Let’s Make Dumplings! A Comic Book Cookbook

With the same approachability and humor that made a success of their first collaboration (Let’s Make Ramen), chef Amano and illustrator Becan have created another winning recipe collection. Here the focus is on making dumplings—specifically, dumplings and wontons from across Asia. The cookbook begins with a helpful list of pantry staples and cooking equipment, and subsequent chapters explore the varied folding techniques, fillings, shapes, and sizes of dumplings, along with several ways to cook them (boiling, steaming, pan-frying, deep-frying). Becan’s bright, detailed illustrations are especially beneficial for showing how to make and fold dumpling and wonton wrappers. The recipes are divided into sections for traditional savory dumplings (like Korean Dumpling Soup) and traditional sweet ones (like Cambodian Rice Dumplings), plus sauces and Amano’s creative riffs on dumplings. Amano encourages modifying recipes as necessary, giving home cooks the guidance they need to make a recipe their own. His asides throughout the book offer historical insight and draw on his Japanese heritage.