In 1969, millions of Chinese teenagers were forced from their homes in the city in order to live and work in the countryside as part of China's Cultural Revolution. The work was backbreaking and rations were tight, but Sasha Gong has fond memories of learning to make simple, delicious country cooking. A collection of delectable, healthy, and easy-to-make Chinese recipes from the villages interspersed with a personal narrative and bits of historical context, this cookbook contains authentic Chinese dishes ranging from honey-braised duck to stir-fried rice made from ingredients found at local grocery stores. Chinese history buffs and foodies alike will enjoy discovering the integral connection between Chinese culture and food.
Scott D. Seligman is a writer, a historian, a genealogist, a retired corporate executive and a career "China hand." He has an undergraduate degree in history from Princeton University with a concentration in American civilization and a master's degree from Harvard University. Fluent in Mandarin and conversant in Cantonese, he lived in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China for eight years and reads and writes Chinese. He has worked as a legislative assistant to a member of the U.S. Congress, lobbied the Chinese government on behalf of American business, managed a multinational public relations agency in China, served as spokesperson and communications director for a Fortune 50 company and taught English in Taiwan and Chinese in Washington, DC. He is the author of Chinese Business Etiquette (Hachette, 1999), Dealing With the Chinese (Warner Books, 1989), Three Tough Chinamen (Earnshaw Books, 2012) and The First Chinese American: The Remarkable Life of Wong Chin Foo (Hong Kong University Press, 2013) and co-author of The Cultural Revolution Cookbook (Earnshaw Books, 2011), Chinese at a Glance (Barron's Educational Series, 1985 and 2001) and Now You're Talking Mandarin Chinese (Barron's, 2006). He has also published articles in the Asian Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the China Business Review, Bucknell Magazine, Howard Magazine and the Jewish Daily Forward and has created several websites on historical and genealogical topics. He lives in Washington, DC.
