Salt Sugar MSG: Recipes and Stories from a Cantonese American Home

The chef behind the groundbreaking Brooklyn restaurant Bonnie’s shares over 85 recipes that showcase his unique style of Chinese home cooking, a mash-up of Americana and Cantonese classics inspired by the flavors of his childhood.

“Calvin Eng draws on traditional Cantonese techniques and the mixing of Cantonese and American flavors that reflect our own experience. And he does it with a verve and creativity that make us want to run to the kitchen and start cooking!”—Sarah, Kaitlin, Bill, and Judy Leung, New York Times bestselling authors of The Woks of Life

As an American-born Cantonese kid, chef Calvin Eng grew up watching his mother, Bonnie, in the kitchen. Though he shied away from his culture as a kid, he later grew to love and embrace his upbringing, eventually opening Bonnie’s, which was praised as a top restaurant of the year by the New York Times and Bon Appétit.

Salt Sugar MSG is an introduction to Cantonese cooking through an American lens, full of easy flavor boosts and practical tricks, drawing a thread from his mother’s cooking to what Calvin cooks for his own family today. Some recipes stick closer to tradition, like Sizzling Steamed Fish with Seasoned Soy Sauce, Ham Yue Yook Beng (Steamed Pork Patty with Salted Fish), and Ginger Congee, while others upend expectations, like Salt & Pepper Pork Schnitzel with Chinese Ranch, Fuyu Cacio e Pepe Mein, and BLT Fried Rice. While these dishes may not look especially Cantonese at first glance, they certainly taste like it.

Written with his fiancée, Phoebe Melnick, Salt Sugar MSG is full of personal stories and practical tips and tricks as a loving ode to what it means to cook together as a Cantonese American family today.