The other thing I loved about this book--besides all the yummy food photography by Gabriele Stabile--is David's openness in sharing the scary, stressful process of starting new enterprises (both the right and wrong ways). He also stresses the importance of continually keeping communication channels open with his über-talented chefs so they can do their jobs to their utmost, get paid fairly & respectfully for all the hours they put in, and be happy in what they do best. But I think i can do some. I'm going to try, at least. The Momofuku Cookbook is three things, primarily. It's a coffeetable book, for sure. The photos are beautiful, absolutely gorgeous food porn. It's also a cookbook, which, to my eye, seems thorough and comprehensive. I have yet to try to cook out of it, but reading through a lot of recipes it seems that you need only to have the will and drive to actually try things. It's nothing compared to the Thomas Keller impossible recipes from his French Laundry cookbook. But, third, the Momofuku book is a narrative of the rise of David Chang. Chang gets the proper humble but arrogant narrative voice to drive his story forward, and, having eaten at all of his recipes, he deserves some of the arrogance. Momofuku Ando ( Japanese: 安藤 百福, Hepburn: Andō Momofuku, March 5, 1910 – January 5, 2007), born Go Pek-Hok ( Chinese: 吳百福; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Gô͘ Pek-hok), was a Taiwanese-Japanese inventor and businessman who founded Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd. [4] He is known as the inventor of instant noodles (ramen noodles) and the creator of the brands Top Ramen and Cup Noodles. [5] [2] [6] Early life and education [ edit ] a b c Hevesi, Dennis (2007-01-09). "Momofuku Ando, 96, Dies; Invented Instant Ramen". The New York Times. The breathless hype is true. His food is as good and as exciting as everyone says it is. David Chang has opened up a new direction in dining and cooking. With his troika of Momofukus, he changed the whole game. Scary-smart, funny, and ambitious, the wildly creative Chang is the guy all chefs have got to measure themselves by these days.”

Some of my aforementioned friends in my Facebook food group complained that his ramen at the Noodle Bar was not "authentic enough." But now that I have read the book and experienced his thought process into creating his signature ramen, I see that my friends are missing the point too. Ramen (not the instant kind) is a regional soup dish as diverse as American BBQ. So faced with the prospect that he had no access to real katsuobushi bonito that is not the pre-shaved kind that comes in a bag unless he was willing to have it shipped via Fedex from Japan, he had to look for some alternative ingredient to give the broth a smoky flavor. So he came up with using American bacon. THAT is his brilliance as a chef. He made his ramen his own, making a regional American ramen that can stand up equally to Japanese regional varieties. I believe the quality speaks for itself judging by the success of his restaurants in the cutthroat restaurant world that is NY City. I will set aside a Saturday in the near future and make his ramen with all of its' components. Really looking forward to it. As a food professional I am always on the look out for the new, the different, and the delicious. It was with great pleasure that one day I tasted David Chang’s pork buns at Momofuku. Since then, I have sampled almost all of his delectable creations and I am so pleased that I finally have a book of recipes that will allow me to try to emulate them at home.” —Martha Stewart After becoming loosely obsessed with the Chang's view of food, I became interested in getting to eat at one of his restaurants. But living far from New York made this difficult, so reading Momofuku was the next best thing. The recipes range in difficulty but all are doable. As a whole, they can be done at home but require special equipment, like sous vide machine. Although some recipes may not be that simple to do, you should not feel intimidated. The recipes are very well written so they are easy to understand, and if you don’t have the right ingredient or equipment, you have some alternative options. Mr. Chang, with assistance from Peter Meehan, who has written for The New York Times, writes about a chef’s life in a way that feels completely fresh. The recipes, including those from the ginger-scallion noodles and roasted pork belly served at Noodle Bar, are almost perks; this would be a great read even without them.” – New York TimesSmall details that take once's eating experience to an entirely new level: such as the ginger, scallion recipe. Again, as a Colombian, when nostalgic sometimes I add a little chopped cilantro to the ginger-scallion sauce.

This is exactly the type of cuisine I want to try my hand at: strongly Asian-influenced but infused and delivered with that American attitude. It inspired me to start writing down ingredients to buy, so I can surprise my Chinese boyfriend with how great I am. I want to see his eyes pop open wide with amazement, and make his tastebuds sing. And that's exactly the thing about this book: it hints at culinary alchemy, like if you just follow the recipe and put this and this together, and though it looks simple enough, you'll get something unexpected and magical. a b c 速食麵之父 吳百福病逝. Liberty Times (in Chinese). 2007-01-07. Archived from the original on 2007-01-09.

Ando was born Go Pek-Hok ( Chinese: 吳百福; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Gô͘ Pek-hok) in 1910 into a wealthy family of Hoklo Chinese ethnicity in Chiayi County, when the island of Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule. He was raised by his grandparents within the city walls of Tainan following the deaths of his parents. [3] His grandparents owned a small textiles store, which inspired him, at the age of 22, to start his own textiles company, using 190,000 yuan, in Tōa-tiū-tiâⁿ, Taipei. Chang and Peter Meehan marvelously retell the opening of Chang's restaurants. The narrative is honest and raw, no hiding behind their successes and highlighting the hardships and failures. Reading of his difficulties, made me appreciate his food and his work more.