If you get a new cookbook and routinely skip the introductory parts where the author talks about their life and philosophy, and instead head straight to the pretty pics and recipes, we have a book to challenge that approach. To really understand Chae: Korean Slow Food For A Better Life, you need to read the wordy bits. And what makes this a worthwhile exercise is that they’re actually really interesting, and even somewhat moving…

Shu Han Lee might not be a household name down here, but she’s known in the UK for her spice company Remapapa, stocked in leading supermarkets like Selfridges. A Singapore native, she’s also authored another book called Chicken and Rice, a collection of more broadly SouthEast Asian recipes. Her latest concentrates on what she describes as “everyday recipes from Singapore”…