The Macanese Melting Pot 

Kritina’s Bookshelf

Potstickers Royale with Crispy Crepe is one of many recipes to savor in this lively cookbook.

The Adventures of Fat Rice:
Recipes from the Chicago Restaurant Inspired by Macau
by Abraham Conlon, Adrienne Lo, and Hugh Amano
(Ten Speed Press, 2016)

Abraham Conlon and Adrienne Lo are the chefs and co-owners of the cult favorite and very popular Chicago restaurant Fat Rice. Hugh Amano is a writer and former sous chef at Fat Rice. Featuring 100 recipes, their new cookbook explores the vibrant food culture of Macau with a matching colorful, pop-art, comic-book style. A short ferry ride from Hong Kong, peninsular Macau is a melting pot of Chinese, Portuguese, Malaysian, and Indian foodways. For centuries, Macau was one of the world’s greatest trading ports: a Portuguese outpost and crossroads along the spice route, where travelers from Europe, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and mainland China traded resources, culture, and food. The Adventures of Fat Rice is the story of how two Chicago chefs discovered and fell in love with this fascinating and, at least until now, unheralded cuisine. Find recipes for dishes like Potstickers Royale with Crispy Crepe, Porco Bafassa (smothered and roasted turmeric pork shoulder), Minchi (a classic Macanese meat hash), Po Kok Gai (a Portuguese-influenced chicken curry with chouriço and olives), and Arroz Gordo (a paella meets fried-rice combination). A creative mix of photographs of finished dishes, local scenery and ingredients, comic-strip instructions, information-packed headnotes, and loads of resources help readers to explore this intriguing cuisine.