• Eat Your Books

  See Eat Me Daily's review of this cookbook. They also selected it as one of the Best Cookbooks of 2009.

  This cookbook was listed in Cooking With Amy's Best Cookbooks of 2009.

• robinorig on February 09, 2010

  I've been to the original Momofuku and the accolades are well deserved. Very creative and ingenious. The book proves the amount of care, thought and creativity going into the food. Incredible! Plus a good read!

• kimoeats on January 14, 2010

  Flavor feels like Asia......what noodle soups should taste like.....easy to understand and follow....

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Ramen broth

  • okcook on March 09, 2016

    It takes most of the day for the broth to be ready but a lot of that time is passive. Really worth making and it makes 6 quarts!

  • imaluckyducky on October 08, 2019

    5 enthusiastic stars! Started this last night at about 7pm and finished by 11am for tonight's dinner. This broth is well-balanced, bold,and complex. The earthiness from the kelp shines in the aftertaste when married with the shiitake and the sake. This has a very pleasant mouthfeel, and the directions are exceptionally well-written for what to do when and what to look for. Finishing the broth at the end with the tare (or a modified version without using chicken backs because... I only had one chicken) is absolutely essential and is what lends the broth its beautiful color and the low-key acidity and salinity it needs.

• Momofuku pork buns

  • fprincess on May 29, 2013

    I used a 4-lb pork belly . I realize that the online recipe that I used (from epicurious) differs from the book in several respects. First, in the online recipe the belly is brined for 12 hours (instead of being dry-cured). It is roasted at low temperature first, and high temperature at the end. Despite these differences, I got an outstanding result. I did not attempt making the buns so I used high-quality dinner rolls from a local bakery. I served them with the quick-pickled cucumber from the book, chives instead of scallions, and hoisin sauce. Absolutely delightful. This is a great recipe because it can be prepared in advance and reheated as needed. Photos here: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/129936-cooking-with-the-momofuku-cookbook/?p=1878658

  • MmeFleiss on March 03, 2015

    I've made this using both the recipe from the book and the one from epicurious, I actually prefer the epicurious version because I felt that the pork using the book recipe is too dry. 2016 update: I made it per the book direction and baked the pork belly in a snug loaf pan. The texture was much better as it cooked submerged in its own fat.

  • metacritic on February 08, 2021

    I've made the ramen several time but not these. I bought frozen bao in the local Chinese grocer. As is so often the case with this cookbook, I pretty much perfectly replicate the restaurant's results. Deeply satisfying.

  • bwhip on April 08, 2017

    These are amazing, really tasty. Prep is actually quite simple, but also quite time consuming. The local Whole Foods just sold 1 lb pieces of pork belly, so I used two of those, and reduced cooking time a little from the recipe as a result. 50 buns take a long time to form and steam, but the recipe says they freeze well, so now that it's done, future prep should be quick and easy.

• Fried (or roasted) cauliflower with fish sauce vinaigrette

  • bgood on January 27, 2011

    Puffed rice is optional. Vinaigrette is delicious, needs to sit for at least 1/2 hour.

• Roasted sweet summer corn with miso butter, bacon & roasted onions

  • bgood on November 06, 2010

    Tasty but a lot of work. Frozen corn poached in butter and miso is also very good.

  • twoyolks on September 19, 2013

    The miso gave the corn a weird butterscotch flavor which overpowered every other flavor.

  • metacritic on September 10, 2021

    I've always loved this recipe but wanted to cut down on the amount of meat I'm eating. The recipe seems the artifact of an era (supercharged by Chang himself) when everything was spiked with bacon. I had the ramen broth on hand and beautiful sweet corn. I made the recipe, minus the bacon, and thought it lighter, brighter, and improved. I'll make it this way every time going forward.

  • Totallywired on March 21, 2019

    Miso butter is as good as it sounds and very versatile.

• Shaved foie gras with lychee & pine nut brittle

  • mziech on August 26, 2012

    Excellent dessert. Easy to make when using store bought foie gras. If making your own foie gras tourchon it will take several days. Nice combination of favors, savoury/sweet.

• Fried (or roasted) Brussels sprouts with fish sauce vinaigrette

  • adrienneyoung on November 03, 2013

    Very delicious. Fiddly, but worth it.

  • Delys77 on November 08, 2022

    I used about 1.5 lbs of Brussels sprouts to make four portions and served with half the vinaigrette. Roasted in a large cast iron pan and into the oven for about 20 minutes. Once it is tossed with the vinaigrette you have a lovely but pungent side. Flavour profile is very familiar yet interesting at the same time. Would repeat for sure.

  • twoyolks on December 03, 2014

    The Brussels sprouts mesh very well with the fish sauce vinaigrette. In the future, I'd omit the fried cilantro as it didn't add much and it was a bit difficult to make. I'd also be a bit more restrained with the use of the vinaigrette as some of it pooled at the bottom of the bowl and made the Brussels sprouts at the bottom too acidic.

  • chawkins on November 29, 2019

    Simple, easy and delicious. I roasted rather than fried the sprouts.

  • KaraCooks on February 03, 2018

    I loved this dish.....super simple and full of flavour.

• Fish sauce vinaigrette

  • AmyR on May 21, 2011

    Great on roast veggies, plain rice, etc.

  • meggan on October 25, 2012

    Very good but very salty so use sparingly.

  • peaceoutdesign on October 13, 2022

    Do not saute in this but just toss otherwise too much taste can be absorbed. Additionally, this would be a great dipping sauce for veggies nests, potstickers, and rice.

  • Totallywired on March 26, 2019

    Exemplary.

• Fried chicken

  • AmyR on May 21, 2011

    So delicious! This recipe requires advance planning (overnight brine, pre-cooking, etc.) but none of the steps are very difficult and this makes fried chicken doable for company since the final fry doesn't take long.

• Bo ssäm

  • AmyR on May 21, 2011

    This & the other ssam recipes make a great party dish.

  • chawkins on January 18, 2021

    I marinated for about 12 hours, for an eight pound roast, 3/4 of the rub was more than enough. Loved it served with all the accompaniments except the oysters, as I do not do raw oysters. As far as the pork by itself goes, it was okay, I prefer my husband’s pork shoulder cooked low and slow on the bubba keg grill with his special rub and injection.

  • Rinshin on April 29, 2014

    Very good recipe. I used 1/3 of pork recipe ingredients and found that I need to perhaps cut back further on salt for brining even though I used only 1/3 amount or amount of time brined. It says 6 hours brining or overnight and I think that's the key. Don't brine longer than this. I brined for about 18 hours and it was too much - made for too salty of pork on surface. This recipe is very, very simple and it really makes great party dish. Instead of using rice as accompaniment, I think glass noodles will work really well here too. I had been skeptical of David Chang's recipes, but I am beginning to turn around now. I have made 4 components for bo ssam and they have been very successful.

  • Rinshin on June 24, 2020

    Used half pork collar weighing 2 pounds from Snake River Ranch. Used quarter sugar and salt mixture. Brined overnight. Roasted at 300 for about 5 hours and it was perfect. I will be making this again with smallish pork collar. Great to use for topping ramen, tacos, chilled soba, chilled ramen, topping for various rice bowls, etc.

  • Frogcake on January 20, 2018

    Very delicious! I would definitely make this again. We loved the intense flavours of the ssam and ginger shallot sauce, the latter being a very flavourful Asian pesto. I marinated the pork shoulder overnight and brushed off the excess salt sugar rub before braising it. I agreed with cicorbi and basted every half hour. I served this with rice noodles. The leftover ginger shallot sauce is also great with noodles and spooned into soup as Chang suggests.

  • clcorbi on March 06, 2017

    Delicious. I made this for book club and used a 10lb pork shoulder. Unfortunately I only marinaded for 3 hours, and next time I will make sure to go for at least 6, but the end product was still really good. I didn't need the full cup each of salt and sugar, and next time would start with 1/2 c of each so as not to waste them. I also think the meat could benefit from basting more than once every hour--next time I would baste once every half-hour. Otherwise, this is such a simple, delicious recipe. People really went crazy for it.

• Momofuku shortcakes

  • AmyR on May 21, 2011

    The saltiness of these shortcakes is unexpected and perfect with fresh strawberries & other sweet/tart fruit.

• Pan-roasted asparagus with poached egg & miso butter

  • FJT on May 23, 2019

    So, so good. This is a wonderful way to serve asparagus and it’s fast especially if you prep the miso butter and poached eggs in advance.

  • meggan on October 25, 2012

    This is heavenly and super rich.

  • stockholm28 on March 23, 2019

    This was excellent. I slow poached the eggs for 45 minutes and thought the whites were a little underdone. I ended up giving them a quick fry in the same butter that I used to cook the asparagus. While the yolk was just perfect, I think in the future I will just fry the eggs. I doubled the asparagus and was glad that I did as there is plenty of miso butter. This would be a great weeknight meal if you fried the eggs.

  • clcorbi on May 18, 2017

    Delicious, and so pleasantly fast and easy for a weeknight. I made a full recipe of the asparagus but a half-recipe of the miso butter, and that amount was perfect for us--the miso butter is extremely rich! I also substituted red wine vinegar for the sherry vinegar, and fried our eggs rather than poached (simply because we prefer them that way). This may be my new favorite way to cook asparagus--pan-roasting in extremely hot butter worked wonders on them. I served this with crusty bread, which we didn't really need.

• Xo with long beans (or green, wax or purple beans)

  • meggan on May 13, 2013

    The thing is - long beans have a really weird texture. They squeak against your teeth. I admittedly used a jarred XO sauce that I love ( from YS Gourmet ) and cavalierly threw in some soy and and butter but really I would rather just eat the sauce with something else. Maybe bok choy?

• Brussels sprouts with kimchi puree & bacon

  • rstenson on February 04, 2022

    I usually toss the kimchee puree back into the sprouts, coating things a bit more

  • Dannausc on November 11, 2018

    Quite good. I really liked the kimchi purée.

• Ginger scallion noodles

  • imaluckyducky on October 20, 2019

    I really liked the ginger scallion sauce on noodles! Although I added a little more sherry vinegar to get a oil/vinegar ratio that I prefer (and that avoids the greasy mouthfeel). Excellent with an egg on top.

  • Rinshin on May 01, 2014

    I normally love all sorts of chilled Asian noodles esp Japanese. When the weather warms up I have to have chilled ramen. I love ginger scallion sauce but did not like it used with noodles like this. Greasy mouthfeel and not much taste coming through. I plan on making the sauce for other uses but will not be using it exactly like this.

• Momofuku ramen

  • imaluckyducky on October 08, 2019

    5 achingly amazing stars! Definitely time consuming, but oh so worth the effort. This makes a bowl of ramen that is better than many bowls prepared in your average ramen joint. The nice thing about this recipe in particular is that Chang does an excellent job at showcasing how to re-use and re-purpose EVERYTHING. For instance - the dried shiitakes that are simmered for half an hour and then removed can gain a second life as a thinly-sliced pickle in soy sauce, sherry vinegar, and sugar (which are baller to eat out of the jar and a wonderful addition to this bowl of ramen). 4yo approved.

  • MmeFleiss on March 03, 2015

    Good but really time consuming. I doubt I'll make this again.

  • metacritic on February 08, 2021

    I love this cookbook. I love the components of this recipe. Yet I've never been satisfied with the ramen recipes I've made at home, including this one. I've made it twice in its time consuming detail. It's good but I don't get quite the results I am looking for. I'm not sure if that's because of insufficient fat, salt, or some missing quality that I can't put my finger on. Perhaps it needs to be reduced for concentration? I added all the taré this time to try to get that depth of flavor I love and it comes just shy. I think I'm going to stick to ramen from the really good ramen shops, though that's a challenge during Covid.

  • DragonWell on December 27, 2016

    Time consuming - but, trust me, better than the restaurant version. Be sure to heed the warning to season/salt well - broth under salted is a crime.

• Taré

  • imaluckyducky on October 08, 2019

    5 Stars - essential component for the ramen broth. Highly addictive, it was a struggle to not drink it from the pan! Will make more for future bowls of ramen of other recipes.

  • metacritic on February 08, 2021

    This taré is extraordinary. It layers umami element upon umami element upon umami element. I would like to learn how else cooks use taré as it is a remarkable flavor booster. In any event, I roasted the chicken bones for 7 mins longer than the recipe called for. I roasted them in a roasting pan, which I had to deglaze and then transfer to a 12-inch pan. Next time I'll do it all in the latter.

• Pork belly for ramen, pork buns & just about anything else

  • imaluckyducky on October 08, 2019

    Holy moly 5 stars. Perfectly cooked - overnight curing is a must. The rendered fat with frond is happily stored in a mason jar in the fridge and made this morning's scramble low-key piggy.

  • foodgloriousfood on April 04, 2022

    Recipe calls for 450F 1hr then 250F 1hr to 1.15. But at 30 mins in @ 450F mine was blackening on all the high spots and the fat in the pan was starting to smell a bit acrid, so reduced to 250F at 30 mins instead of an hour then cooked for the full hour at 250F. So next time will try at a lower heat, maybe 400F for the first hour? It was also a bit too salty for us. For a 3lb belly the recipe calls for 1/4 cup salt plus 1/4 cup sugar. I would reduce this by half perhaps. The pork belly was delicious even with the above issues.

• Slow-poached eggs

  • stockholm28 on March 23, 2019

    This is an ingredient in the asparagus with poached egg and miso butter. I cooked the egg for 45 minutes and the water stayed between 140 F and 145 F the whole time, but I thought the whites were a little undercooked.

• Fried slow-poached eggs

  • stockholm28 on March 23, 2019

    I ended up making this after deciding the whites of the slow-cooked poached eggs were underdone. This resulted in a fried egg with a pretty perfect yolk.

• Ginger scallion sauce

  • Rinshin on April 29, 2014

    I made this for serving bo ssam. Very good taste. The ginger I used was a bit hot although it was a new spring ginger and I had to let it sit for about 6 hours for the taste to meld and mellow. I can see using this sauce for noodle as was recommended. I have my favorite one by Japanese chef specializing in Chinese foods in Japan that uses smoking hot oil to make this and although I prefer that one much more for most things, this one is ok for chilled noodles and bo ssam. I may include garlic next time too.

  • clcorbi on March 06, 2017

    Made a half recipe to serve with bo ssam. I've made this sauce once before for ginger scallion noodles, and didn't enjoy it a ton the first time, I think because I had slightly too high of a ginger to scallion ratio, and the ginger wasn't diced finely enough. This time, I measured out the scallions precisely, and I also finely minced the ginger and then crushed it a bit with the salt and liquid ingredients in a mortar and pestle. The result was delicious! I enjoyed this sauce so much more this time that I was hoping there would be leftovers for ginger scallion noodles, but it got eaten up very quickly.

  • sosayi on April 25, 2020

    I made this to go with the hanger steak ssam, where it worked well in the wraps and was also delicious with rice noodles on the side. Leftovers were tossed into a salmon donburi bowl, which was a delicious addition. I’d make again, for sure, and would make extra to use throughout the week.

• Ssäm sauce

  • Rinshin on April 29, 2014

    I love this! I can see this being used as sauces and dipping sauces including tacos! Yes, Asian/Mexican tacos. This will be great too as sauce for fried eggs. Over chilled tofu. Over chilled and sliced chicken. Great versatility.

• Quick-pickled cucumbers

  • Rinshin on April 29, 2014

    There are so many Asian cucumber salad types and although this was not in the league of the best, it was simple and works great for it's own purpose. I thought it was a clever idea to use both salt and sugar initially for cucumber slices. Most recipes use salt first and squeeze liquid out. You can certainly dress this recipe up with sesame oil, vinegar, etc. This recipe is average at best.

  • MmeFleiss on March 03, 2015

    A perfect component for the pork buns.

• Octo vinaigrette

  • peaceoutdesign on April 22, 2021

    I was looking for a great sesame vinaigrette, this doesn't seem to be it.

• Cherry tomato salad with soft tofu & shiso

  • peaceoutdesign on November 16, 2021

    This was alright but didn't beat out a traditional Caprese. I love that the tomatoes are peeled. Definitely decrease the oil.

  • MmeFleiss on March 03, 2015

    Fussy but delicious salad that was enjoyed even by my tofu-hating husband. I thought there was too much oil in this recipe. I would definitely cut it down next time.

  • kitchen_chick on August 08, 2020

    Delicious! Perfect for those fresh from the garden cherry tomatoes. I don't think it's that fussy to prepare, but I do agree with reducing the oil. I cubed the tofu -- easier and less fussy :-) than cutting circles.

• Pork shoulder for ramen

  • MmeFleiss on March 03, 2015

    Delicious with very little hands-on time needed.

• Quick salt pickles, master recipe

  • athayer on July 11, 2021

    I am normally not a radish fan. I had some breakfast radishes which were super pungent -- which I especially do not like. I decided to see what this pickling process would do to them. After all, they were headed for the compost bin anyway. I was delighted with the results! This simple process totally transformed those spicy buggers. Big success!

• Pickled shiitakes

  • metacritic on February 08, 2021

    I swapped the sherry vinegar for an aged Baoning hand-crafted vinegar. In doing so, this lifted the dish, making it more suitable for Momofuku Ko than Ssam Bar. The results were sublime. I also used regular soy, not usukuchi as the local Japanese grocer was out of the latter.

• Ramp ranch dressing

  • clcorbi on June 11, 2018

    YUM. If you already have a jar of the pickled ramps from this book, the dressing takes all of two minutes to throw together, and it's flavorful and delicious. I think you could substitute a number of other pickled vegetables here with success. Now I need to make the pork steaks that this dressing is supposed to go with--I bet the combination is amazing.

• Pickled ramps

  • clcorbi on July 17, 2017

    I made a jar of these during ramp season and forgot to report. They're very tasty! And they take on a nice pink color. I added all the optional ingredients except for the sishimi togarashi, which I didn't have. I don't think the extra ingredients added much flavor complexity to this brine, probably since these are cold-brined pickles. Still, they are very nice.

• Pan-roasted bouchot mussels with os

  • Smokeydoke on April 15, 2018

    These were delicious, I didn't make them with bouchot mussels, just regular store-bought ones. I didn't know what a bouchot mussel was, I learn something new everyday. We gobbled these up, they were so good and relatively easy. I balked at the price tag at the restaurant, because I could whip these up at home on a weekday. I'm loving Chang's cooking, much more than I thought. I can't wait to cook more. Photo included.

• Spicy pork sausage & rice cakes with Chinese broccoli & crispy shallots

  • celesteprevost on February 28, 2020

    Delicious, even without the fried shallots. For the dried chiles, I cooked in oil w/garlic, as directed, but then strained + reserved the oil for the remaining steps since plenty spicy. I also crushed the sichuan peppercorns for easy eating. Could also easily skip the silken tofu, if you don't have any on hand.

  • Dannausc on November 11, 2018

    Really good but quite spicy. Not nearly as time-consuming as some of the Momofuku recipes. Worth a repeat but I’d probably cut back on some of the chiles and Sichuan peppercorns.

• Marinated hanger steak ssäm with red kimchi puree & ginger scallion

  • sosayi on April 25, 2020

    The kimchi purée and ginger scallion sauce over the warm, rare steak all wrapped in lettuce was a knockout. Served with rice noodles in place of rice, which worked well. Would make again.

• Pickled chiles

  • Dannausc on November 11, 2018

    Super easy; makes a lot!

• Pickled mustard seeds

  • Dannausc on November 11, 2018

    Super easy

• Napa cabbage kimchi (aka paechu kimchi)

  • Dannausc on November 11, 2018

    Good and easy; has a nice funk to it.

• Chicken wings

  • Dannausc on November 11, 2018

    Good but maybe not worth all the effort.

  • seemunkee on January 04, 2020

    This is the only way I make chicken wings now.

• Dashi-braised daikon

  • Dannausc on November 11, 2018

    Good and easy

• 48-hour short rib with braised daikon, pickled carrot & mustard seeds

  • Dannausc on November 11, 2018

    Good but probably not worth the effort.

• Cereal milk

  • Dannausc on December 16, 2018

    Good, but like almost every recipe in the book, there are a ton of steps/separate component recipes. It was worth the effort but not worth making again— at least not until I retire!

• Traditional dashi

  • Dannausc on November 11, 2018

    Good and easy

• Pickled cauliflower

  • lederach104 on September 21, 2017

    Don't add the celery seeds

• Everyday Annie

  This book is full of completely drool-worthy recipes and those I have made so far have turned out perfectly.

  Full review

• Food52 by David Kamp

  The 2010 Piglet Tournament of Cookbooks vs. Francis Mallmann & Peter Kaminsky's Seven Fires

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• Food52 by Ed Levine

  The 2010 Piglet Tournament of Cookbooks vs. Donald Link's Real Cajun

  Full review

• Food52 by Kim Sunee

  The 2010 Piglet Tournament of Cookbooks winner vs. The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern

  Full review

• Fine Cooking

  Best yet, this book offers something that you can’t get at Chang’s restaurants: a chance to get into the mind of one of America’s most interesting chefs.

  Full review