Customer Reviews

Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A Chinese American whose family fled to Taiwan (and later the US) after the revolution, journalist, food-writer and now cooking school owner, Lin-Liu knew little about cooking when she came to China in 2000. She soon realized that food was such an integral part of Chinese life, she would better understand the culture if she understood the food.

Enrolling in a Beijing vocational cooking school teaches her just how alien and American she is. The other students are male, they question nothing in class and do the minimum to get by. She, in contrast, seems loud, pushy and rich.

Humorous and energetic, her account of getting through school (with much help and great difficulty) and then apprenticing first at a noodle stall and later, in Shanghai, at a fancy restaurant, illuminates much about everyday life in China's cities. Staffed by migrants from China's rural provinces, restaurants offer diverse cuisines and backbreaking labor, perfectionalism and cut corners.

Lin-Liu learns stories about the Cultural Revolution while cooking, finds a long history of hardship in "exotic" ingredients like eyeballs and jellyfish, discovers China's cultural diversity in its many cuisines, and Chinese provincialism in tourists' unwillingness to eat anything but their own foods.

Her enthusiastic culinary tour of the culture is peppered with recipes for dumpling fillings, noodles and traditional favorites like Drunken Chicken and Fish Fragrant Pork Shreds as well as the (mostly difficult) stories of the individuals she meets.

Entertaining and eye-opening, Lin-Liu's portrait of modern China reflects its changing trends and attitudes and its timeless cuisine.

Once I starting reading this book, I couldn't put it down. It is the story about a Chinese-American who goes to China on a Fulbright scholarship as part of her journalism career and ends up riding her bike down a narrow street to take cooking classes. The story (both humorous and touching) is told through her quest to learn about authentic Chinese cuisine both past and present, home cooking and high end restaurants. One of the many compelling things about the book are the Chinese people we are privileged to meet. It is a very personal portrait of Chinese people of all ages and classes. One memorable moment is when Chairman Wang finally tells about the Cultural Revolution and how it affected her and the people around her. It is heartbreaking to hear about it, but amazing to see how the Chinese people survived and continued their lives. And of course there are the mouth watering recipes peppered through out the book -- favorite recipes from people the author meets along the way -- Beijing-Style Noodles, "The Best" Mapo Tofu, Tea-Infused Eggs, Smashed Cucumbers, Drunken Chicken, Lamb-and-Pumpkin Dumpling Filling -- the list goes on and on. The recipes are why I bought the book, but got so much more. This is a book that I will keep, cherish and use as a cookbook forever.

Between this wonderful book and another I'd also highly recommend, Why the Chinese Don't Count Calories, I have become immersed in Chinese food culture recently, to the point that my kids tease me about becoming Chinese. Luckily I live in NYC and have a few Chinatowns to choose from, so it's been congee on the way to work for a couple of months now.

Jen's personal search to learn Chinese cooking (and to practice it) is inspiring...telling about her travels and travails through a China in a tug of war between its culinary past and its current rush towards modernization.

I could tell just by looking at them that the dozen or 20 recipes, relating to each chapter of Jen's journey, would be delicious and the few I've tried so far more than live up to their promise.

I really liked the beginning of this book. In the beginning I felt I was learning more complete stories about the people of China and the culture. I loved the recipes throughout, though I have not tried any - I can tell that they are possible and would taste pretty good. Towards the end, it almost felt like she just wanted to get the book done with. I didn't feel the engagement towards the characters as I did at the beginning and it hopped around a bit more. I didn't feel complete at the end, it just kind of ended. Overall, it was a good read with great recipes.

My mother returned from China with tales of duck tongue and fried chicken feet being offered up as authentic dishes for diners. Personally, I found this both fascinating and a little disgusting - it was this mix of wonder and dread that led me to pick up this book penned by Jen Lin-Liu, a Chinese-American journalist trying to find her culinary way in the cities and towns of China. Beginning in a Beijing cooking school where she struggles to be taken seriously, to a tiny noodle shop, to the kitchen of a famous fine dining establishment in Shanghai, Jen Lin-Liu provides a well-written account of her search to understand multifaceted, often obfuscated China. Our stomachs become the vehicle to uncover how China has changed politically, socially, economically, and gastronomically since its "liberation." The people introduced in this book have remarkable stories and the short esposés scattered throughout the text (on MSG among other things)demonstrate Lin-Liu's strength as a journalist. Her aptitude as a chef is evident through the inclusion of numerous recipes discussed in the body of her writing.

There are a number of things to admire in this text as well and as a few things that might turn the average American reader's stomach; Lin-Liu is induced to try a number if unappetizing things including dog meat and animal genitalia. If you can get beyond the "ick" factor of these brief encounters, this book has a great deal to offer in terms of its unique insight. The only time if fell short for me was near the very end when Lin-Liu falls in love and her writing moves from descriptive to mushy (a different type of "ick" factor). In my mind it took away from an otherwise polished story of self discovery set against the backdrop of cultural exploration. Still, her appreciation and reverence for the land, people, and food that appear on the pages of her book make this an enjoyable read. Her writing is honest and though I might not like or agree with the totality of what I found, this book opened my eyes and for that I am always grateful.

This book will be enjoyed by anyone who likes to eat. It's a must for anyone who likes to cook, and an absolute must for anyone who wants to enhance the insight gained by reading travel guides before (or after) traveling to China.
The author's writing style places her sitting in your living room, telling you about her adventures!
Gotta run, I've got more Chinese food cooking to try!

I was very impressed both by this very enjoyable book and its spirited, talented author, Jen Lin-Liu. It takes a person strong in character to do what she did: to give up the comfort of her US upbringing and - to the befuddlement of her parents - reverse their path and strike out for China. It's tougher for her as a Chinese-American: she's constantly needing to explain her US roots and improving Mandarin.

Further character-building comes in the form of Ms. Lin-Liu deciding to gain experience as a chef. She's got the presence of mind to get the whole thing down on paper. This is a hard worker...and self-effacing to boot. Nowhere in the text of the book does she reveal that she's a Fulbright Scholar.

Going online tonight after finishing the book, I discovered that dreams do come true: Ms. Lin-Liu is now the owner of the Black Sesame Kitchen cooking school...featuring Chairman Wang and Chef Zhang. For those of you who've read the book, you may delight like I did in seeing the photos of these two. They played such a major role in the author's tales. Her immense respect for them is evident. So, check out the site online - a simple search will find it.

Satisfying book that is as much about Beijing as cooking; it captures a sort of mix of optimism and sadness that is contemporary Beijing, through Lin-Liu's writing you really see the city as it is today; especially vibrant if you've lived here for any time.

Jen runs a small cooking school in Beijing where you can learn to cook some of these recipes.

The characters, especially Chairman Wang, grow on you; I also liked the brief appearance of Allison Moore.

I love going to Black Sesame Kitchen and have met Jen and Craig several times in Beijing, so the stories somehow came into place in reality. Chairman Wang looks alot younger and more trendy that I had envisaged her to be in my mind from reading the book. I thought Jen did a great job of chronicling a range of Chinese cuisine in those few hundred pages, and even including abit of romance in it. I think it could have done with better editing to hold the anecdotes tighter together. I found the recipes accessible and flexible in many ways to replicate and innovate on my own--pretty much how I grew up cooking Chinese food at home.

When I saw this book at the local bookstore, I knew immediately that I was going to love it. Why? Because it's a combination of Chinese culture and delicious food, both of which I love reading about. If you enjoy reading about modern Chinese culture and food, then you'll love this book. Lin-Liu writes with a very simple, easy style, so it's a quick read. Part of what makes this book so good is how she puts you into these environments, with these people. I've never been to China but after reading this book, I can see these people and vividly imagine these environments. It's like a crash course into Chinese culture, with food being the focus but the characters and their lives also being incredibly important. And of course, since the food is so vital to the book, there simply must be some recipes! I have yet to make any of them, but after reading her descriptions of the foods I want to go and try it for myself. Even if you don't read it for the recipes, the way she describes the food will make you hungry. Now I'm ready to go eat some real Chinese food--even some of the funky kinds that she's experienced! I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and think that anyone interested in Chinese culture and food will love it too.