East Asian

Here you’ll find Chinese, Japanese and Korean titles. Our collection of recommended titles is a work in progress. We’re in process of adding many more, so please check back often! And drop us a line if there’s something you’d like us to consider including. We have included links to our reviews and other coverage of the books, along with links to purchase them through our affiliates. Buying through Bookshop is a great way to support independent bookstores, as well as our work at Cooks Without Borders.

If you’d like to see all our cookbook reviews in one place, find them here.

Featured

ALL UNDER HEAVEN

Subtitled “Recipes from the 35 Cuisines of China,” Carolyn Phillips’ 514-page 2016 book is treasure for anyone serious about regional Chinese cooking. More than 300 recipes.

$37 at Bookshop - buy now

$40 at Amazon - buy now

ASIAN DUMPLINGS

Subtitled ‘Mastering Gyoza, Spring Rolls, Samosas, and More,’ this 2009 book from Andrea Nguyen is a must-have for anyone serious about making dumplings and Asian filled pastas like wontons.

$28 at Bookshop - buy now

$18 at Amazon - buy now

THE BREATH OF A WOK

Winner of an IACP Cookbook Award, Grace Young's poetic 2004 book, gorgeously photographed by Alan Richardson, is all about wok cooking. Start here if you’re looking to achieve wok hei. Try a recipe.

$35 at Bookshop - buy now

$28 at Amazon - buy now

EVER-GREEN VIETNAMESE

Andrea Nguyen — our favorite Vietnamese cooking guide — takes a non-dogmatic approach to plant-based cooking, with brilliant results. Review coming soon. Read our review.

$33 at Bookshop - buy now

$18 at Amazon - buy now

EVERY GRAIN OF RICE

Subtitled "Simple Chinese Home Cooking," Fuchsia Dunlop's approachable, reliable book is one of our favorite cookbooks ever. Read our review.

$32 at Bookshop - buy now

$25 at Amazon - buy now

FIRST GENERATION

Subtitled “Recipes from My Taiwainese-American Home,” this is the wonderful debut from Frankie Gaw, creator of Little Fat Boy blog. It was one of our Best New Cookbooks of 2022.

$30 at Bookshop - buy now

$26 at Amazon - buy now

THE FOOD OF SICHUAN

An updated version of Fuchsia Dunlop's seminal title. We have yet to cook from it, but her recipes always work, her taste is impeccable and her authority undisputed.

$37 at Bookshop - buy now

$28 at Amazon - buy now

GOHAN: EVERYDAY JAPANESE COOKING

Emiko Davies’ charming book is filled with memories and stories from her family’s kitchen — and wonderful, easy-to-achieve recipes. Taste a sample.

$33 at Bookshop - buy now

$32 at Amazon - buy now

JAPANESE COOKING: A SIMPLE ART

Shizuo Tsuji's 1980 book is still in print after all these eons for a reason: It's essential. Here’s a sample recipe.

$41 at Bookshop - buy now

$42 at Amazon - buy now

JAPANESE HOME COOKING

Sonoko Sakai's book is another one of our favorite cookbooks ever — absolutely perfect for anyone (beginner or experienced cook) wanting to dive into Japanese cooking. Read our review.

$37 at Bookshop - buy now

$36 at Amazon - buy now

THE KOREAN COOKBOOK

This handsome volume by chefs Junghyun Park and Jungyoon Choi purports to be “the first and most comprehensive collection of traditional, authentic Korean recipes.” Review in process.

$51 at Bookshop - buy now

$49 at Amazon - buy now

LAND OF FISH AND RICE

We love the quiet charms of the cooking of Shanghai and the Jiangnan region, and Dunlop is a trustworthy guide who tells engaging stories of her experiences in the region along the way. Her recipes are easy to follow and they work. Read our review.

$32 at Bookshop - buy now

$28 at Amazon - buy now

MASTERING THE ART OF CHINESE COOKING

Eileen Yin-Fei Lo’s 2009 magnum opus is a must-have resource for aficionados. Essential intelligence about ingredients and techniques, with more than 150 recipes. Try a recipe.

$3 at Apple Books - buy now

$3 on Kindle - buy now

MASTERING THE ART OF JAPANESE HOME COOKING

We don't always love chef cookbooks, but Morimoto's is simple, approachable, excellent and his recipes work. Smartly organized by cooking method, a natural division in Japanese cooking.

$41 at Bookshop - buy now

$31 at Amazon - buy now

MISTER JIU'S IN CHINATOWN

The irresistible, beautifully photographed cookbook from Brandon Jew and Anna Lee’s Michelin-starred Chinese-American restaurant in San Francisco’s. Review and/or story coming soon.

$37 at Bookshop - buy now

$19 at Amazon - buy now

MY GRANDMOTHER'S CHINESE KITCHEN

Published in 2006, Eileen Yin-Fei Lo's sweet, personal book about learning to cook with her grandmother is a lovely way in to the world of Chinese cooking, especially for nervous beginners. Recipes can be a bit imprecise, those we’ve made have all turned out great.

$50 at Amazon - buy now

MY KOREA

Michelin-starred chef Hooni Kim's inviting is the authoritative Korean book we've long been waiting for. Read our review.

$37 at Bookshop - buy now

$28 at Amazon - buy now

MY SHANGHAI

Betty Liu’s beautiful, evocative book, subtitled “Recipes and Stories from a City on the Water,” is a paean to the place her parents grew up during the Culture Revolution. Read more.

$32 at Bookshop - buy now

$29 at Amazon - buy now

THE VEGAN CHINESE KITCHEN

Detroit native Hannah Che, now Taiwan-based, spent years in China, eventually studying at the only vegetarian cooking school in the country. Her gorgeous volume (she’s also the photographer) is as appealing to gastronomic-minded omnivores as it is to vegans. It was one of our Best New Cookbooks of 2022. Read our review.

$33 at Bookshop - buy now

$27 at Amazon - buy now

THE WOKS OF LIFE

The Leung family behind the wonderful cooking website of the same name debuts with a vivacious volume of Chinese and Chinese-American favorites. Read our review.

$33 at Bookshop - buy now

$28 at Amazon - buy now