'Feasts of Good Fortune' is a delight for the senses and curious minds

This is the KUOW Book Club, and we're cooking along with "Feasts of Good Fortune" by Hsiao-Ching Chou and Meilee Chou Riddle. I'm your club guide, Katie Campbell. Let's dig in.

I

recently talked to a KUOW colleague about why I'd selected a cookbook this month. It seemed like an odd choice to some in the newsroom. And I get it.

If your idea of a cookbook is a tome of recipes with lists of ingredients you may never use again and instructions that skim over culinary techniques better suited for fine-dining establishments than your kitchen, I can understand the confusion. A cookbook can seem like a — forgive the pun — bland option when we've enjoyed so many powerful conversations around great Pacific Northwest literature in previous months.

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Here's the thing: "Feasts of Good Fortune," and other cookbooks of its caliber, is so much more than a collection of recipes. It's culture. It's storytelling. It's personal.

Consider this passage that came with the recipe for scallion pancakes, the first recipe I made from the book:

This short paragraph is so informative. It welcomes readers who do not share the authors' Chinese American heritage to better understand the food we're eating and the traditions that we're partaking in.

I couldn't not make the scallion pancakes, as they're one of my favorites, too. I love a crispy pancake all on its own or served up with any number of dishes or sides. And my first go at this recipe reminded me just how versatile they can be.

RELATED: KUOW Book Club's February pick: A celebratory cookbook from Seattleites Hsiao-Ching Chou and Meilee Chou Riddle

See, I didn't have fresh scallions the night I decided to dive into "Feasts of Good Fortune," and snow flurries had already begun outside. I did have scallion kimchi, though, so I deviated slightly from the recipe and rolled the kimchi into my dough. I'll be honest: They were far from perfect the first night. My dough was dough-y. And while the kimchi gave the pancakes a nice kick, the result was still lacking something.

The next morning, I had an idea. I popped the remaining pancakes into the oven and fried some eggs in chili oil. I served the eggs with a little dill in a big bowl, somewhat family style, divvied up the now crispy pancakes, and tucked in with my boyfriend. That was a winner.

It was a cozy meal, not only because of the rich eggs and warm pancakes but also because of the way we shared it: seated next to each other on the floor, taking turns dipping into the perfectly runny yolks, watching the snow fall (okay, and maybe also binging "The Expanse").

We were home, physically and emotionally at peace.

Fitting that this was just a few days after the start of the Lunar New Year, the section of "Feasts of Good Fortune" in which you can find the scallion pancakes recipe. Hsiao-Ching Chou — the mom of the book's "Mom Says" notes — introduces this section with a reflection on the grand holiday:

The success of this book, to me, is how it encourages the reader and cook to consider their concept of home, too. It's full of warmth, from the stories shared to the colorful photography and emphasis on shareable dishes. Together, this mother-daughter duo created what feels like a family cookbook, the kind generations pass on to each other, kept in the family rather than released to the wider world.

I'm so grateful they've shared it. Had they not, I may never have made a homemade chicken broth, let alone a Chinese-style broth bursting with ginger, scallions, and shiitake mushrooms. That's what's called for in the recipe for long-life noodles in broth on page 176 (the recipe for the broth itself is on page 226).

I've made a lot of soups and stews over the years, yet for some reason, I never tried to make broth from scratch. Now, I can't imagine going back. The resulting noodle dish was rich and soothing, and my apartment was full of the broth's warm aroma while it cooked.

I served my noodles with baby bok choy, fresh cilantro, chopped scallions, chili crisp, shiitake mushrooms, and chicken (the bones of which I used to make the broth). Move over American-style chicken noodle soup — there's a new cold remedy in town!

That may be unfair to say, especially since this recipe is found in the section "celebrating our mixed culture." In the introduction, Meilee Chou Riddle reflects on her name. She explains the Mandarin character for mei translates to "rose," and the character lì translates to "strength" or "force." (Her mom spelled her name with lee to "make it easier for people to attempt to say.")

And she talks openly about the prejudice and stereotypes she has encountered from non-Chinese peers, as well as the power of her name and heritage:

If that doesn't explain why I've selected this book for the KUOW Book Club this month, I don't know what else I could say to prove this was the right choice. Reading expands our horizons. It challenges our preconceptions. It connects us. And that's exactly what "Feasts of Good Fortune" accomplishes in words, textures, and good food.

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Spoiler alert: I'm happy to announce we'll be reading Putsata Reang's stunning memoir, "Ma and Me," in March. Reang's family fled war-torn Cambodia when she was just an infant. She explores her inherited trauma and the expectations foisted upon her in the years that followed.

Reang's memoir won the Pacific Northwest Book Award for Nonfiction in 2023. It was also a finalist for a Dayton Literary Peace Prize and the Lambda Literary Prize. In short, you know it's going to be good.