Salt Sugar MSG

The chef behind the groundbreaking Brooklyn restaurant Bonnie’s shares over 85 recipes that showcase his unique style of Chinese home cooking, a mash-up of Americana and Cantonese classics inspired by the flavors of his childhood.

“Calvin Eng draws on traditional Cantonese techniques and the mixing of Cantonese and American flavors that reflect our own experience. And he does it with a verve and creativity that make us want to run to the kitchen and start cooking!”—Sarah, Kaitlin, Bill, and Judy Leung, New York Times bestselling authors of The Woks of Life

A NEW YORK TIMES BEST COOKBOOK OF THE YEAR

As an American-born Cantonese kid, chef Calvin Eng grew up watching his mother, Bonnie, in the kitchen. Though he shied away from his culture as a kid, he later grew to love and embrace his upbringing, eventually opening Bonnie’s, which was praised as a top restaurant of the year by the New York Times and Bon Appétit.

Salt Sugar MSG is an introduction to Cantonese cooking through an American lens, full of easy flavor boosts and practical tricks, drawing a thread from his mother’s cooking to what Calvin cooks for his own family today. Some recipes stick closer to tradition, like Sizzling Steamed Fish with Seasoned Soy Sauce, Ham Yue Yook Beng (Steamed Pork Patty with Salted Fish), and Ginger Congee, while others upend expectations, like Salt & Pepper Pork Schnitzel with Chinese Ranch, Fuyu Cacio e Pepe Mein, and BLT Fried Rice. While these dishes may not look especially Cantonese at first glance, they certainly taste like it.

Written with his fiancée, Phoebe Melnick, Salt Sugar MSG is full of personal stories and practical tips and tricks as a loving ode to what it means to cook together as a Cantonese American family today.

Calvin Eng is the chef and owner of Bonnie’s, a Cantonese American restaurant in Williamsburg. Brooklyn-born and raised in a traditional Chinese family, Eng had been dreaming of opening a restaurant for a decade when he realized how important it was for him to pursue Cantonese food and dive deeper into the dishes of his heritage. Bonnie’s has been praised in the New York Times, The New Yorker, New York magazine, Eater, and Bon Appétit. Eng is a James Beard Emerging Chef finalist, Food & Wine Best New Chef, Forbes 30 under 30 recipient, StarChefs Rising Star, and two-time James Beard Best Chef: New York State Semifinalist.

Phoebe Melnick is a video journalist with a deep love of storytelling and food. She has worked for the New York Times, Martha Stewart, Food Network, Thrillist, and Food & Wine, where she first met Calvin on set in 2016. The two have been inseparable ever since.