Features
Our favourite East and Southeast Asian cookbooks
by Jessica Lockyer-Palmer
published on 1 July 2024, last updated on 29 September 2025
The vast and diverse region of East and Southeast Asia is home to some of the world’s most revered cuisines. In this collection, we’ve rounded up some of our favourite East and Southeast Asian cookbooks, so you can master a mohinga, recreate your favourite ramen, or level up your laksa skills at home.
Looking for more Southeast Asian cooking inspiration? Check out our dedicated collection of must-have Thai cookbooks .
Pan-Asian
The Asian Pantry
Taking inspiration from an array of flavours, ingredients, and classic dishes from across the continent, The Asian Pantry is full of easy and accessible recipes that will help you turn your store-cupboard staples into mouthwatering meals. Expect recipes such as Manchurian Cauliflower Traybake, Thai Prawn and Grapefruit Salad with Citrussy Dressing, and Black Pepper Chicken.
Chinese
Ken Hom’s all-encompassing guide to Chinese cuisine
250 inspiring recipes for authentic Chinese dishes
Easy-to-follow recipes from basic dishes to elaborate feasts
Complete Chinese Cookbook
Ken Hom is widely regarded as the world’s leading authority on Chinese cuisine. His Complete Chinese Cookbook is the definitive resource for learning to cook dishes from across China’s diverse culinary regions. With over 250 recipes and extensive guides on ingredients and techniques, it is a comprehensive celebration of modern Chinese cooking that will help you to confidently master the basics as well as the classics.
Gok Cooks Chinese
In Gok Cooks Chinese , Gok Wan delves into his family’s recipe book to bring us this collection of 80 simple crowd-pleasers, from char siu glazed pork to wanton noodle soup.
Hunan
Founded in 1982 by Mr Peng, Hunan is a now-legendary Chinese restaurant situated just a short walk from London’s Sloane Square. Among the 70 must-try recipes in the restaurant’s first cookbook, you’ll find the likes of Mr Peng’s ‘absurdly delicious’ prawn dumplings, lettuce wraps filled with diced chicken, and melt-in-the-mouth double-cooked pork.
Japanese
Masterchef winner Tim Anderson’s cookbook
Japanese soul food dishes with a twist
Easy recipes as well as elaborate feasts
Nanban
Japanese cuisine cognoscente Tim Anderson’s celebration of Japanese soul food, Nanban , is packed full of recipes from his hugely popular restaurant of the same name. From unlocking the mystery of how to make ramen that tastes like it’s healing your soul to mastering izakaya-style small plates, it is an unmissable guide to the wonders of Japanese comfort food.
Sushi at Home
If you want to learn how to make sushi at home, this is the book for you. Whether you have no experience or have already dabbled in making the likes of nigiri, maki, and temaki, Yuki has recipes for all levels.
Korean
Pocha
Taking its name from the portmanteau for the “covered wagons” that line the streets of Seoul, Pocha is a journey through South Korea’s incredible street food and comforting dishes – from Corn Dogs and Fried Chicken to Kimchi Pancakes and Perilla Oil Noodles.
Vietnamese
The Vietnamese Market Cookbook
Street-food entrepreneurs Van and Anh bring you contemporary Vietnamese cooking for every cook. With the freshest of ingredients, big flavours, bright colours, sociable plates for sharing, and comforting broths for one, The Vietnamese Market Cookbook will bring a taste of Vietnam to your everyday cooking.
Malaysian
The ultimate guide to Malaysian home-cooking
Over 100 vibrant and healthy recipes
Authentic Malaysian classics made simple
Amazing Malaysian
Norman Musa is one of the UK’s leading experts on Malaysian cuisine. In Amazing Malaysian , he celebrates Malay cooking and its cultural importance with a selection of recipes that range from home-cooked favourites from his mother’s kitchen to mouth-watering morsels inspired by Penang’s vibrant street food scene.
Singaporean
Chicken and Rice
When she moved from Singapore to London, a homesick Shu Han Lee started teaching herself to cook the Singaporean and Malaysian dishes she grew up on. Shu’s experiments led to the popular blog Mummy I Can Cook and a series of sell-out supper clubs. In her first cookbook, Chicken and Rice , she aims to show how simple it is to make fresh, flavour-packed Southeast Asian food at home. Recipes include quick and simple midweek suppers that can be made in less time than it takes to order a takeaway, and more adventurous projects for the weekend.
An essential guide to ingredients and Singaporean food culture.
Easy Singaporean recipes for every taste, budget and occasion.
From classic Singaporean fare to more contemporary dishes with a twist.
Agak Agak: Everyday Recipes from Singapore
Shu Han Lee’s second book pays homage to the intuitive nature of home cooking and the culinary melting pot that is Singapore, with easy recipes you can easily make your own such as Kaya Toast with Half-Boiled Eggs, Nasi Goreng, 8-hour Ox Cheek Rendang, and Chilli Crab Spaghetti.
Burmese
The definitive guide to creating authentic Burmese dishes at home
Easy-to-follow recipes for noodle and rice dishes, curries, salads and more
From impressive dinner party centrepieces to quick weeknight meals
The Rangoon Sisters
In The Rangoon Sisters Cookbook , sisters Amy and Emily introduce readers to the tastes and techniques of Burmese cooking, sharing recipes for the flavourful noodle soups, vibrant salads, and moreish street food snacks they learned to cook from their mother and grandmother.
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