
Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with fast, free delivery
Amazon Prime includes:
Fast, FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button.
Amazon Prime members enjoy:- Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
- Unlimited Free Two-Day Delivery
- Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
- A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
- Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
- Unlimited photo storage with anywhere access
Important: Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.
Buy new:
-22% $27.26$27.26
Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com
Save with Used - Very Good
$17.10$17.10
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: BookMine Media

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable
Color:
-
-
-
- To view this video download Flash Player
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
VIDEO
-
My Shanghai: Recipes and Stories from a City on the Water Hardcover – March 9, 2021
Purchase options and add-ons
Experience the sublime beauty and flavor of one of the oldest and most delicious cuisines on earth: the food of Shanghai, China's most exciting city, in this evocative, colorful gastronomic tour that features 100 recipes, stories, and more than 150 spectacular color photographs.
Filled with galleries, museums, and gleaming skyscrapers, Shanghai is a modern metropolis and the world's largest city proper, the home to twenty-four million inhabitants and host to eight million visitors a year. "China's crown jewel" (Vogue), Shanghai is an up-and-coming food destination, filled with restaurants that specialize in international cuisines, fusion dishes, and chefs on the verge of the next big thing. It is also home to some of the oldest and most flavorful cooking on the planet.
Betty Liu, whose family has deep roots in Shanghai and grew up eating homestyle Shanghainese food, provides an enchanting and intimate look at this city and its abundant cuisine. In this sumptuous book, part cookbook, part travelogue, part cultural study, she cuts to the heart of what makes Chinese food Chinese—the people, their stories, and their family traditions. Organized by season, My Shanghai takes us through a year in the Shanghai culinary calendar, with flavorful recipes that go beyond the standard, well-known fare, and stories that illuminate diverse communities and their food rituals.
Chinese food is rarely associated with seasonality. Yet as Liu reveals, the way the Shanghainese interact with the seasons is the essence of their cooking: what is on a dinner table is dictated by what is available in the surrounding waters and fields. Live seafood, fresh meat, and ripe vegetables and fruits are used in harmony with spices to create a variety of refined dishes all through the year.
My Shanghai allows everyone to enjoy the homestyle food Chinese people have eaten for centuries, in the context of how we cook today. Liu demystifies Chinese cuisine for home cooks, providing recipes for family favorites that have been passed down through generations as well as authentic street food: her mother's lion's head meatballs, mung bean soup, and weekday stir-fries; her father-in-law's pride and joy, the Nanjing salted duck; the classic red-braised pork belly (as well as a riff to turn them into gua bao!); and core basics like high stock, wontons, and fried rice.
In My Shanghai, there is something for everyone—beloved noodle and dumpling dishes, as well as surprisingly light fare. Though they harken back centuries, the dishes in this outstanding book are thoroughly modern—fresh and vibrant, sophisticated yet understated, and all bursting with complex flavors that will please even the most discriminating or adventurous palate.
- Print length288 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHarper
- Publication dateMarch 9, 2021
- Dimensions7.5 x 1.02 x 9.88 inches
- ISBN-100062854720
- ISBN-13978-0062854728
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Explore your book, then jump right back to where you left off with Page Flip.
View high quality images that let you zoom in to take a closer look.
Enjoy features only possible in digital – start reading right away, carry your library with you, adjust the font, create shareable notes and highlights, and more.
Discover additional details about the events, people, and places in your book, with Wikipedia integration.
Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Editorial Reviews
Review
An impressive collection of Shanghainese recipes...This handsome work is perfect for lovers of Chinese cuisine and for home cooks of all stripes. — Publishers Weekly
As a port city, Shanghai has had centuries of influence from a host of foreign cultures as well as from the rest of China. Liu, whose popular food blog has done much to promote Shanghai’s cooking, offers her take on the city’s food by categorizing its many dishes into the year’s seasons...Bright color photographs of finished dishes and step-by-step illustrations of techniques for complex forming of dumplings make recipes even more attractive. — Booklist
Photography of both the food and region is gorgeous and another way to travel without leaving home...the clear recipes in this rich collection will delight home cooks looking to explore flavors and cooking styles. — Library Journal
My Shanghai is a tour de force. — Boston Globe
My Shanghai contains everything I look for in a cookbook: personal storytelling, trustworthy information, new-to-me recipes that teach as much as they entice, and stunning photography that's instantly transportive. Betty Liu has raised the bar.
— Julia Turschen, author of Simply Julia and founder of Equity at the Table (EATT)
My Shanghai is a soulful homage...This book is a multi-sensory delight—the fresh, vibrantly seasonal flavors of her native Jiangnan cuisine are interlaced with heartfelt personal stories of growing up with her mother’s cooking, stunningly brought to life by Betty’s rich, immersive photography. It's a timely reminder of how much we still have to learn about the cuisines of China and deftly illustrates the power of culinary storytelling to transport us. A book to sit with, ruminate over, learn from, share with friends, and of course, cook a memorable meal from. This one is going straight on my "favorite cookbooks" shelf. — Hetty McKinnon, award-winning cookbook author, food writer, and editor of Peddler Journal
My Shanghai is a well-written cookbook about the home cooking of a family who stuck to its native cuisine notwithstanding immigration to the United States. Author and photographer Betty Liu eloquently tells the story of her family's food culture and that of their native Shanghai as she has experienced it. Through her prose and recipes, she makes the reader feel like a guest in her family kitchen learning to shop and cook with her and her elders, and then sharing the meal together. Betty's food styling and photography complete the package. We need many more cookbooks like My Shanghai. — Kristina Gill, co-author and photographer of Tasting Rome
So much more than a cookbook, My Shanghai is the book I’ve been waiting for. It’s filled with beautiful, personal stories and recipes that bring the vibrant, fresh, and seasonal dishes of the Jiangnan region to life. Paired with Betty’s captivating photography, I was instantly transported. A cover-to-cover read that allows readers to cook their way through the seasons, this is a book that’s sure to have the telltale food stains, notes, and wear of a well-loved companion. — Alana Kysar, author of Aloha Kitchen
Through family recipes and stories of the glittering city, My Shanghai will begin to fill a vacuum for cookbooks about China's vastly different regional cuisines, written by people who grew up cooking and eating them—like Liu. And the photographs are gorgeous. — Esquire
The best cookbooks, many would argue, are not just recipes—they're trips, stories, experiences. Betty Liu accomplishes all of those things, bringing the reader along on a year-long ride through Shanghai and its food. — Delish.com
As an international metropolis, Shanghai cooking has, more so than most Chinese cuisine, been influenced by traders from around the world. This is one of the few cookbooks that is dedicated to Shanghainese cooking, which includes regional dishes like Nanjing Salted Duck and Lion’s Head from the neighboring Yangtze river delta. — Reviewed.com
Taste, smell and experience the eccentric flavors of one of the oldest kitchens in the world: Shanghai’s. This retro-looking book guides you through the thrilling streets of the Chinese city based on 100 recipes. A feast for the eyes and taste buds. — Delicious Magazine
Organized by season, My Shanghai explores the dynamic, destination-worthy fare of one of the world's largest cities. Author Betty Liu transports readers to Shanghai through homestyle eats, many of which have been passed down through generations and reexamined with a modern lens. — Time Out
My Shanghai: Recipes and Stories from a City on the Water is a deeply personal title inspired by Betty’s parents and the food that she grew up eating. It highlights the seasonality of Shanghainese food, something ubiquitous in Chinese cooking but often not recognized in the Western world. — Cherry Bombe
Frankly, I haven’t been able to stop cooking from My Shanghai since I got it...I imagine I’ll keep coming back every season. — Eater
About the Author
Betty Liu is a Chinese-American home cook who resides in Boston with her husband, Alexander Xu, and their dog, Annie. Her whole family is from Shanghai, and her husband’s family is from Suzhou and Wuxi, so she grew up eating homecooked food from the region, both in the US and in China. She started writing about Chinese food in 2015 on her award-winning blog bettysliu.com and found joy in talking about the food that reminded her of home. Since then, her writing, photography, and recipes have been featured on sites such as BonAppétit and Saveur, and she has taught food photography workshops around the world. She is a doctor training to be a surgeon, but in her spare time she continues to cook.
Product details
- Publisher : Harper; 1st edition (March 9, 2021)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 288 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0062854720
- ISBN-13 : 978-0062854728
- Item Weight : 2.95 pounds
- Dimensions : 7.5 x 1.02 x 9.88 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #144,208 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #21 in Vietnamese Cooking, Food & Wine
- #29 in Korean Cooking, Food & Wine
- #54 in Chinese Cooking, Food & Wine
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Betty Liu is a cookbook author, photographer, and doctor. She is an avid home cook with a passion to demystify Chinese cooking in a modern kitchen. Betty started writing about the Chinese homecooking she grew up with as a Chinese-American on her award-winning blog bettysliu.com and found joy in making and documenting food. Since then, her writing, photography, and recipes have been featured on sites such as Bon Appétit, Epicurious, and The New York Times. Her critically acclaimed debut cookbook, My Shanghai, was published in March 2021 and praised as one of The New York Times Best Cookbooks of 2021. She lives in Boston with her husband, Alexander Xu, and their dog, Annie, in Boston, where she is completing her surgical training.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers praise this cookbook for its diverse and well-explained recipes, with one highlighting particularly good vegetable dishes. The book is easy to follow, with one customer noting helpful step-by-step photos, and customers appreciate its authenticity and personal touch. They find the food exceptionally delicious, and one customer mentions how it helps feel connected to their heritage. The readability receives mixed feedback, with some finding the text wonderful while others say it's hard to read.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Select to learn more
Customers appreciate the variety of recipes in this cookbook, describing it as a beautiful book with well-explained gourmet Chinese dishes, and one customer notes that the vegetable dishes are particularly good.
"...There are recipes for basics included, like congee (simmered rice porridge), chili oil, a staple for noodle dishes and soy milk...." Read more
"...this book is beautiful, the recipes are well-written, the diversity of recipes is amazing, ... but most importantly, this book reminds me of all the..." Read more
"This is an unique cook book that combines personal story, Chinese culture with clear instruction, gorgeous photos and beautiful writing...." Read more
"This book contains a slew of beautifully photographed recipes and techniques for my favorite dishes growing up in an ABC household/eating at Chinese..." Read more
Customers find the book easy to follow, with one customer highlighting the step-by-step photos that guide the cooking process.
"...cook book that combines personal story, Chinese culture with clear instruction, gorgeous photos and beautiful writing...." Read more
"...display of recipes, divided by seasons which we loved and so easy to follow. Makes for a great night cooking as a family or with friends...." Read more
"...familiar with most of the dishes in this book and found the instructions very clear...." Read more
"...Cookbooks are used in kitchens and they should be easy to handle and easy to read. This one does not meet my expectations in this regard." Read more
Customers appreciate the storytelling in the book, with one mentioning how it combines personal narrative, while another notes how it helps them feel connected to their heritage.
"...As a Chinese-American, this cookbook speaks deeply to me...." Read more
"This is an unique cook book that combines personal story, Chinese culture with clear instruction, gorgeous photos and beautiful writing...." Read more
"...My grandparents are Shanghainese and these recipes help me feel connected to my heritage. A must buy!" Read more
"A feast, both literally and for the eyes..." Read more
Customers find the recipes exceptionally delicious, with one noting they are not spicy.
"...Both Shanghai and Suzhou recipes are mild, not spicy and full of "umami". More fish than you'll find in Northern Chinese cuisine, too...." Read more
"Delicious, modern, and well-explained recipes that remind me of home..." Read more
"Approachable and delicious!..." Read more
"Elegant, exceptionally delicious, approachable, and personal..." Read more
Customers appreciate the authenticity of the book.
"Beautifully written and legit - I believe Dr. Liu did the photography herself as well. Well worth the buy, it’s my favorite cookbook by far!" Read more
"Beautiful recipe book with authentic, home-style Chinese cooking...." Read more
"Artistic, authentic, personal and inspirational cook book!..." Read more
Customers appreciate the personal touch of the book.
"...Love the photos, the personal feel, and the helpful guides on authentic ingredients and techniques" Read more
"Artistic, authentic, personal and inspirational cook book!..." Read more
"Elegant, exceptionally delicious, approachable, and personal..." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the book's readability, with some finding the text wonderful while others say it's hard to read.
"...an unique cook book that combines personal story, Chinese culture with clear instruction, gorgeous photos and beautiful writing...." Read more
"...But the print is the worst. The ingredients are printed in a small, faint print. I'd like them to stand out. Any notes are even smaller and fainter...." Read more
"...The text is also wonderful. When I first opened it, I started reading it like a novel. Now I want to visit Shanghai!..." Read more
"Beautifully written and legit - I believe Dr. Liu did the photography herself as well. Well worth the buy, it’s my favorite cookbook by far!" Read more
Reviews with images

Finally someone wrote down my parents' recipes!
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2021A book of Shangai and Suzhou style food from the Yangtze Central Coast region. Having visited China about 20 years ago, I got a chance to see both Beijing (the north) and the very different Shanghai region. Of the two, I really preferred Shanghai. The cooking was less greasy, fresh and the vegetable dishes in particular were really good (my favorite is a simple garlic fried bok choi. That recipe is in the book here under "basic stir fried winter greens" cabbage being available even in cold weather. A lot of the recipes are simmered, that and "red cooking" or simmering in soy sauce-wine-sugar laced gravy being a feature of this region.
A lot of the recipes will require a trip to the Asian grocery if you live in our area: we don't have a lot of "ethnic" food and the grocery stores don't even carry pork belly, favorite of Chinese (and Korean) simmered dishes.
Both Shanghai and Suzhou recipes are mild, not spicy and full of "umami". More fish than you'll find in Northern Chinese cuisine, too.
There are recipes for basics included, like congee (simmered rice porridge), chili oil, a staple for noodle dishes and soy milk. Yes, you can buy this in tetrapaks. No it tastes different. We had some made by a local guy from that region who had a restaurant (all too briefly.) The warm soy milk was served as an appetizer with the youtai (deep fried savory crullers) probably just to see if we'd like it--it's normally a breakfast dish. It was outstanding. Worth grinding up those soybeans for a bowl of slightly sweet, soothing non dairy milk and dipped with those fried crullers. Seriously good.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2021Yes, this book is beautiful, the recipes are well-written, the diversity of recipes is amazing, ... but most importantly, this book reminds me of all the foods that my parents and grandparents made for me. Most Chinese cookbooks simply do not reflect what I ate growing up. My husband asks me why don't I cook Chinese more often... it's because most cookbooks don't have recipes of what i grew up eating. Every Grain of Rice by Fuschia Dunlop is the closest that I've found to Chinese home cooking, but of course I am partial to Betty's cookbook because I am Shanghainese. Now I have real recipes with real instructions and proportions for the most basic red cooked pork belly, steamed egg, wontons, stir-fried veggies, pickling my own snow vegetables!
Because of the way that Betty has included Chinese characters, pinyin and English, I know exactly which dish she is talking about. As a Chinese-American, this cookbook speaks deeply to me. If I were to write a cookbook, this is what I would have written, but thankfully the amazingly talented Betty Liu has done it first so I am forever grateful that she took the time to do this. I have attached pictures of the list of recipes for each season because I find that this is super useful when I am deciding whether to buy a cookbook. But seriously, just buy it!
5.0 out of 5 starsYes, this book is beautiful, the recipes are well-written, the diversity of recipes is amazing, ... but most importantly, this book reminds me of all the foods that my parents and grandparents made for me. Most Chinese cookbooks simply do not reflect what I ate growing up. My husband asks me why don't I cook Chinese more often... it's because most cookbooks don't have recipes of what i grew up eating. Every Grain of Rice by Fuschia Dunlop is the closest that I've found to Chinese home cooking, but of course I am partial to Betty's cookbook because I am Shanghainese. Now I have real recipes with real instructions and proportions for the most basic red cooked pork belly, steamed egg, wontons, stir-fried veggies, pickling my own snow vegetables!Finally someone wrote down my parents' recipes!
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2021
Because of the way that Betty has included Chinese characters, pinyin and English, I know exactly which dish she is talking about. As a Chinese-American, this cookbook speaks deeply to me. If I were to write a cookbook, this is what I would have written, but thankfully the amazingly talented Betty Liu has done it first so I am forever grateful that she took the time to do this. I have attached pictures of the list of recipes for each season because I find that this is super useful when I am deciding whether to buy a cookbook. But seriously, just buy it!
Images in this review
- Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2021This is an unique cook book that combines personal story, Chinese culture with clear instruction, gorgeous photos and beautiful writing. It's wonderfully organized in four seasons with fresh seasonal food to reflect the local weather and custom. It's inspiring and refreshing to make healthy homemade traditional food in this busy world. Highly recommended!
5.0 out of 5 starsThis is an unique cook book that combines personal story, Chinese culture with clear instruction, gorgeous photos and beautiful writing. It's wonderfully organized in four seasons with fresh seasonal food to reflect the local weather and custom. It's inspiring and refreshing to make healthy homemade traditional food in this busy world. Highly recommended!Artistic, authentic, personal and inspirational cook book!
Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2021
Images in this review
- Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2021This book contains a slew of beautifully photographed recipes and techniques for my favorite dishes growing up in an ABC household/eating at Chinese restaurants in the Bay Area. The recipes are straight-up delicious -- the red-braised fish is literally the best thing I've ever made, and I'm a pretty good home cook. But besides being a collection of recipes, the book comes with many wonderful additions, including beautiful photographs, explanations about technique, as well as Chinese names and pinyin for dishes and ingredients.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2022This is a beautiful cookbook with many great articles. I would caution beginners in Chinese cooking, those without access to an authentic oriental market, or those who are looking for a simple/easy to make cookbook to look elsewhere. I have been cooking Chinese food for over 35 years and am not put off by the recipes--I can make or alter them to suit my taste. If, however, you are willing to make the effort, you will not be sorry you bought this book.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2021We loved this book. We usually are afraid of using cooking books because of very extensive hard to follow recipes, but this book has an amazing display of recipes, divided by seasons which we loved and so easy to follow. Makes for a great night cooking as a family or with friends. Would definitely recommend!!!
- Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2021The photos in the book are gorgeous. I wasn't familiar with most of the dishes in this book and found the instructions very clear. After a year of pandemic cooking fatigue, My Shanghai is inspiring me to try new things and find the joy in cooking again.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2022Pro: I bought this book based on the review in the New York Times by Gordon Diggs on December 15, 2021. It arrived yesterday. I have been leafing through it today and believe that all that made me buy it is true: an excellent guide to Chinese cooking with great photos for somebody who is a pretty good cook in general.
Con: Now I am trying to decide whether or not to keep this book because of its appearance and handling. Its 287 pages weigh 2 lbs 11 3/8 oz (1.23 kg). Very heavy to handle. The spine is a cardboard spine that feels as if it were falling apart any minute with the weight of the book. But the print is the worst. The ingredients are printed in a small, faint print. I'd like them to stand out. Any notes are even smaller and fainter. Instructions are in a tiny bit larger print but equally faint. Why make it hard to read? Cookbooks are used in kitchens and they should be easy to handle and easy to read. This one does not meet my expectations in this regard.
Top reviews from other countries
-
NanuccioReviewed in Italy on October 12, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars Super interessante!
Un libro fantastico ricco di immagini e spiegazioni.
Le fotografie sono stupende in grado di trasportarti in quei luoghi ricchi di storia culinaria.
Ricette ben descritte, consigliato per gli amanti della cucina Cinese.
P.S. Libro in lingua Inglese
- GKitchenReviewed in Germany on January 18, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars great book to keep
really like the book. thx
- SuzieReviewed in the United Kingdom on June 17, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars Followed her since her blogging time…
And am so excited to know she got a book out, would prefer to have a Chinese language book for Chinese recipes but accepted the 2nd or 3rd generation might not write or speak Chinese as well. Yet, this book beyond amazing for me, not only can I explore Shanghai cuisine further but just loves the way she has written it and the photographs on there are really pretty! And so looking forward to try the mooncake coming mid autumn festival !
-
Laurence GuyotReviewed in Canada on April 4, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars Superbe livre de cuisine chinoise authentique
J’ai cuisiné plusieurs recettes dans le livre jusqu’à maintenant et toutes les recettes étaient délicieuses, simples et parfaitement balancées. Les photos culinaires sont magnifiques et nous donnent envie de tout essayer! Je le recommande fortement pour recevoir parents et amis avec une tablée remplie de plats débordants de saveurs!
Laurence GuyotSuperbe livre de cuisine chinoise authentique
Reviewed in Canada on April 4, 2022
Images in this review
- Uyen LuuReviewed in the United Kingdom on July 1, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning book
Long awaited. Followed on Instagram for years and excited about this book which is absolutely stunning in every way. I know I will learn so much from this book and enjoy the results