a fried chicken thigh

Malaysian Fried Chicken
Malaysian Fried Chicken

Malaysian Fried Chicken, excerpted from Sambal Shiok: The Malaysian Cookbook by Mandy Yin. Photography by Louise Hagger

Sambal Shiok: The Malaysian Cookbook

Sambal Shiok is a brilliant collection of over 90 accessible recipes that were handed down from Mandy Yin’s mother as well as those that she has developed for her critically acclaimed, award-winning London restaurant. The recipes—such as her signature curry laksa, Penang assam laksa, Malaysian fried chicken, prawn fritters, spiral curry puffs, flaky roti canai, beef rendang, KL golden fragrant clams, sambal mapo tofu, and the perfect steamed rice—can be made for a weekday family meal, a dinner party or celebration.

Malaysian food results from the unique merger over centuries of indigenous Malay ingredients with Indian spices and Chinese techniques. Every dish delicately balances sweet, sour, salty with chilli heat and a hint of bitter. With Mandy’s evocative look at Malaysian food culture, her recipes, and the basics of a Malaysian pantry (shrimp paste, lemongrass, tamarind and coconut milk), you can easily enjoy the most delicious Malaysian meals at home.

Sambal Shiok: The Malaysian Cookbook is available at Amazon.com and Indigo.ca.  (more…)

Taiwanese Fried Chicken
Taiwanese Fried Chicken

Taiwanese Fried Chicken, The Double Happiness Cookbook by Trevor Lui. Photography by Suech + Beck.

The Double Happiness Cookbook: 88 Feel-Good Recipes and Food Stories

Toronto is a renowned food mecca, born out of a cultural identity defined by the unified culinary tradition of a vibrant multicultural community. It is a city that has shaped and defined one passionate chef who abandoned his corporate job to throw on an apron and to get into the kitchen, behind the bar, and in front of diners.

Almost immediately, his Taiwanese fried chicken was voted best in the city, fans queued for his notorious ramen burger, and his sensational Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich brought in the masses.

The Double Happiness Cookbook is a riveting exploration of Trevor Lui’s tireless culinary journey that began in the kitchen of a family restaurant with sweet and sour chicken balls and chow mein and eventually drew inspiration from the streets of Toronto, LA, New York, and Taiwan.

Featuring feel-good, Asian-inspired recipes with a big-city attitude—think BBQ pork on rice, bulgogi beef tostadas, sweet chili cauliflower wings, and ramen with L.A. Kalbi—this heartening cookbook is an authentic celebration of heritage, community, street culture, and food philosophy. It is eighty-eight recipes, eight compelling stories, and one man’s dream.

The Double Happiness Cookbook: 88 Feel-Good Recipes and Food Stories is available at Amazon.com and Indigo.ca.   (more…)