This unique and beautifully illustrated cookbook offers a combination of cuisines spanning Southeast Asia that reflect the authors' immigrant heritage. Kaul (born in Singapore to parents of Kashmiri, Peranakan Chinese, and Filipino descent) and Hu (whose parents are Chinese Australian) each offer moving introductions to their experiences growing up and how they became interested in cooking. They also include anecdotes throughout the book to give readers insight into their lives and the meaning of the food they detail. The first part of the book includes a section on useful ingredients and kitchen tools/appliances one will need for the recipes. They offer useful guidance on recipe basics like making stock and easy, step-by-step instructions for forming their wontons and dumplings--which are not to be missed. Among the book's other recipes are Sichuan-style cold noodles, blistered green beans, and dong po braised pork. VERDICT Kaul and Hu have written an excellent introduction to Chinese and Southeast Asian cuisine, recommended for intermediate to advanced cooks. Readers who just love reading cookbooks, even if they never step foot in the kitchen, won't want to miss it either.--Holly P. Skir

Melbourne-based chef Kaul springs from mixed Asian ancestry and has a passion for all sorts of Chinese-influenced dishes passed down from previous generations--dishes that might seem fundamentally Chinese but that bear indelible marks of Malaysian, Indonesian, and Singaporean cooking. Enforced idleness brought on by COVID-19 made Kaul revisit her attachment to these hybrid foods and document their amalgamations; the result is this lively collection of personal cooking that home cooks can appreciate. Several variations on fried rice appear, from basic to a "billionaire" version with pricey dried scallops and flying fish roe. Dumplings and wontons make for good snacking or party offerings. Kaul transforms iconic Nashville hot chicken into a spicy, crispy Beijing version. She doesn't have a taste for many Chinese desserts, especially those featuring red bean paste, but does approve of some simplified egg custard tarts. Along with the book's photographs, bright, light-hearted illustrations from Joanna Hu perfectly match the recipes.

Chef Kaul and illustrator Hu (The Isol Cookbook) offer up a colorful and proudly inauthentic survey of Asian recipes. Drawing on her diverse ethnic background and experience as head chef at Etta in Melbourne, Kaul delivers on her promise of a "Chinese-ish story--vibrant, crispy, tasty, colorful, and incredibly delicious." The recipes are enlivened by whimsical depictions of delicacies by Chinese Australian illustrator Hu as the pair measure out handy tips (their take on XO sauce is a home-based recreation as easy on the budget as it is on time) and classic favorites, including fried corn with spiced salt, and mango dessert pudding. The dishes are rich in heritage and individuality, with staples like pork and prawn wontons that employ ready-made wrappers, Beijing hot chicken based on the Nashville classic but modified with a Northern Chinese spice mix, and a slew of noodle dishes that pay homage to taste and tradition--none more so than Sichuan favorite "ants climbing a tree," where clingy bits of minced pork evoke ants on the noodles. A solo dining section overflows with single-serve choices, and, for balance, Kaul and Hu offer up "great dishes for a crowd," including dong po pork, which is braised in rice wine and aromatics. Hu's illustrations amplify fanciful musings, as in the essay tracking her path away from what her parents considered an "acceptable" career and toward one in hospitality and later in art. Far-away flavors feel close to home in this delectable spread. (Dec.)