October 1, 2022
Gaw, author of the award-winning cooking blog Little Fat Boy, shares recipes that pay homage to his Taiwanese American heritage in this debut cookbook. Growing up in Ohio, Gaw enjoyed the food from American restaurant chains such as Olive Garden and Applebee's. He started cooking while in college and soon discovered the food from his native homeland through his two grandmothers, who taught him to cook the dishes. Here, Gaw's family recipes are arranged in sections like "Small Eats" (cold marinated pickles; lap cheong corn dogs); "Noodles and Rice" (Taiwanese beef noodle soup; fried rice); "Dumplings and Bao Doughs" (with a helpful chart on making various dumplings and a guide for coloring dough); "Family Style" (cola-and soy-glazed baby back ribs; whole steamed fish); and "Baked Goods" (black-sesame caramel chocolate-chip cookies; maple toast). The book includes line drawings as well as detailed photos showing step-by-step instructions for tasks like folding dumplings and making scallion pancakes. The mouth-watering recipes are accompanied by personal stories about the author's family and identity and his reminiscences about food. VERDICT Easy-to-follow recipes and the nostalgic stories behind them are sure to please enthusiastic cooks.--Phillip Oliver
Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
October 17, 2022
Gaw, a first-generation Taiwanese American and Little Fat Boy blogger, debuts with a heartfelt exploration of his identity in this innovative recipe collection that draws on his Ohio fast-food upbringing and the Taiwanese cuisine of his grandparents. A selection of small plates features flavorful vegetable options, such as a warm sweet potato and zucchini shredded salad. By contrast, a section on family-style dinners goes big with a whole steamed fish and Gaw’s mom’s tomato seafood stew. Bing (flatbreads) has a chapter of its own, serving up scallion pancakes topped with red pepper paste or paired with ancho hoisin pork shoulder. There are step-by-step instructions for dumplings and bao along with tips on coloring the dough using extractions from vegetables such as beets, spinach, and red cabbage. And home cooks would be remiss in not trying their hand at the lion’s head Big Mac made from ground pork and flavored with scallion and ginger. For dessert, there is cereal, albeit in the form of Cinnamon Toast Crunch butter mochi or Cap’n Crunch and pecan shortbread cookies. This cross-cultural collection is sure to entice those who crave new takes on familiar childhood favorites.