5 stars
A mouthwatering collection packed with facts, recipes, and adorable illustrations. Anytime I picked this book up, I instantly craved dumplings in one form or another. This book has everything from savory dumplings, to sweet dumplings, more traditional flavors and some riffs.
I really enjoyed the mix-and-match style of the book. Amano provides the basics on dough making, folding, fillings, cooking techniques, and sauces. While he gives his recommendations, there is plenty of room to play around based on one’s own preferences.
The one downside of this book (besides the fact I probably shouldn’t eat dumplings every day for the rest of my life, no matter how tempting) is that the fillings are mostly meat-based. There is a butternut squash recipe that was absolutely delicious, but the rest feature pork, chicken, beef, lamb, and/or shrimp. Becan’s illustrations do make even those meat heavy recipes look appealing, but as a pescatarian realistically I won’t be making most of them. However, this is a great place to start in terms of making sauces, dough, and ways of cooking and folding dumplings. From there you can create your own filling options if so inclined.
This book was such a pleasure to read. I don’t often read cookbooks in their entirety, but this one was worth it. Becan’s artwork is phenomenal and was very helpful in understanding the steps of the recipes, especially in terms of folding techniques.
A delicious book with tons of tips, tricks, and information. The comic book aspect really added to its appeal and I’m looking forward to delving into Let’s Make Ramen!: A Comic Book Cookbook soon.