At the Chinese table : a memoir with recipes

"Part memoir of life in Taiwan, part love story- a beautifully told account of China's brilliant cuisines . . . with recipes. "Lucky for me, Taipei was in the midst of transforming itself into a food lover's paradise at the exact time I appeared on the scene." So begins Carolyn Phillips's journey as a language student in 1970s Taiwan that culminated with her becoming a traditional Chinese family's eldest daughter- in- law. Through beguiling stories that stretch across four decades, she recalls how she fell in love with a man who seduced her with everything from simple homestyle meals to haute cuisine, from crabs stir-fried with clouds of scrambled eggs to lush braises that enticed and bewildered. As their relationship deepened and her language skills grew, she evolved into a cook who wrestled a pig's head into dinner, learned Hakka dishes from her reticent father-in-law, and, finally, wrote an award-winning cook-book. At the Chinese Table is a culinary adventure studded with stunning line drawings and twenty-two recipes that celebrate a lifetime filled with extraordinary meals"-- Provided by publisher.

ISBN:

9781324002451

Format:

Books

Holds:

Available:

Library	Shelf Location	Call Number	Copy	Status	Item Holds
Searching... Tabb Library	Non-Fiction	641.5951 Phi	1	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

At the Chinese Table describes in vivid detail how, during the 1970s and '80s, celebrated cookbook writer and illustrator Carolyn Phillips crosses China's endless cultural and linguistic chasms and falls in love. During her second year in Taipei, she meets scholar and epicurean J. H. Huang, who nourishes her intellectually over luscious meals from every part of China. And then, before she knows it, Carolyn finds herself the unwelcome candidate for eldest daughter-in-law in a traditional Chinese family.

This warm, refreshingly candid memoir is a coming-of-age story set against a background of the Chinese diaspora and a family whose ancestry is intricately intertwined with that of their native land. Carolyn's reticent father-in-law--a World War II fighter pilot and hero--eventually embraces her presence by showing her how to re-create centuries-old Hakka dishes from family recipes. In the meantime, she brushes up on the classic cuisines of the North in an attempt to win over J. H.'s imperious mother, whose father had been a warlord's lieutenant. Fortunately for J. H. and Carolyn, the tense early days of their relationship blossom into another kind of cultural and historical education as Carolyn masters both the language and many of China's extraordinary cuisines.

With illustrations and twenty-two recipes, At the Chinese Table is a culinary adventure like no other that captures the diversity of China's cuisines, from the pen of a world-class scholar and gourmet.