It’s not often that a book lands on my doorstep with a resounding THUD, but Kei Lum Chan and Diora Fong Chan’s 720-page, second-edition tome did just that. China: The Cookbook is a deep dive into one of the world’s oldest and most diverse cuisines. Originating in the central part of the Middle Kingdom, its gastronomy dates back over 3 million years to the earliest known period of human culture: the Stone Age.
The original cookbook was first released in 2016 by its global publisher, Phaidon. When the company sought to release a book on China in developing its new series on national cuisines (The Nordic Cookbook, The Lebanese Kitchen, etc.), it turned to the Hong Kong couple whose culinary experience and background knowledge were legend. Urging them to create a new version of their original edition in English required considerable effort, but after serious deliberations and Phaidon entreaties, the Chans consented. In early 2025, the debut of their newly minted publication met with resounding success. Glowing reviews raved: “monumental,” “a definitive cookbook bible,” “top culinary authorities within China,” “MOST comprehensive Chinese cookbook,” “authentic,” “a gem, a rare find,” “one of the best investments you will make.”
As I sat eyeing the pristine edition stoically at rest on my kitchen counter, I absentmindedly nibbled on remnants of day-old shumai and char siu bao for requisite inspiration. Cloaked in its glossy red cover and come-hither gilt edging, it morphed into a mesmerizing siren song. I couldn’t resist. As my upper body workout for the day, I hoisted its hulking mass off the counter. The 10-pound temptation jolted me back to reviewer reality: I was in for a protracted engagement.
With the crimson and gold heavyweight propped on a pillow lounging on my lap, I spent days thumbing through page after page after unremitting page. A magnum opus teeming with hundreds of recipes from 33 regions and subregions of China, including edible fare from Xinjiang, Tibet, Yunnan, and Inner Mongolia (autonomous regions of China), and with innovative contributions provided by celebrated Chinese chefs from around the world, it left me breathless at the task ahead.
A tour de force, the cookbook encompasses a full range of comestible preparations: appetizers, salads, soups, fish and seafood, poultry, meat, vegetables, tofu, eggs, rice, noodles, and desserts. From popular, well-known dishes to unfamiliar, obscure regional classics, the recipes are uncomplicated and appropriate for novice or apprentice cooks as well executive chefs. Also included are practical additions: a brief history of China’s food cultures, regional variations, detailed classic Chinese cooking techniques and equipment, an extensive glossary of Chinese ingredients, and a utilitarian index.
So, who are the authors of this intrepid creation? Why should their cookbook be held in such high esteem by so many? How is it that they are considered top Chinese culinary authorities?
Kei Lum Chan, a food writer from Hong Kong, along with his wife, Diora Fong Chan, have published over 16 bestselling (several award-winning) cookbooks in Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan since retiring from successful private-sector careers. Within China, they have long been regarded as top culinary authorities.
Kei, raised in a food-centric family, learned to cook at an early age. His father, Mong-Yan Chan, was a celebrated Hong Kong journalist who authored Food Classics, a series with an enormous influence on Chinese culinary culture. A prominent food critic and cookbook author, he had a major impact on his son’s education and appreciation regarding Chinese food fare traditions. Diora’s connection to morning, noon, and night dining was rooted in her family heritage dating back to the Qing dynasty court. She had a business in structural steel engineering in China, but following her marriage to Kei and her retirement from her commercial firm, she turned her focus on writing Chinese cookbooks with her husband.
As an IBM technology consultant, Kei traveled for years throughout China and its outer areas with Diora at his side. In far-flung journeys, they absorbed the unique culinary customs and histories of the diverse regions they explored. Over two decades, their passion and interest in food compelled them to take notes about the dishes they sampled. While collecting interesting and unique recipes, they familiarized themselves with the many unusual and unfamiliar ingredients they found and wrote detailed journals about their remarkable experiences.
Within each region, the Chans took stock of individual cooking and dining habits tied to geographical and climatic differences. In Southern China’s tropical climate, they noted the people preferred cooler, milder “yin” foods that reduced the effects of dryness and heat where they lived. In Northern China, with its damp, chilly climate, the population preferred hotter, spicier “yang” foods, such as chile peppers, garlic, and onions, which reduced cold, damp feelings and boosted blood circulation to more comfortable levels.
On returning to Hong Kong, Kei and Diora began publishing well-received cookbooks based on their years of travel and explorations. A special volume they wrote during this period was the 2016 edition of China: The Cookbook.
In 2025, when they published their revised edition, their goal was to present a collection of recipes that would best represent the cross section of Chinese cuisine, providing something for everyone, from famous crowd pleasers to lesser-known gems. Writing a comprehensive volume about the variety of foods consumed by 1.4 billion people they found to be a daunting task. The problem was not in compiling a sufficient number of recipes, but having far too many!
Other critical issues they struggled with included the need to simplify a recipe; the availability of key ingredients across the globe; difficulty in renaming ingredients for a wide, diverse audience; special equipment sometimes required; and the “unique” taste of some dishes. These concerns resulted in the elimination of a number of recipes initially considered for inclusion to limit the burgeoning size of the 2025 edition. Through multiple testing and retesting, the couple reduced the final number of recipes from 1,200 to 720.
Given the outstanding reviews since its public release, co-authors Kei Lum Chan and Diora Fong Chan can take immense pride in what they accomplished. When Chinese people find something they eat to be delicious, they will often say 好吃 (hǎo chī), meaning “tastes good” or “good to eat.” China: The Cookbook is a veritable treasure trove of things that are “very good to eat”!
