Cookbooks and food writing from the past year

Explore dumpling styles from around the world, cook everyday meals rich with Afghan history, get a dose of inspiration from Chinese bakeries, add some Filipino dishes to the next few weeks (and probably forever), or learn how to cook Hawaiian dishes — we have confidence that you can do it all, with the right guide. Here are five cookbooks our staff loved from the past year. These are cooks you’ll want to follow on Instagram, too.

Let’s Make Dumplings by Hugh Amano and Sarah Becan: If the title alone didn’t lure you in, listen to this: It’s a comic book cookbook, two favorite things for many of us for sure, AND THEN THERE ARE DUMPLINGS! It’s a delight. The illustrations are charming as well as super helpful for folding styles. This duo also created Let’s Make Ramen (2019). Keep up with both of them on Instagram: @hughamano and @sarahbecan.

Parwana: Recipes and Stories from an Afghan Kitchen by Durkhanai Ayubi: A mix of history and family stories, along with recipes for rice dishes, curries, dumplings, pastas, soups, bread, and more. Ayubi, who now  lives in Australia, offers doable recipes along with a terrific read. Follow her on Instgram: @durkhanaiayubi.

Mooncakes and Milk Bread by Kristina Cho. Sweet and savory recipes inspired by Chinese bakeries, beginning with Cho’s foundational recipe for milk bread which is then repurposed in other recipes. Get to know more about Cho at the blog Eat Cho Food and on Instagram at @eatchofood.

Filipinx: Heritage Recipes from the Diaspora by Angela Dimayuga:  Dimayuga, honored as a James Beard Rising Star Chef finalist, says “I don’t believe in treating recipes like relics … Part of the joy of cooking is that we each bring to the kitchen our own imagination.” Whether new or experienced with Filipino cooking, this is one to not miss. Find her on Instagram, too: @angela.dimayuga.

Cook Real Hawai’i by Sheldon Simeon: Native Hawaiian traditions, Japanese influences, and Portuguese cooking techniques all come into play in this collection that emphasizes everyday meals. You may know Simeon as a finalist on Top Chef; keep up with him on Instagram, too: @chefwonder.

Find more cookbooks and food writing in this list: Seattle Picks: 2021 Cookbooks.

~ posted by Linda J.