Gather Around My Table

The debut cookbook from New York Times Cooking contributor Kay Chun, featuring 100 accessible, globally inspired recipes for every table.

“A master class in recipe writing and home cooking. Here is an artist who cooks with a quiet restraint that makes you lean in. There’s a precision to Kay Chun’s recipe development style, yet whimsy in the way she combines flavors and ingredients that aren’t usually found together.” — Eric Kim, author of Korean American

Where does a great recipe come from? For Kay Chun, it’s all about the inspiration. And to a lifelong New Yorker, inspiration is all around. Drawing from a global pantry of ingredients—the Korean influences she grew up with and the many flavors that have shaped her—she shares fresh yet familiar dishes the whole family will love.

Gather Around My Table embraces cooking without boundaries: dumplings are tossed with butter and Parmesan rather than soy sauce; doenjang steps in for tomato paste, caramelized to add complexity and richness to sauces; kimchi seasoning creates a punchy salad dressing. These are flavor-forward recipes for every day of the week. In Kay Chun’s hands, the question “What’s for dinner?” will never have a boring answer again.

•Cooking for a crowd? Try the Smoky Eggplant Dip with Parsley-Dill Oil, Doenjang Carnitas, or the Marinated Trout Ssam Bar

•Dumplings for days! From Mixed Veggie and Tofu Dumplings to Spicy Boiled Dumplings in Habanero Sesame Oil to a show-stopping Crispy Dumpling Pancake.

•Seven different types of extra-special infused rices, like Smoky Kelp Rice, Extra-Nutty Rice, Mushroom Rice, and Roasted Barley Tea Rice.

•Easy weeknight dinners from Smoky Soy Sauce Chicken and Pantry Pasta for Tinned-Fish Lovers to Crispy Sesame and Shredded-Wheat Cutlets and Spiced and Caramelized Tofu Noodle Bowls.

•Salads and veggie sides like the Italian Chopped Salad with Fried Hot Peppers, Mixed Chicories in a Caper-Raisin Vinaigrette, or a stunning Mushroom and Swiss Chard Galette.

•Crowd-pleasing desserts like Sticky Date Snacking Cake with Salted Caramel Sauce, Coconut and Passion Fruit Eton Mess, and Cherry Cornmeal Torte.

Kay Chun is a chef, writer, and culinary consultant. She is a regular contributor to NYT Cooking and has been an editor at several food publications, notably Gourmet, Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, and Real Simple. Her restaurant, Share, received accolades from The New York Times, New York, and Time Out for her market-driven globally inspired cooking. She also specializes in innovative food product development for consumer packaged goods brands. Kay is a native New Yorker and lives in Manhattan with her husband.