Americanized Favorites

Rather than being authentically Chinese, reviewers mention that this book is Chinese-American in cuisine style. So if you love Chinese takeout, then you can recreate those recipes in your own home with this book. It's also beginner-friendly as well, and the author is careful to use ingredients that are readily available either in supermarkets or online. 

It takes you step-by-step through the whole cooking process, starting off with a buying guide on woks. The recipes are replete with tips, teaching you how to fold a dumpling and substitutions. 

You also get some origin stories about certain Chinese foods and how they’ve evolved or changed to meet the American palette. Reviewers do say that you don’t get photos of every dish in this book, though, so if you're looking for visuals as well as comprehensive recipes, this may not be the right fit.

No.7

Grace YoungSimon & Schuster – Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge: The Ultimate Guide to Mastery, with Authentic Recipes and Stories

Reference price
$23.99
Mid

Learn Everything About Stir-frying Techniques and Delicious Recipes

This book will teach you the ins and outs of stir-frying. It introduces you first to easy stir-fries, before ramping up the level to velvet stir-fries and oil-blanching. It also includes helpful food identification photographs and a guide to buying and caring for woks, as well as other important equipment.

The first half is essentially a textbook, walking you through technique–prep essentials, what kind of oil to use, and the proper heat and control for stir-frying. Then it leaps into the recipes, divided by main ingredients

The book includes authentic Chinese recipes, as well as some great fusion cuisine, like Chinese Jamaican Stir-Fried Beef and Carrots. Ms. Young writes eloquently, too, on the history of food.

No.8

Carolyn PhillipsTen Speed Press – All Under Heaven: Recipes from the 35 Cuisines of China

Ten Speed Press – All Under Heaven: Recipes from the 35 Cuisines of China 1
Source:amazon.com
Reference price
$31.74
High Mid

Detailed Recipes and Eloquent Descriptions of Culinary Culture

This cookbook is extremely expansive, covering more than just food. The dishes that are included are divided first into huge regions, the first being “The North & Manchurian Northeast,” with notes on the geography, history, and culinary culture of key provinces

The book is very much black and white, includes nothing about prep-time, and each step is written as its own highly detailed paragraph. There is a section on technique at the back of the book, as well as an extensive glossary of Chinese ingredients. 


Ms. Phillips also includes little illustrations of various cooking and cutting techniques. However, if you are new to Chinese cooking, it might take some determination to get through the recipes. If you do manage to make everything correctly, though, expect varied, authentic dishes.

No.9

Irene KuoKnopf – The Key to Chinese CookingHardcover

Reference price
$10.69
Low

The Primer of Chinese Cooking from the 70s

This is another classic that won’t just teach you Chinese recipes–it’ll teach you how to cook. This was basically the textbook of Chinese cooking in the 20th century (the book was first published in 1977), and the first 120 pages are all on technique–cutting, braising, stir-frying–the instructions accompanied by beautiful ink illustrations.

The recipes are expansive, including both traditional recipes and inspired spins. The instructions are easy to understand and concise; Ms. Kuo, though born into one of the oldest families in China, doesn’t include many details about her life in this book, but sometimes a beautiful flash of rhetoric shines through. 

Because the recipes are older, there’s likely a dish or two you’ve never seen before, so it can serve as inspiration for even advanced chefs.

No.10

Jung-Feng Chiang, Ellen Schrecker, John SchreckerHarper & Row – Mrs. Chiang’s Szechwan Cookbook

Reference price
$20.83
Mid

A Classic Cookbook from 1976 Full of Spicy Dishes

Szechwan Cookbook focuses on authentic classics. It was first published in 1976, making it's cooking methods sometimes outdated. The recipes can sometimes take a lot more time than you'd expect, too, but that’s also what makes the flavors so authentic and robust. As far as taste goes, it’s hard to beat Mrs. Chiang’s.

It does try to be beginner-friendly, including instructions regarding planning, ingredients, and equipment. However, we'd scale it more on the intermediate to advanced side.

If you want a bit of history, too, Ellen and John Schrecker, who actually authored the book, share with you the life of Mrs. Chiang, who grew up in Sichuan and whom they eventually invited back to the States. 

Expand Your Culinary Profile

Now that you've got your Chinese cookbook, you might want to get some new kitchen utensils and condiments to help you create authentic dishes! Don't worry, we've got you covered with more buying guides below.

Top 5 Chinese Cookbooks

No. 1: Katie ChinTuttle Publishing – Katie Chin’s Everyday Chinese Cookbook: 101 Delicious Recipes from My Mother’s Kitchen

No. 2: Bee Yinn LowTuttle Publishing – Easy Chinese Recipes: Family Favorites from Dim Sum to Kung Pao

No. 3: Fuchsia DunlopW.W. Norton & Company – Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking

No. 4: Charmaine FerraraRockridge Press – The Healthy Wok Chinese Cookbook: Fresh Recipes to Sizzle, Steam, and Stir-Fry Restaurant Favorites at Home

No. 5: Kei Lum Chan, Diora Fong ChanPhaidon Press – China: The Cookbook

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