My dad’s been cooking Chinese food for 50 years.
To preserve my dad’s wisdom and recipes for our kids, I’m learning from him and sharing the results with you. Made With Lau is our story. Come along and cook with us!
“It’s been only a few short years since the time I was introduced to Made With Lau, but in that period they have grown to become one of my most trusted resources. Their unique balance of tradition and modernity, of quality and practicality makes them uniquely useful for home cooks.”
— J. Kenji López-Alt (NYT Best-Selling Author of The Food Lab, The Wok)
How it all began
My dad started cooking when he was 12 years old, fending for himself in China after being separated from his parents.
Being thrust into adulthood at a young age, he now knows how to cook over 2,000 recipes from memory, ingrained by his childhood in Toisan, culinary school in China, running a food cart on Wall Street, opening his own restaurant in the Bay Area, California, and continuing to cook after said restaurant was burned down in the 90s.
Growing up, I was spoiled by my dad’s food, and I’ve always wanted to capture my favorite recipes and his 50 years of experience as a Chinese chef.
After a lifetime of wanting, I pitched my parents on the idea of starting a YouTube channel together.
On September 1st, 2020, we finally published our very first recipe, Mapo Tofu, on YouTube and our blog to preserve our Cantonese heritage for our children and future generations to come.
Since then, we’ve become one of the most trusted authorities for teaching Chinese cooking, reaching millions of people every month, with two James Beard Awards for our heartfelt storytelling and in-depth instruction.
As a nerdy engineer, I love dissecting how my dad flows effortlessly through the kitchen (and forcing him to use measuring spoons), so that the rest of us can recreate the Chinese dishes we all know and love.
What’s in this newsletter?
We just started writing a cookbook! We’re planning for it to come out in Fall 2026.
But I’m already discovering that the cookbook is like an iceberg. In order to support the shiny part that everybody gets to see, there is a MASSIVE body of work underneath it all.
Every week, this newsletter will share the best nuggets of wisdom, recipes, techniques, and stories as I learn from my dad, in hopes of making the most helpful, timeless book on Chinese cooking possible.
More than just recipes (of which we have many), I am seeking to understand and share…
How my dad cooks with intuition - the “why” behind the subtle pinches of flavors, micro adjustments on heat dials, and all the sensory cues and unspoken rules he lives by.
How my parents shop and keep ingredients fresh - learning how they sift through produce aisles and vegetable markets in Chinatown, and what to dishes to cook with them.
“Mother Recipes” - the ratios and guidelines underlying every variety of fried rice, chow mein, congee, soup, and etc.
This newsletter is for curious food lovers, people who yearn to recreate the food they grew up with, and anyone who wants to understand the deeper “how” and “why” behind great Cantonese cooking.
Pull up a stool at our kitchen island as we create this book!
“I love Made With Lau because it’s about food, family and connecting both in a 1+1=5 kind of way. I also believe it is additive to our canon of culinary literacy, a rare thing these days where most food work in any media format is reductive or derivative. Most importantly, their food tastes good!”
— Andrew Zimmern (Emmy Nominated TV Host, Celebrity Chef)
Why subscribe? What do you get?
As a free subscriber, you get…
📒 The Cookbook Chronicle (Fridays @ 8:30am PST)
Our free video newsletter sharing high-level lessons, reflections, and techniques I’m learning from my dad as we co-write this cookbook.
Occasionally, we will include cookbook recipes we’re testing, outside of the 200+ recipes we’ve already published on our channel and blog.
As a paid subscriber, you get…
All of the above
🔒 The Cookbook Confidential (Wednesdays @ 8:30am PST)
Our private, behind-the-scenes video newsletter with in-progress cookbook content.
You’ll get exclusive videos and the chance to weigh in on early recipes, essays, and guides. It’s raw, real, and a chance to help shape the content of the book.
💬 Private Made With Lau Community
Exchange comments with us on posts and chat with us directly in our private community thread—ask questions, share feedback, and make friends!
📚 Digital Cookbook
Get a searchable e-Book once it's published.
As a founding member, you get…
All of the above
🎗️ Your Name in the Acknowledgments
Founding Members will be listed in the acknowledgments section.
✍️ Signed Physical Copy
We’ll mail you a signed copy of our cookbook, inscribed with handwritten signatures and notes from our family.
“Watching Mr. Lau interact with his son in Made With Lau reminded me of my own family and the love that each meal brings with every bite. It transported me back to childhood dinners, deepening my appreciation for my mom’s cooking and the rich traditions behind every authentic Canto dish.”
— Harry Shum Jr. (Actor - Everything Everywhere All at Once, Grey’s Anatomy)
We can’t wait to share!
When I started Made With Lau, I was doing it for my kids, so that one day, they might deeply understand what it means to be Cantonese and to learn how to cook the incredible food that my dad made for us every single day.
What I’ve come to realize is how many other people yearn for deeper connection, for preserving our culture, and to recreate the food that reconnects with our past, our family, and what it means to be human.
It’s an honor to be here and to share with you. We can’t wait to bring this cookbook to life and to share in the journey with you.
With love,
Randy & the Lau family
