If you've been to our Chicago restaurant Parachute, most likely you'll have ordered the Bing bread. In fact, you'll find it sitting on 19 of 20 tables, and it's been a menu mainstay since the day we opened in 2014. 

How do we describe the Bing bread to someone who's never tried it? Essentially it's stuffed bread that’s fried, baked, and brushed in bacon fat. It has a crispy exterior you can rap your knuckles against and hear/feel that fried crust. The bread pulls apart into fluffiness. It is filled with gooey melted white cheddar, savory scallions, tender potatoes, studded with the finest Kentucky bacon, and slathered with whipped sour cream butter. The dish is Chinese by way of Korea with a detour through the American Midwest. It's our best-selling menu item by a wide margin. 

At least several times a week people will ask for the recipe. Yes, there are versions of our Bing bread floating on the internet, but honestly it's not the most faithful version. It'll get you 85% of the way there, compared to the one served at the restaurant. This is because our recipe is not easy to make — it takes a new hire at Parachute at least three months before we're comfortable letting them make it solo. In addition, we've been refining and finessing the process over the past six years.

So we've decided to reveal all in The Parachute Bing Bread Book. This is a one-recipe cookbook (printed by the same company that does Field Notes), but it is not something that could be reprinted in a glossy food magazine. What’s presented here isn’t some simplified weeknight version. It is a 32-page mini-book, printed on luxurious paper stock, with more than 5,000 words teaching the exact method employed at the restaurant. There is new insight and commentary in print for the first time. This book is intended for home cooks willing to take on a weekend project, but more importantly, allow readers to peek into the mindset of professional cooks, and learn why we make the culinary choices we make. There are nuances in this book that will help home cooks with virtually any dish they prepare. 

We've been working on this cookbook the last three months with Kevin Pang, a James Beard Award-winning food writer who has contributed to The New York Times, Saveur, and currently on staff at the marketing firm M. Harris & Co. We have tested this recipe multiple times in our homes and with trusted friends across the country. Now, those secrets can be yours.