Win Son is a Taiwanese American restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. They're good friends of ours and are about as intertwined with the history of Yun Hai as you could get without actually being a part of the business. We've been providing Taiwanese soy paste and fermented black beans to their restaurant since our early days as an importer, and they put up retail shelves for our very first in-store presentation. Now, our store is located adjacent to their central kitchen, which provides plenty of opportunities to collaborate on ice cream flavors and baked goods.

Win Son Presents: A Taiwanese-American Cookbook is a celebration of that restaurant and the community that's come up around it, with contributions from folks who have been integral to the Win Son story over the past half-decade, like Josh's mom (Auntie Leah) and HoChie Tsai, who leads TaiwaneseAmerican.org. In it, you'll find recipes that are both on- and off- menu, like a classic Flies Head dish (finely chopped chives, chilis, and fermented black beans) to a take on pasta con la bottarga with Taiwanese mullet roe (or wu yu zi).

Josh Ku and Trigg Brown of Win Son co-authored this book with Cathy Erway, who wrote The Food of Taiwan, one of the OG English-language Taiwanese cookbooks, published in 2015. Cathy is an expert in Taiwanese cuisine, a James Beard Award Winner, podcast host (Heritage Radio Network and Gimlet Media), and a regular contributor to Taste, the New York Times, Saveur, Serious Eats, and Bon Appetit. She's been an inspiration in the world of Taiwanese food, and has given us a boost so many times.

We're excited to be stocking the Win Son Cookbook online, and are also honored to have contributed to it. Look for a few recipes from Lisa Cheng Smith (Tea Eggs, Scallion Oil Noodles) and a conversation with Trigg, Josh, and Cathy on our favorite Taiwanese ingredients.

Specs