At a glance
Pages424
First published2024
AudienceAdult
ISBN1962986470
About the Author
Mandy Fu1 book reviewed
168 Better Than Takeout Chinese Recipes
A Cookbook
by Mandy Fu
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for: Home cooks whose baseline for Chinese food is the takeout menu and who want to cook past it — visual learners especially, since every one of the 168 recipes carries step-by-step photos plus a linked demo video.
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168 Better Than Takeout Chinese Recipes is Mandy Fu's debut print collection from her Souped Up Recipes channel: 424 pages and 168 recipes covering the takeout canon — Mongolian Beef, Sesame Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork — alongside regional dishes like Shaanxi Rou Jia Mo and Yunnan Herb Braised Beef Soup, each with step-by-step photos and a linked demo video. LuvemBooks' verdict: the visual teaching support is its standout strength, making it an excellent pick for home cooks whose reference point is the takeout menu and who want to cook past it. The key caveat: no independent kitchen testing exists in the published record, so its reliability rests on design and Fu's large public audience rather than third-party verification.
- Is it worth reading?
- For its target reader, yes. If your reference point for Chinese food is the takeout menu and you want to cook past it — first reproducing the classics, then branching into regional dishes — the combination of 168 recipes, step-by-step photography, and video walkthroughs is genuinely strong value for the format. The two real caveats: no independent kitchen testing or third-party verification of recipe accuracy exists in the published record, so reliability rests on Fu's large teaching audience; and longtime Souped Up Recipes followers may find significant overlap with recipes already published free online.
- Similar books
- Readers who enjoy this book should look at The Woks of Life: Recipes to Know and Love from a Chinese American Family by Bill, Kaitlin, Judy, and Sarah Leung, another creator-built collection bridging takeout favorites and Chinese home cooking, and Chinese Takeout Cookbook by Kwoklyn Wan, which shares the 'better than the restaurant' premise. Fuchsia Dunlop's Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking offers a deeper, more traditional approach to everyday Chinese dishes. For the technique-driven, science-minded cooking style that complements Fu's visual teaching, LuvemBooks also recommends Joshua Weissman: An Unapologetic Cookbook and J. Kenji López-Alt's The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.
- Who should read this?
- The ideal reader is a home cook whose reference point for Chinese food is the takeout menu and who wants to cook past it — reproducing Sesame Chicken and Mongolian Beef first, then branching into regional dishes they may never have encountered. It suits visual learners particularly well, since every one of the 168 recipes pairs step-by-step photography with a video walkthrough. It is less suited to specialists seeking depth in one regional tradition — Sichuan, Cantonese, or Shaanxi cooking each gets only a sampling — or to collectors who already own comprehensive Chinese cookbooks.
- Is it good for beginners?
- Yes — this is arguably its core design feature. LuvemBooks notes that techniques which frustrate beginners in text-only cookbooks, like folding, velveting, and wok handling, are supported by detailed step-by-step photos plus a linked demo video for every single recipe. The takeout dishes Fu prioritizes are also chosen for being simple and affordable, making them natural fits for home kitchens.
- How do the video links work?
- Every one of the 168 recipes includes a linked demo video, extending the visual teaching style that built Fu's online audience into print — the book functions as a companion to the Souped Up Recipes channel as much as a standalone object. The practical catch, flagged by LuvemBooks, is that the videos require a phone or tablet at hand, a small friction point for cooks who prefer a fully self-contained print cookbook.
- I follow her channel — is this redundant?
- That's the book's main vulnerability. Because all 168 recipes were curated from Fu's social media output, longtime followers of Souped Up Recipes may find significant overlap with material they've already cooked from free online. The value for existing fans lies in the curation and print presentation — one organized volume with step-by-step photography — rather than in new material.
Summarize this book
Is it worth reading?
Who should read this?
Is it good for beginners?
How do the video links work?
I follow her channel — is this redundant?
Summarize this book
Published in October 2024, this is the debut print cookbook from Mandy Fu of the Souped Up Recipes channel — a 424-page hardcover collecting 168 recipes she selected from her social media archive. It runs on two tracks: the American-Chinese takeout canon (Chicken Fried Rice, Mongolian Beef, Pepper Steak, Chop Suey, Chicken Lo Mein) and a second tier of regional and fusion dishes like Shaanxi Beef Burger Rou Jia Mo, Hong Kong Beef Curry, and Shanghai Crispy Breaded Pork Chop. Every recipe carries step-by-step photos plus a linked demo video. Fu is candid that no single volume can cover Chinese cuisine's full spectrum, framing the book as a curated glimpse rather than an encyclopedia.
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Age & Reading Level
Recommended age
Adult
Reading level
Adult
who it suits
Skip if You're after deep coverage of a single regional Chinese cuisine — Sichuan, Cantonese, or Shaanxi specialists need a dedicated regional volume, not this 168-recipe survey.
Editorial Review
Mandy Fu's Souped Up Recipes debut collects 168 Chinese recipes — takeout staples like Mongolian Beef and Sesame Chicken alongside regional dishes such as Shaanxi Rou Jia Mo — each with step-by-step photos and a demo video. A broad, visual guide for home cooks, though its reliability rests on design rather than independent testing.
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