"For avid home cooks who came of age in the digital era, there may be few voices more authoritative than that of J. Kenji López-Alt, the nerd king of Internet cooking."
- The New York Times
My Books
My Books
"For avid home cooks who came of age in the digital era, there may be few voices more authoritative than that of J. Kenji López-Alt, the nerd king of Internet cooking."
- The New York Times
The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science
The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science
James Beard Foundation Award Winner
International Association of Culinary Professionals Cookbook of the Year
Named one of “The 100 Best Cookbooks of All Time” by Epicurious and The Independent
Taste Talks Cookbook of the Year
Amazon Cookbook of the Year
Library Journal Cookbook of the Year
#1 NYT Bestseller
"Kenji’s lessons are the kind you keep going back to, long after the course is over."
— The New Yorker
When I wrote The Food Lab, I wanted to create the cookbook I wish I’d had when I was first learning to cook—a book that explores the science and technique of home cooking with clear explanations of not just how to do things, but why we do them.
To that end, I spent years obsessing over why certain recipes and techniques work better than others. I rigorously tested accepted kitchen wisdom to separate truth from myth, and I realized that most people don’t need fancier tools or more complicated methods—they just need to understand what’s happening in the pan. The book grew out of a decade of experiments, mistakes, and “aha” moments, from searing steaks to frying eggs to building the perfect mac and cheese.
It’s part science textbook, part personal journal, and part love letter to anyone who’s ever stood over a skillet trying to make dinner taste just a little better or come together just a little more easily. I never set out to write a definitive book on home cooking—just one that could help people feel more confident, curious, and empowered in their kitchens.
"[Kenji] approaches recipe development with monomaniacal zeal, then shares the delicious results with the infectious enthusiasm of the coolest teacher you had in high school"
— The Globe and Mail
The Wok: Recipes and Techniques
The Wok: Recipes and Techniques
James Beard Foundation Award Winner
#1 NYT Best Seller
#1 Washington Post Bestseller
Washington State Book Award Winner
“J. Kenji López-Alt’s new book, The Wok, is so expansive, so compendious, and so obsessively detailed (and I mean that in a good way) … it’s like taking a cookery course with the inspirational teacher of your dreams.”
— Nigella Lawson
My wok is the most-used piece of equipment in my kitchen—and not just for Asian dishes. From stir-frying to searing, from simmering to steaming, from braising to deep frying, it’s a simple, inexpensive tool that contains vast worlds of technique, flavor, and culture. When I wrote The Wok, I wanted to capture that complexity and make it approachable for anyone cooking at home.
This book is as much about ideas as it is about recipes. I explore how heat, oil, and motion interact to create smoky wok hei; how massaging your meat can turn it velvety smooth; and how to achieve a crisp crust that stays crunchy even when coated in sauce. It’s a deep dive into the physics, textures, and small details that make wok cooking so satisfying.
You’ll learn how to make the best versions of the Chinese American classics I grew up with—beef with broccoli, General Tso’s chicken, fried rice—but you’ll also explore regional dishes from across Asia: Thai pad thai, Sichuan mapo tofu, Korean tteokbokki, Japanese tempura, and more.
Wok cooking isn’t just about food—it’s about family, friends, and generations of cooks who’ve made this tool central to how they eat and live. Writing this book reminded me that great cooking comes from curiosity and connection. I’m excited to help more people pick up a wok and make it their most-loved pan, too.
“For a while I wanted to cook everything in my beloved wok, and the 200 recipes in López-Alt’s book made that easy … [The Wok] taught me tricks and techniques that I will use for years to come, long after I’ve moved on to other books.”
— New York Times Book Review
Every Night is Pizza Night
Every Night is Pizza Night
#1 New York Times Bestseller
Eater’s Best Food Books of 2020
The New York Public Library’s Best Books for Kids
Goodreads Choice Award for Best Picture Book
Pipo thinks—no, she knows—that pizza is the best food in the world. And if something is the best, why bother trying anything else?
That’s the premise of Every Night Is Pizza Night, a children’s book for ages 3 to 8 that explores, through the eyes of a confident (and stubborn) protagonist, what the word “best” really means. It’s a story about curiosity, community, and the joy of discovering the world through taste.
In her quest to prove that pizza is unbeatable, Pipo discovers that every family and every situation has its own “best” food—whether it’s bibimbap, tagine, dumplings, or pozole—and that those foods can be a way to connect, to learn empathy, and to share stories across cultures and generations.
My partner in this project, the insanely talented Gianna Ruggiero, brought that sense of wonder to life with art that captures every spark of joy, apprehension, and discovery in a way that no words ever could. Writing it reminded me that food isn’t just about flavor—it’s about understanding one another.
“Pipo is a young girl in a new book for kids who insists that pizza is the best food on Earth… That’s the charming premise of “Every Night Is Pizza Night”… the debut children’s book by J. Kenji López-Alt, a guru of food science and a new father.”
Help me Write my Next Book!
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