In my last cookbook review of Boustany by Sami Tamimi, I wrote that the work just did not speak to me. Today’s review of Third Culture Cooking by Zaynab Issa definitely does.
About the book:
Third Culture Cooking is American Cooking: Delicious everyday multicultural recipes, borrowing from our parents and their parents’ homes, melding the old with the new and the familiar with the unfamiliar to create bold flavors and new classics for the next generation of cooks.
The food that author Zaynab Issa cooks—inspired by her East African and South Asian roots, the American suburban delights she grew up eating, and her international travels—is packed with unique and flavorful riffs.
Her affectionate homages to the chain restaurants we love are reflected here: fluffy cinnamon rolls that rival Cinnabon’s, Baskin Robbins–inspired almond fudge squares, and an artichoke dip that recalls TGI Fridays’ delights that will make you want to stay in.
To complete the collection, Zaynab looked to her primary inspiration, the women who’ve fed her, and meticulously recorded her favorite traditional dishes from each of them.
Beyond the recipes, Zaynab shares her tips on establishing yourself as a confident cook—one who prepares food consciously, hosts with pride, and is never without a well-stocked pantry.
For extravagant entertaining as well as weeknight ease, Third Culture Cooking is a love letter to American home-cooking and the many influences that make it so.
Recipes include:
French Onion Ramen
Samosas Two Ways
Chocolate Cake with Chai Buttercream
Farzana’s Biryani
Thai-Style Crispy Salmon
Steak Sandwich with Date Chutney
Tandoori Tacos
Banana Cake with Tahini Fudge
Chicken Kitchri
and many more! (From Issa’s website)
About the author:
After working on a self-published zine that formalized her family’s East-African Indian recipes, she began freelancing at Buzzfeed and contributing culturally rooted recipes and stories to Bon Appétit and Food52. She’s an avid baker and carb lover. Her approach to recipe development keeps the home cook front of mind, prioritizing ease and flexibility. Zaynab grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Baruch College with a B.A. in Journalism and Marketing. She currently lives in Brooklyn and enjoys creating video content for TikTok, scouring thrift stores for platters and purses, and exploring New York’s restaurant scene in her free time.
Zaynab Issa worked as an associate food editor at Bon Appétit. Third Culture Cooking is her first cookbook. (Edited from Bon Appetit)
What I thought….
From the first sentence, Issa had me:
Almost everything you need to know about me can be learned through the way I eat, and this cookbook is much like a memoir, but of my memories of food. (10).
I love a good food memoir and a love a good cookbook. The premise and heart of Issa’s cookbook is that “Cooking like an American” and “American food” is all encompassing.
So, American food is also my food—it might have origins elsewhere, but it belongs here equally. These recipes take inspiration from global cuisines, and I’ve tried to acknowledge the inspiration and origins of certain flavors, dishes and ingredients, as I view that as essential to cultural preservation. (10)
Issa’s mother is from mainland Tanzania and her father is from the island of Zanzibar. They brought their Khoja heritage to New Jersey where Issa was maybe overly influenced by the Food Network and Ina Garten and Rachel Ray.
The women in her life, however, were still big influences and she pays homage to them in the book. If a recipe is titled with a woman’s name before the name of the dish, “That is their recipe, not mine. I simply recorded the expertise they’ve spent years honing” (13).
As with most comprehensive cookbooks, Issa starts out telling us how to “Set Yourself Up for Success.” This section includes Pantry Staples (Aleppo chili flakes to dates to sumac and Diamond Crystal Kosher salt), Fridge Staples (things like Achaar, fish sauce, labneh, and preserved lemons), and Tools (starting with “A Great Peppermill” and ending with a mortar and pestle).
“On Food and Feelings” is innovative. She groups some of her recipes together by feelings: cozy, lazy, celebratory, bored, etc. Feeling moody? Need a little escape? Try Gochujang Tahini Noodles or Fruit and Nut Biscotti. She goes beyond the emotional cooking suggestions and adds legitimate menus for the following occasions:
- Teatime
- Cocktail Evening
- Family Feast
- Brunch
- A Summer Affair
- Date Night
- Movie Night
- Vegetarian
She categorizes her book into Start Small (appetizers and sides), Fill Up (Mains), Make It Better (Condiments), Something Sweet, and Sips.
Throughout the book, Issa offers ideas for subs in case you don’t have the called-for ingredient OR if you want to experiment. Don’t have ghee? Use vegetable oil. No labneh? Use thick Greek yogurt. Heirloom tomatoes are out of season? Use cherry tomatoes.
Here are some of the recipes that I earmarked:
- Gyoza with Garlicky Labneh and Chili Butter—This recipe uses store bought gyoza (54).
- Shawarma-Spiced Carrots (75)
- Shawarma Salad Wrap (150)
- A Great Tuna Melt (174)
- Homemade Hot Sauce (197)
- Baklava Granola (212)
- Date and Dark Chocolate Cookies (230)
The photos in the book are beautiful and playful. Some show an empty plate after licked clean. As with all flavor and fresh forward cooking, a lot of the recipes are conducive to the growing season when fresh herbs and produce are available.
Truly, this book is full of American cuisine. But, I would rather use her term of “Third Culture.” Her B-L-D Tomatoes and Eggs (99) was a nostalgic reminder of having stewed tomatoes on toast with poached eggs growing up. There’s cumin fried rice (107), an “iconic” Khoja chicken pot pie (91), basically an egg McMuffin with achaar (89), and Green Eggs and Hummus (120). Issa is not redefining what we consider “American” food, she’s creating it.
My only complaint is that she did not list page numbers for the specific recipes in her “emotional” cooking section or her menus.
What I made….
I admit that sometimes I might copy a few recipes from the cookbooks I check out of the library. (Like possibly the ones I say I “earmarked.”) I might have done it with Third World Cooking, too. It’s a moot point because I took the book back to the library and now I can’t find my copies. But, one of the recipes I wanted to make was her Baklava Granola. Fortunately I found that on line. You can as well here.
She is not a huge fan of dried fruit in granola so there’s non in the recipe. Her ideal granola is one heavy on the nuts. I did have to deviate from her recipe a bit and I added even more nuts. Instead of ghee, I used coconut oil. I added a full cup of raw pistachios, the called for 3/4 c. chopped walnuts, and I had a few slivered almonds (about 1/4 c.) that I threw in as well. Otherwise, I followed her instructions! 🙂
I’m sure this is a lot more baklava-like with the ghee.
I do love that this uses honey (but this is a not-too-sweet granola). I’m not a big fan of egg white granola, but I have to say that I’m a convert with this one. The recipes makes a little more than a half-gallon.
I’m linking up with Foodies Read.
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