June Tong’s friends and fans have been after her for years to publish a second cookbook. Tong’s first, "Popo’s Kitchen" from 1989, is a staple of many island kitchens, a straightforward guide to Chinese home cooking. Tong published it herself, promoted it in cooking demonstrations all over the island and eventually sold 45,000 copies.

But when it came to putting out No. 2, she’d say, "When I’m ready, I will."

In May 2011 she was ready. It took about a year, and then some months for printing, but "Popo’s Kitchen Volume 2" is ready for prime time. Tong rolls it out at Splendor of China, Nov. 3 and 4 at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall.

Volume 2 is bigger than the first by 46 pages and includes color photographs where the other had none. It remains a no-frills affair, though, with more than 150 recipes presented in the clear, step-by-step format Tong developed for her first book. And as with that book, the recipes went from her head, where they’d been living for years, into her notebook and onto the printed page.

Tong is not and never has been a chef. She learned from her mother and from "tasting and watching," she says. "When we go to restaurants I wonder, ‘What’s in there, how do they do it?’" And she’d go home and experiment.

Her skills were perfected cooking for her family of four children and her "mahjong gang."

"I guess I became better," is how she puts it.

Most of the recipes in the second book are new, with some favorites back with improvements. Tong’s jai, the traditional vegetable dish for the new year, for example, is back with updated ingredients; her Chinese Fishcake Rolls are now rolled in nori and simmered in broth, where before they were sealed in foil and steamed.

Also included are recipes outside the Chinese repertoire, many of those developed by a group of friends — the Tongees and Tongettes — who gather every few months to share recipes and eat together. From them come Japa­nese Konbu Maki, Korean Japchae and Filipino BBQ Pork.

The first "Popo" was initially published to benefit the trust fund of a teenager with leukemia, the son of Tong’s friends. In 2008 she reprinted 2,000 copies to help the autistic son of her neighbors.

This time the charity is the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Hawaii, which provides housing for families who come to Oahu when their children are hospitalized with serious illnesses. Tong will offer cookie samples and sell books at the charity’s Share-a-Night Gala, Nov. 18, donating half the proceeds of books sold that night. She’ll also cook a dinner in the home of the highest bidder in the event’s silent auction. And later she, her Tongees and Tongettes will prepare Sunday dinner for families staying at one of the Ronald McDonald houses.

UDON NOODLES
"Popo’s Kitchen Volume 2," by June Tong

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

» Noodle mixture:
2 pounds fresh udon noodles (boil until tender, rinse and drain)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon hondashi (powdered Japa­nese soup stock)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon mushroom soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce

» Vegetable mixture:
1 pound bacon, in 1/4-inch slices
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, slivered
1 carrot, slivered
1 cup chives, in 1-inch pieces
1 package bean sprouts
Salt, to taste

» Garnish:
1 cup slivered char siu
1 cup cilantro

Combine noodle mixture; marinate 30 minutes.

Add oil to wok and heat. Stir-fry noodles in small batches. Set aside.

Reheat wok. Fry bacon until brown. Add vegetables and stir-fry until crisp-tender. Return noodles to wok and stir gently until well mixed. Garnish and serve. Serves 8.

Approximate nutritional information (including salt to taste): 560 calories, 38 g fat, 11 g saturated fat, 50 mg cholesterol, greater than 1,500 mg sodium, 37 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 6 g sugar, 19 g protein

———

Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S. Write “By Request,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813. Email requests to bshima­bukuro@staradvertiser.com.