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A review by ninetalevixen
Modern Asian Baking at Home: Essential Sweet and Savory Recipes for Milk Bread, Mooncakes, Mochi, and More; Inspired by the Subtle Asian Baking Community by Kat Lieu
3.0
I received an advance review copy from Quarto Knows (Quarry Books) through Netgalley; all opinions are my own and honest.
Truthfully, I'm not sure who the intended audience is. While I appreciated the pages introducing key Asian(-associated) ingredients, I was a little put off by the way they were framed as almost exotic and mystical; some of the recipe descriptions had a similar Western-centered lens, which is disappointing from a book with its roots in a community [originally, though admittedly not exclusively] for Asians and hyphenated Asians.
For the recipes themselves, I haven't actually tested any yet so I can't really speak to the quality of the instructions or whether they're a good match for my Asian-American palate. I did notice the language of the tip boxes, because for some reason it feels a little weird to have a cookbook direct me to "Please use vegan butter" if I want to adjust a recipe to be vegan. Some of them are pretty classic favorites with showy names (Night Market Scallion Pancakes, Simply Perfect Purin) and others seem like pretty typical cookbook staples with an "Asian twist" like miso, matcha, or mochi added (No-Knead Miso Focaccia, Dreamy Matcha Basque Cheesecake, Mochi Boba Milk Tea Ice Pops).
Which is not to say that they don't look good: the pictures are gorgeous, and I love the color palette and overall visual design of the book. But for all I know at this point, it could possibly be style over substance — we'll have to see.
Truthfully, I'm not sure who the intended audience is. While I appreciated the pages introducing key Asian(-associated) ingredients, I was a little put off by the way they were framed as almost exotic and mystical; some of the recipe descriptions had a similar Western-centered lens, which is disappointing from a book with its roots in a community [originally, though admittedly not exclusively] for Asians and hyphenated Asians.
For the recipes themselves, I haven't actually tested any yet so I can't really speak to the quality of the instructions or whether they're a good match for my Asian-American palate. I did notice the language of the tip boxes, because for some reason it feels a little weird to have a cookbook direct me to "Please use vegan butter" if I want to adjust a recipe to be vegan. Some of them are pretty classic favorites with showy names (Night Market Scallion Pancakes, Simply Perfect Purin) and others seem like pretty typical cookbook staples with an "Asian twist" like miso, matcha, or mochi added (No-Knead Miso Focaccia, Dreamy Matcha Basque Cheesecake, Mochi Boba Milk Tea Ice Pops).
Which is not to say that they don't look good: the pictures are gorgeous, and I love the color palette and overall visual design of the book. But for all I know at this point, it could possibly be style over substance — we'll have to see.