The Woks of Life: Recipes to Know & Love from a Chinese American Family: A Cookbook

The family behind the acclaimed blog The Woks of Life shares 100 of their favorite home-cooked and restaurant-style Chinese recipes.

This is the story of a family as told through food. Judy, the family matriarch, speaks to preserving the traditions she grew up with in China and regional Chinese food ways. Dad Bill worked in his family’s Chinese restaurant during his formative years, and walks you through how to make a glorious Cantonese Roast Duck. Daughters Sarah and Kaitlin have your vegetable-forward and easy weeknight recipes covered. Put them all together, and you have the first cookbook from the funny and poignant family behind the hugely popular multi-generational blog, The Woks of Life.  

You’ll find a compendium of go-to, accessible, and essential Chinese recipes, from Pork & Shrimp Siu Mai and Spicy Beef Biang Biang Noodles to Cantonese Pork Belly Fried Rice and Salt-and-Pepper Fried Oyster Mushrooms. There are also helpful tips and tricks throughout, including an elaborate rundown of the Chinese pantry, explanations on essential tools (including the all-important wok), and game-changing Chinese cooking secrets like how to “velvet” meat to make it extra tender and juicy.  

Whether you’re new to Chinese cooking or you already dabble in bean paste and chili oil, you’ll find inspiration from this chorus of voices, and trustworthy recipes that will become a part of your family story, too.

About the Author

Founded in 2013, The Woks of Life began as a quest to document one family’s history through food and has become the most popular online resource for Chinese cooking in English, recording generations of recipes for millions of home cooks. Bill, Judy, Sarah, and Kaitlin Leung have been featured on PBS and Magnolia Network, and online by the Food Network and Good Morning America. The family lives in New Jersey, where they cook, write, and photograph recipes together—and continue their eternal debate over what’s for dinner.

Author Residence: New Jersey

Author Hometown: New Jersey