To Asia, With Love by Hetty McKinnon
Finding home in food, To Asia, With Love by Hetty McKinnon is more than just a book on cooking—it’s a venture into discovering identity.
Words:Emma-Kate Wilson | Photography: Hetty McKinnon
“Recreating the flavours or textures of my youth has been an important way for me to stay connected with my roots, with my mum and with my identity,” says Hetty McKinnon. Photo - Shirley Cai.
Simple vegan wontons from Hetty McKinnon’s new book To Asia, With Love. Photo - Hetty McKinnon.
Chinese food is Hetty McKinnon’s heart. The cookbook author grew up with a busy kitchen always in motion as her mother invited meals from her Chinese heritage to their Australian table. Hetty’s new book captures this deep love, building off the immense success of her previous books Community (now in its second edition!), Neighbourhood, and Family.
In each book, and her various food columns across the world, Hetty celebrates simple, vegetarian meals that are made exciting with blends of herbs, dressings and crunchy toppings. She changed the way Australia looked at the simple salad, making it something we crave every day—a place where a pasta dish became a salad!
Now, in To Asia, With Love, Hetty takes on classic Asian dishes we all know and love, and brings them to all audiences—for those like Hetty who grew up cooking them, or for those who are only just starting their journey.
Her advice for those just beginning: “Don’t look at Asian food as any different to Italian cuisine or Middle Eastern food; your Asian pantry is your everyday pantry…. I hope To Asia, With Love will democratise Asian food, and show home cooks how easy it is to achieve these flavours at home.”
“The book is a melting pot of influences and celebrates how disparate experiences can come together, harmoniously on the plate,” shares Hetty McKinnon.Photo - Hetty McKinnon.
Simple vegan wontons from Hetty McKinnon’s new book To Asia, With Love. Photo - Hetty McKinnon.
“Chinese food is my heart. It is what I grew up eating; it is my heritage. I did not set out to be a cook or recipe writer, but once I started cooking, I felt a deep yearning to explore the food of my childhood. ”
“This cookbook is a huge personal exploration, where I finally allowed myself to embrace my cultural identity but also accept that while I’m Chinese on the outside, I’m also deeply Australian,” says Hetty McKinnon. Photo - Hetty McKinnon.
On the pages, the vegetarian chef transforms the world of Asian cuisine with dishes like banh mi salad, a soy-sauce-powered chocolate brownie and buttery miso vegemite noodles. But here lies Hetty’s success and popularity: the viewer is given the tools to do the same with ingredients we are already familiar with.
“Think about textures and flavours and how these can come together to create something familiar yet still unique,” she muses. “Memory is an important tool in coming up with ‘blended’ recipes — the buttery miso Vegemite noodles is a recipe that I created to celebrate the cheese-and-vegemite sandwiches of my youth — that is a flavour memory which I’ve been trying to recreate for years.”
“For me, this book is a bridge between cultures, and I hope it inspires readers to embrace all the parts of themselves. ”
Reflecting on memory, going for yum cha every Sunday was a way for Hetty to reconnect with her Chinese heritage. But she reflects, “yum cha culture has definitely become an intrinsic part of life in Australian cities. In Sydney, going out for yum cha is almost as normal as going to the cafe for coffee or brunch.”
Now living in New York, creating Asian-inspired dishes allows Hetty to connect with home as she ventures deeper into her nostalgic cooking. “Food became a gateway to my cultural heritage and helped me understand who I am and where I come from,” Hetty thoughtfully concludes. A beautiful idea for all of us unable to reconnect with home during these times.
Matcha chia puddings from Hetty McKinnon’s new book To Asia, With Love. Photo - Hetty McKinnon.
Photo - Shirley Cai.
SIMPLE VEGAN WONTONS
Wontons are an easy everyday food, especially when you have
a ready-made batch in the freezer. My mother always made them
in bulk and would pull them out of the freezer, a few at a time, for
a quick meal. To prepare wontons for storage, line a tray with baking paper and arrange the wontons in a single layer. Place them in the freezer and when they are hard, remove them from the tray, place in an airtight container and return to the freezer.
There are many ways to fold wontons – some are quite simple, while others take a bit of practice to master (search online for wonton-folding videos for a helpful visual). My mum’s method is the traditional ‘Cantonese’ or ‘Hong Kong’ fold, where the filling is bundled up into a ball with ruffled edges. The simplest way is to fold the square wrapper in half to form a triangle. If you want to move to the next level, you can bring the two base corners together to form a ‘nurse’s cap’, or cross the corners over one another to form a fish shape (see image opposite). The wrappers dry out easily, so always cover both the wrappers and your completed wontons with damp tea towels.
Makes about 45
INGREDIENTS
400 g extra-firm tofu, drained for 10 minutes
4 shallots, finely sliced
handful of coriander leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
2 teaspoons shaoxing rice wine
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons cornflour or potato starch
about 45 x 7–8 cm square vegan wonton wrappers
sea salt
METHOD
Crumble the tofu into a large bowl and add the shallot, coriander, tamari or soy sauce, shaoxing rice wine, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, sugar and
1⁄2 teaspoon of sea salt. Mix, mashing the tofu, until well combined.
Add the cornflour or potato starch to absorb any excess moisture – if the mixture is still too wet, place in a colander and drain for a few minutes.
Place the wonton wrappers on your work surface and cover them
with a damp tea towel. Hold a wrapper in the palm of your hand and place a teaspoon of filling in the centre (don’t add too much filling as the wonton will be hard to handle). Moisten the edge of the wrapper with a dab of water and carefully fold one corner over the filling to the opposing corner to form a triangle – make sure you enclose the filling tightly to avoid any air pockets which can make the wontons burst. Bring the two base corners together, dab one with water, then overlap them and press to seal. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling. At this point, you can freeze the wontons or cook them immediately.
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add a few wontons at a time and cook for 1–2 minutes, until they float to the top. Cook for another 20 seconds, until the skin is translucent, then remove immediately with a slotted spoon. Serve warm with your favourite broth, oil or dipping sauce.
To Asia, With Love by Hetty McKinnon, Published by Plum, RRP $39.99 is available where all good books are sold and also online.