Cho - Mooncakes and Milk Bread: Sweet and Savory Recipes Inspired by Chinese Bakeries

Praise for Mooncakes and Milk Bread

Kristina s 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. Kristina s stories about growing up in her family s 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 Kristina s book. It is more than a Chinese baking book it is a triumphant celebration of how food brings people from different generations and cultures together. I ve never been so excited to bake and steam!

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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 Kristina s ability to evoke nostalgia while also infusing new life into this genre of food that hasn t, until now, gotten the attention it deserves. Mooncakes and Milk Bread is a stunning, thorough, delicious, and important piece of work.

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Kristina Cho s book is a long overdue collection of the artistry and sweet and savory flavors of Chinese baking. I can t 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 grandfather s own almond cookie recipe, Kristina makes everything accessible no easy feat for pastries that always leave me in awe, wondering, How do they make that?! This book is an absolute treasure.

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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 rack all from the comfort of their own homes.

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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 bak- eries, 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 what s sure to be an instant favorite.

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Mooncakes and Milk Bread

Sweet & Savory Recipes

Inspired by Chinese Bakeries

Kristina Cho

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 means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other except 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)

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.

vi Mooncakes and Milk Bread

vii

Contents

viii Mooncakes and Milk Bread

Nestled along Payne Avenue, between the East 20th and East 40th Street blocks of downtown, is Cleveland s Chinatown. Compared with the densely packed streets and alleys of New York City s and San Francisco s 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 wasn t 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 gro- cery stores, to pick up vegetables and ingredients we couldn t 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. Cleveland s 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 us most of the time. Each year we d 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.