The Nom Wah cookbook Recipes and stories from 100 years at New York City's iconic dim sum restaurant

Tang, owner of Nom Wah Tea Parlor in New York's Chinatown, offers recipes that pay homage to its culinary tradition while adapting the cuisine to a modern palate. The majority of the recipes are considered dim sum, or bite-sized dishes that can be divided into two parts: wrappers and fillings. Tang provides a short list of accessible kitchen utensils, key pantry items that can be found in many grocery stores and online, an explanation of the three cooking methods used (steam, pan fry, and stir fry), as well as admitting that he uses store-bought wrappers for many of his dishes because of their high quality. Recipes for the three Master Fillings (pork, shrimp, and vegetables) can be used to create variations on the recipes for dumplings, rolls, rice, and noodle dishes. Recipes of note include their popular har gow (shrimp in delicate dumpling wrappers) as well as scallion pancakes, which are a crowd-pleasing appetizer. VERDICT While the list of necessary items might deter some, the variations on the recipes will appeal to both carnivores and vegetarians.--David Miller, Farmville P.L., NC