Author Talk: 'The Nom Wah Cookbook' Authors on This Storied Restaurant (Plus Cookbook Recommendations)
Staff from the Great Kills Library (Senior Librarian Margaret Siggillino) and the Mulberry Street Library (Senior Librarian Sherri Machlin) hosted a presentation and virtual author talk on Thursday May 19, 2022 with Wilson Tang, owner and operator of the century old Nom Wah Tea Parlor in Manhattan's Chinatown, and Joshua David Stein, a Brooklyn-based editor and author of numerous cookbooks and children's books. Tang and Stein talked about dim sum, the history of this family-owned NYC restaurant, and the robust community center that revolved around Nom Wah Tea Parlor. The original location still exists on a crook in the arm of Doyers street in the heart of Manhattan’s Chinatown, but it has grown to include outposts in Nolita, the Essex Market on the Lower East Side, and Philadelphia.
You can watch the recording of the Nom Wah Cookbook author talk with Wilson Tang and Joshua David Stein below.
Nom Wah Cookbook and Staff Recommendations Based on the Book
The Nom Wah Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from 100 Years of New York City’s Iconic Dim Sum Restaurant
by Wilson Tang and Joshua David Stein
The Nom Wah Cookbook prepares the home cook for replicating some of the dim sum parlor’s signature menu items; including bite-sized delicacies such as dumplings, egg rolls, rice rolls, and noodles, as well as recipes typical of formal feasts. The book concludes with chef specialties, desserts, and what to eat during Lunar New Year. But what really ties the book together are the stories collected over generations amidst a backdrop of changing Chinese immigration and ownership, honoring all the dedicated and talented people involved in creating and purveying these dishes that put Nom Wah on the culinary map in NYC.
The Dim Sum Field Guide: A Taxonomy of Dumplings, Buns, Meats, Sweets, and Other Specialties of the Chinese Tea House
written and illustrated by Caroline J. Phillips
Phillips demystifies the rich, nuanced culinary institution of teahouse snacks. This pocket-size, definitive resource featuring 80 hand-drawn illustrations includes entries for all the dim sum classics including siu mai, xiaolongbao, char siu, roast duck, and even sweets like milk tarts and black sesame rolls. This handy reference is perfect for bringing on-the-go to your next dim sum outing.
Xian Famous Foods: The Cuisine of Western China from New York’s Favorite Noodle Shop
by Jason Wong
The CEO of Xi’an Famous Foods describes how he grew his successful restaurant to 14 locations throughout New York and offers his never-before-published recipes including Fried Chicken Wings with XFF Spices and Hot Oil-Seared Biang-Biang Noodles.
Mr. Jiu's in Chinatown: Recipes and Stories from the Birthplace of Chinese American Food by Brandon Jew and Tienlon Ho
Mr. Jiu's in Chinatown is the cookbook from the acclaimed chef behind the Michelin-starred Mister Jiu’s restaurant in San Francisco shares the past, present, and future of Chinese cooking in America through 90 mouthwatering recipes.
Additional Resources
The Harley Spiller Vintage Chinese Menu Collection (Vintage Menu Art)
Harley Spiller has such an enormous collection of Chinese menus that he’s been given a Guinness World Record. Now some of his best menus are available on the Vintage Menu Art online gallery. Dating from 1910, these menus are a fascinating record of how Chinese food became a staple of American cuisine and they’re immensely decorative with striking graphics and fabulous imagery.
Museum of the Chinese in America
The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) aims to engage audiences in an ongoing and historical dialogue, in which people of all backgrounds are able to see American history through a critical perspective, to reflect on their own experiences, and to make meaningful connections between: the past and the present, the global and the local, themselves and others.