16 Third-Culture Cookbooks That Will Change the Way You Cook

Recipe writer and cookbook author Eric Kim grew up in Atlanta as the son of two Korean immigrants. His parents’ cultural traditions are central to his story, like his family’s Friday-night Korean barbecue tradition, and how those traditions informed his interpretation of his Korean American experience. As a result, the recipes in this book reflect his uniquely hybridized take on his tastes of home. For example, there’s Salt-and-Pepper Pork Chops with Vinegared Scallions, the latter of which help to cut the richness of the pork; Gochujang-Buttered Radish Toast, a favorite dinner toast of Kim’s but equally delicious at breakfast and lunch; and Caramelized-Kimchi Baked Potatoes, an homage to his mother’s affinity for sprinkling sugar on baked potatoes. Bookmark Sheet-Pan LA Kalbi with Sprite for your next dinner party, in which beef short ribs benefit from luxuriating in a garlic-ginger-soy-sauce marinade overnight. The book leaves a lasting impression through Kim’s personal stories and reflections on identity, particularly as they relate to his mother, Jean, and how he found the confidence to share his story.

To pen her critically acclaimed cookbook, food writer Illyanna Maisonet devoted years to documenting her family’s Puerto Rican recipes and preserving the island’s foodways. There are over 90 recipes in the book, many of which were passed down from her grandmother and mother. These include classics such as Arroz con Gandules (rice with pigeon peas) which Maisonet decrees Puerto Rico’s national dish, and Pinchos with BBQ Guava Sauce, Maisonet’s homage to a memory shared with her mom over a street vendor’s chicken thigh skewers — ideal for recreating come grilling season, especially if you have a charcoal grill). With captivating food and travel photographs, the book also serves as a reference and visual record of Puerto Rican food, ingredients, flavors and techniques, and the many influences and traditions that informed it like Taino, Spanish, African and American cultures. Alongside, Maisonet’s writing offers an unflinching look at the ways geography, immigration and colonization have impacted and inspired the island’s people.

Cynthia Shanmugalingam grew up in London but from a young age was exposed to the flavors of Sri Lanka, her ancestral homeland, in her immigrant parents’ kitchen. Exploring these flavors helped Shanmugalingam probe deeper to highlight the myriad influences on Sri Lankan cuisine, including Javanese, Malay, Indian, Arab, Portuguese, Dutch and British. For Rambutan’s 80-plus recipes, Shanmugalingam combines her favorite ingredients, flavors and techniques from the island’s culinary traditions and spins them into accessible, fun takes for home cooks. Take Sticky Chicken Buriani, a crave-worthy sticky coconut chicken dish festooned with crispy shallots, which riffs on the original by omitting rosewater and subbing in a spice mix recipe passed down from her grandmother. Pair the chicken dish with Lemongrass and Lime Soda, a zesty, herbaceous spritz that is Shanmugalingam’s favorite drink, and one that will likely become your summer quencher of choice. For armchair travel enthusiasts, this cookbook also showcases beautiful photographs from the island, which appear alongside stunning recipe photos.

Molly Yeh grew a following for her Food Network show Girl Meets Farm and her award-winning cookbook, Molly on the Range. Her latest, Home is Where the Eggs Are, further explores her knack for penning cozy recipes that manage to feel both celebratory yet utterly achievable. The flavors are inspired by Yeh’s dual Chinese and Jewish heritage, her husband’s Scandinavian heritage, as well as her time living in New York and her current digs on their family farm in East Grand Forks, Minnesota. The recipe titles alone read like a comfort food menu dream, including Babka Cereal, Doughnut Matzo Brei and Hand-pulled Noodles with Potsticker Filling Sauce. We’ll never look at chocolate chip cookies the same way after trying Yeh’s Marzipan Chocolate Chip Cookies, and vow to forgo takeout pizza in favor of Ham and Potato Pizza. And because Yeh wrote this book as a new mom, the fuss-free meals include plenty of tips for prepping ahead, freezing and substituting ingredients, all without sacrificing the heart of the recipes’ fusion flavors.

Mayumu means “sweet” in Kapampangan, one of the Philippines’ eight major languages and the language of Abi Balingit’s parents. The baker-activist-author delivers on her book’s namesake premise with a collection of 75 imaginative recipes that showcase both Filipino favorites and mind-bending flavor combinations. For instance, Red Velvet Sylvanas are a genius mash-up of sylvanas, Filipino cashew meringue cookies, and red velvet cake, yielding a tender sandwich cookie that’s stuffed with cream cheese frosting (pro tip: stash some in the freezer as Balingit does for a refreshing treat anytime). Halo-Halo Baked Alaska, a slice of which appears on the book’s cover, nods to a classic Filipino shaved ice dessert by layering sponge cake, evaporated milk granita, ube ice cream and Swiss meringue. The book is also a handy illustrated guide to Filipino staple ingredients to expand your pantry, including jackfruit, pandan leaves and ube (purple yam). Besides the beautiful photographs and whimsical baking recipes, we love this book for its prose, too. Though Balingit now calls Brooklyn, NY home, she time travels through personal essays to reflect and expand on her heritage through the experiences that shaped her Third-Culture Kid experience, including visiting her parents' birthplace in Pampanga, Philippines and her formative years growing up in California.

Author Jon Kung is putting his third-culture kid experience front and center, giving it top billing in his debut cookbook. Kung was born in Los Angeles, raised in Hong Kong and Toronto and now calls Detroit home, a journey that he’s since explored as a law-school-grad-turned-cook. By exploring his identity through cooking and finding creativity in the kitchen, Kung has developed a collection of recipes that redefine Chinese American food and showcase his unique blend of cultural inspirations, flavors and ingredients. To honor his niece’s request for sweet and sour pork, Kung dreamt up Chipotle Mango Sweet-and-Sour Pork, which pulls in mango instead of pineapple and incorporates chipotle for smoky heat (a nod to his affinity for mezcal). The clever brunch bowls — in flavor iterations like salmon tartare, oyster mushroom and kimchi chorizo — are the kind of dish we could see prepping on a weekend for a week of delicious mix-and-match lunches ahead. The book is peppered with Kung’s signature wit (which has garnered him legions of appreciative and engaged social media followers), which shows that humor and a sense of playfulness are necessary ingredients for bringing a story and recipe to life.

Like many third-culture kids, Lyana Blount became fluent in her family’s “food is love” love language. Blount grew up in a Puerto Rican and Black household, which inspired the flavors and textures she is most drawn to. After going vegan and searching for a hobby during the pandemic lockdown, Blount was inspired to capture those vibrant flavors and traditions anew, culminating in the launch of her NYC pop-up, Black Rican Vegan. Here, she’s earned a fan-following among vegans and meat-eaters alike for dishes like vegan oxtails, chipotle shroom sandwiches, chopped cheese no egg rolls and empanadas. Her cookbook of the same name captures the techniques and secrets of her unique brand of vegan, Latin soul food in a collection of 60 recipes. There’s a clever riff on the NYC bodega classic bacon-egg-and-cheese breakfast sandwich aptly named NYC Bacun Eggin Cheeze, and even pernil, a classic Puerto Rican dish of roast pork, gets the plant-based treatment by swapping in succulent jackfruit. The book is peppered with recipes celebrating the diversity of her hometown and family favorites, like Bronx Fried Oyster Mushrooms and Titi’s Lasagna for Dad.

Celebrated cookbook author Hetty Lui McKinnon wrote Tenderheart as a homage to her Chinese immigrant father and experience growing up in a Chinese family in Australia. She’s long had an affinity for her bicultural identity as well as for her father, who moved to Sydney in his teens and learned English selling bananas. Through the crates of produce he brought home after his days at the market, McKinnon developed a love for the diversity of fruits and vegetables. Tenderheart’s 180 vegetarian recipes are divided into 22 chapters, each named for different vegetables, all filtered through the lens of McKinnon’s Chinese heritage and seasoned with her personal culinary sensibility. To that end, you’ll find recipes such as Miso Mushroom Ragu with Baked Polenta, Carrot and Vermicelli Buns and Soy–Butter Bok Choy Pasta. Vegetables get the sweet treatment too, with an irresistible-sounding Sweet Potato and Black Sesame Marble Bundt that we suspect would make an ideal afternoon pick-me-up. Tenderheart is a book about vegetables with an incredible array of vegetarian recipes, but it’s also a deeply personal tome about the family connections forged around food that create everlasting bonds.

Blogger turned cookbook author Palak Patel blends her Indian heritage with American food culture to create a collection of 100 recipes that are ideal for beginners and seasoned home cooks alike. Fresh, flavorful and healthy is the name of the game, with a heavy emphasis on flavor. To wit, you’ll find American staples remixed with Indian flair with the likes of Coconut Shrimp Po’ Boys with Panang Curry Remoulade, Crispy Barbecue Chicken Keema Tacos and Masala Pot Pies. Patel also breaks down foundational elements of Indian cookery such as tadka, in which whole spices are tempered in oil to bolster their flavors, and her signature chutneys, including the secrets to making lasan ni chutney. She also reveals smart kitchen hacks for infusing everyday dishes with Indian flavors, like imbuing canned tomato soup with ginger, garlic and coriander. Besides highlighting the flavors of the Indian food Patel ate as a kid, she celebrates the hands that made the food with poignant personal anecdotes.

Devan Rajkumar has long appreciated his hospitality industry roots and indulged his affinity for chasing flavor around the globe. With his cookbook, he’s reconnecting with his family roots by developing recipes that reflect his Caribbean family heritage and South Asian ancestry as well as his formative years growing up in Toronto in a Guyanese household. The chapters are smartly divided into categories such as Shared Plates, Breads, Fish and Seafood and Drinks and Desserts, making it easy to dip into the book depending on what you feel like making. We love the idea of whipping up a batch of Spiced Cauliflower Nachos for an easy weeknight supper or shareable game night snack, and are bookmarking classic Guyanese Pepperpot to serve alongside homemade Plait Bread. And we’re willing to bet that holiday gatherings won’t ever be the same after serving Saffron Kheer and Garam Masala-Spiced Pecan Pie for dessert. What’s especially beautiful about this book is the author’s connection to his mother, who continues to inspire his approach to cooking and serves as a fount of knowledge the deeper Rajkumar digs into his roots.

Edy Massih, the chef and owner of Edy’s Grocer in Brooklyn, NY, is adding cookbook author to his resume with a collection of recipes in celebration of the Lebanese flavors that anchored his culinary approach. Massih was born in a small fishing village in Lebanon and learned the secrets of delicious Lebanese food early on by eating and cooking with his Teitas (grandmas) Odette and Jacquo. Massih moved to the U.S. at age 10 and in his adult years, parlayed those techniques and the dishes of his homeland into building a career as a chef and caterer. Keep it Zesty showcases his modern riffs on traditional Lebanese cuisine with 115 easy-to-follow recipes for contemporary home cooks. You’ll find crave-worthy dips and spreads, including the likes of Orangey Date Carrot Dip and Spicy Fig Jam, and discover weeknight dinner inspiration with Za’atar Chicken Thighs or Shawarma Chicken Taco Night. Massih also includes clever recipe charts so you can easily customize dishes alongside anecdotes about Middle Eastern pantry staples.

Recipe developer, social media influencer, entrepreneur and regular FoodNetwork.com recipe contributor Yumna Jawad is now adding cookbook author to her impressive resume. In 125 recipes, Jawad showcases her innovative riffs on the hearty, home-cooked meals she grew up eating in Lebanese communities in Sierra Leone and Michigan. Mixing a hearty dose of nostalgia, traditional techniques, a dash of healthy cooking and flavors courtesy of her favorite accessible and affordable pantry staples, Jawad elevates classic dishes to crave-worthy yet healthy-ish status. Even better? Each recipe requires less than 10 ingredients and under 30 minutes of active prep time. We can’t wait to make White Zucchini Pizza with Garlicky Labneh, Tahini Caesar Salad and Seven Spice Roast Chicken & Pomegranate Potatoes. Sprinkled throughout the book are time-saving shortcuts she learned from her mother, meal prep tips and thoughtful yet delicious ways to repurpose leftovers so you can cut down on kitchen waste, too.

Kiano Moju grew up in California with a Kenyan mother and Nigerian father, and though she spent summer holidays in Kenya, the family’s reverence for African food and culture was celebrated back in the U.S. African house parties meant dishes like Nigerian jollof rice, moin moin (steamed bean cakes), roasted chicken legs and plantains were served in regular rotation, and weekends or special occasions were destined for making Kenyan staples such as samosas, sauteed collard greens and barbecued meat. As Moju says, “Californian cuisine embraces the flavors of its immigrant communities while celebrating the state’s agriculture and the flavors of fresh produce." You’ll want to whip up Peri Peri Butter and Herby Harissa on a weekly basis to slather and dollop on everything from rice to roasted veggies to grilled proteins. For casual yet classy gatherings, bookmark surefire crowd-pleasers like Berbere Braised Short Ribs and Kijani Seafood Pilau plus Pili Pili Pineapple Margarita to keep the party vibes going all night long.

Answering the question “where are you from?” is a challenging one for most third-culture kids to answer. Sonoko Sakai, author of Japanese Home Cooking, is no exception, having spent time living in New York, Los Angeles and Mexico, among other places. For her latest cookbook, Sakai explores wafu cooking — literally “Japanse style” — and how Japanese ingredients, techniques and flavors are in conversation with many different countries around the world and produce distinctly local, “wafu-ed” iterations. Of equal importance are Sakai’s own takes on Japanese dishes filtered through an American lens. The result is a dizzying line-up of 120-plus recipes that all sound so appealing, it’ll be hard to decide what to cook first. Perhaps recreating Dashi Cheese Grits with Honey Miso Butter is in order or maybe we’ll start by simmering a pot of Collard Greens and Cabbage Miso Soup (finished with crispy bacon). Maybe we’ll relish feeling like a culinary champion pulling off Fish and Lotus Chips on a weekday or inviting a friend over for a lunch of Caesar Salad with Aonori Croutons and Bonito Flakes. In addition to these creative twists on American classics, Sakai teaches readers about foundational ingredients of Japanese cuisine, such as dashi, miso and soy sauce, and how they can be employed to give any dish a wafu spin. Perhaps no other recipe captures the multicultural American experience quite like Miso Apple Pie.

Food writer Khushbu Shah may have a killer recipe for butter chicken, but she wants to take readers on a journey that goes well beyond the perceived standards of Indian food in America. For her debut cookbook, she found inspiration from across the diaspora to dream up 125 recipes that are chockful of flavor and reflect her unique takes on Indian American food. You’ll find comfort in homey dishes such as Spinach Tadka Dal with rice, and wake up your taste buds with the likes of a boldly seasoned Achari Paneer Pizza. Spinach lasagna will never be the same once you make Saag Paneer Lasagna, and your new bar for fried chicken sandwich excellence will be set by Keralan Fried Chicken Sandwiches. Along with savory dishes, you’ll discover drinks and desserts that are sure to find their way into a regular recipe rotation, such as Masala Chai Basque Cheesecake and Pani Puri Mojitos. The book is also peppered with vibrant photos, smart meal prep tips and beautifully rendered essays that’ll inspire you long after you close the book.

When London-based recipe developer Sanjana Modha pursued her passion for creating vegetarian recipes imbued with her Indian and East African roots, she amassed legions of fans online who relished recreating her approachable, flavor-driven recipes in their own kitchens. Followers sang the praises of Mandazi, pillowy Kenyan coconut and cardamom doughnuts that pair as well with a cup of chai as they do with Mbaazi za naazi (pigeon peas cooked down in coconut milk), as well as Shahi Daal, for which Modha described the accompanying ghee, garlic and green chili tadka as “rocket fuel for lentils.” In her debut cookbook, Modha’s passion for sharing Indian vegetarian soul food shines with a kind of authenticity that can only come from honoring who she is and what she personally loves to eat. This fusion of flavors and influences is evident in signature dishes such as Ruffled Biryani, Pasta Daal and Indian-inspired Rocky Road and recipes destined for comfort-food-classic status such as Madras Mac & Cheese with Crispy Naan Crumbs (it’s worth making the garlicky, crunchy breadcrumbs to have on hand for sprinkling on any gratin-style dish). Modha brings the same love and intention to the personal anecdotes she shares about the ingredients and people that make up her story.