My Shanghai: Recipes and Stories from a City on the Water

Blogger Liu debuts with an impressive collection of Shanghainese recipes inspired by her family’s cooking. Following the cuisine’s tradition, Liu organizes chapters by season, with stews and citrus in winter and chilled dishes and green teas in summer. Liu celebrates regional preferences for seafood and pork in dishes such as scallion-roasted fish and pork-stuffed fried dough (whose sauced exterior she describes as “wrinkly like a soaked cloth”), and champions buns and dumplings as well. Common among many of the recipes are techniques of steaming, braising, and saucing with a glaze of soy sauce, wine, and sugar. Her cooking tips (such as preserving the color of bright purple eggplant by soaking it in vinegar before cooking) prove valuable for making fare that’s both gorgeous and delicious. Woven among the recipes and photos are tales from her cooking adventures, such as foraging for wild bamboo near the city of Hangzhou for her oil-braised spring bamboo recipe. This handsome work is perfect for lovers of Chinese cuisine and for home cooks of all stripes. (Mar.)