Kristina Cho - Mooncakes and Milk Bread

Kristinas book is a trip down memory lane, an evocative look at the foods that made me happy as a child and that are laced with nostalgia for me as an adult. Every page of Mooncakes and Milk Bread is a treat, with beloved cakes and not-too-sweet favorites that felt unattainable to create myself at home, until now. Kristinas stories about growing up in her familys Chinese restaurant and greeting her aunties and uncles at dim sum are full of heart and soul, providing a window into a vibrant part of American culture that has brought joy to so many. And joy is a good word to sum up Kristinas book. It is more than a Chinese baking bookit is a triumphant celebration of how food brings people from different generations and cultures together. Ive never been so excited to bake and steam!

HETTY MCKINNON, FOOD WRITER, AUTHOR OF FOUR BESTSELLING COOK BOOKS INCLUDING TO ASIA, WITH LOVE, AND EDITOR OF PEDDLER JOURNAL

This book brought tears to my eyes. Some of my tastiest childhood memories were at Chinese bakeries, and these photos, stories, and recipes have both transported me back in time and provided fresh inspiration to re-create these memories at home. I am truly in awe of Kristinas ability to evoke nostalgia while also infusing new life into this genre of food that hasnt, until now, gotten the attention it deserves. Mooncakes and Milk Bread is a stunning, thorough, delicious, and important piece of work.

MOLLY YEH, COOKBOOK AUTHOR AND FOOD NETWORK HOST

Kristina Chos book is a long overdue collection of the artistry and sweet and savory flavors of Chinese baking. I cant think of another book that made me want to make every single thing!

Delving into the history of Chinese bakeries, visits to and recipes from popular traditional Chinese bakeries, including her grandfathers own almond cookie recipe, Kristina makes everything accessibleno easy feat for pastries that always leave me in awe, wondering, How do they make that?! This book is an absolute treasure.

LIZ PRUEITT, FOUNDER, TARTINE

Mooncakes and Milk Bread serves as a love letter to the Chinese bakeries of our childhoods but also as a guide for a new generation of fans, who can now bake their own pineapple buns (always with a slice of cold butter), the most perfect Chinese sponge cake, and everything else on the bakery rackall from the comfort of their own homes.

BIN CHEN AND ANDREW CHAU, COFOUNDERS OF BOBA GUYS AND AUTHORS OF THE BOBA BOOK

You can almost smell the magical aroma of freshly baked buns and steamed dumplings through the pages as you thumb through Mooncakes and Milk Bread. Kristina takes readers on a journey from Hong Kong to Cleveland to San Francisco and beyond, guiding us through the many typologies of Chinese American bakeries, like grab-and-go and takeaway. This book is filled with a beautiful blend of traditional recipes and new takes and twists on nostalgic classics. Ready your heart and belly for whats sure to be an instant favorite.

ALANA KYSAR, AUTHOR OF ALOHA KITCHEN

Mooncakes and Milk Bread

Copyright 2021 by Kristina Cho

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by Harper Horizon, an imprint of HarperCollins Focus LLC.

Any internet addresses, phone numbers, or company or product information printed in this book are offered as a resource and are not intended in any way to be or to imply an endorsement by Harper Horizon, nor does Harper Horizon vouch for the existence, content, or services of these sites, phone numbers, companies, or products beyond the life of this book.

Photography by Kristina Cho

Illustrations by Minnie Phan

Unless otherwise noted, profiles in this book were taken from personal interviews in 2020.

ISBN 978-0-7852-3900-0 (eBook)

ISBN 978-0-7852-3899-7 (HC)

Epub Edition August 2021 9780785239000

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021930696

Printed in South Korea

21 22 23 24 25 SAM 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To Goong Goong and Pau Pau, my selfless grandparents, who sacrificed so much to make this dream a reality.

Contents

Nestled along Payne Avenue, between the East 20th and East 40th Street blocks of downtown, is Clevelands Chinatown. Compared with the densely packed streets and alleys of New York Citys and San Franciscos Chinatowns, the Cleveland Chinatown feels teeny-tiny, but for my family, it was home. Our family lived right in the very heart of it for fifty years. When I was growing up, though I wasnt raised in Chinatown, I spent almost every weekend there visiting my grandparents. It was the home of our go-to dim sum spot, where my family gathered around large, round tables full of steamers every Sunday, and frequented the few Asian grocery stores, to pick up vegetables and ingredients we couldnt find at the local Giant Eagle.

My grandparents first moved to Cleveland from Hong Kong in the late 1960s. A lot has changed since then. Clevelands little Chinatown transitioned from few Asian-owned businesses to an ever-growing number of Chinese restaurants and grocery stores. But what we lacked for many years was a stand-alone bakery. All we had was a bakery case the size of a small closet, in one of the local Asian markets. It was enough for usmost of the time. Each year wed pack up the minivan for our annual road trip to Chicago. The Chinatown there was more robust, and its bakeries indulged our cravings for baked buns and rolled cakes.

Trips to the local bakery case and vacation visits to Chinatown bakeries in other cities are some of my favorite childhood memories. It was exhilarating, getting the chance to pick out a new, shiny baked good or crisp cookie, each bite connecting me a little more to my familys culture. Sipping on tea and pulling apart our haul of treats bit by bit, my parents and grandparents would regale us with their own memories of living in Hong Kong or even older stories of my grandparents in Taishan, China.

Maybe thats why Hong Kong has always felt like a second home to me. Both my parents are originally from Hong Kong and grew up in the same apartment complex. The food I ate while growing up is firmly rooted in Cantonese flavors and techniques, and the unique Western influences found only in Hong Kong.

My maternal grandfather, Goong Goong, was a schoolteacher and calligrapher, but when he decided to move his entire family, including his mother, wife, and five young children, to the United States, he knew he needed another plan, so he learned to cook. He learned to do more than just cook, though. When he arrived in the States and started working in kitchens, his first job was baking endless trays of almond cookies. He had an incredible work ethic (having seven mouths to feed will do that to you) and worked his way up in restaurant kitchens until he had saved up enough money to open his own restaurant. One restaurant turned into several more. Working in the restaurant became the family business. My maternal grandmother, Pau Pau, washed dishes and helped cook, and my mom and her siblings were the waiters, carry-out runners, prep cooks, and bartenders, when they werent studying, at college, or working another full-time job in a completely different field.