Salt & Spine

Episode 136: Kristina ChoThis week, we’re joined by Kristina Cho to discuss her debut cookbook, Mooncakes and Milk Bread: Sweet and Savory Recipes Inspired by Chinese Bakeries. Kristina is a Bay Area-based recipe developer and writer who grew up in a restaurant family in Cleveland, Ohio. After a degree in architecture left her longing for something more, she turned to food blogging and launched Eat Cho Food. As her recipes grew in popularity, she realized some of the hits were items you’d find at Chinese bakeries (one of the first to resonate: the hot dog flower buns). Before long, Kristina had made another realization: the cookbook world was missing a book dedicated to Chinese bakery-style recipes. So Kristina set out to write up.Mooncakes & Milk Bread is the result of that effort, and it landed Kristina two coveted James Beard Awards earlier this year (in both the Baking & Desserts and Emerging Voice cookbook categories.) The book is packed with classic and inventive recipes, from pineapple buns to