A Tiger in the Kitchen: A Memoir of Food and Family [Bargain Price] [Paperback]

Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 8, 2011

“Starting with charred fried rice and ending with flaky pineapple tarts, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan takes us along on a personal journey that most can only fantasize about--an exploration of family history and culture through a mastery of home-cooked dishes. Tan's delectable education through the landscape of Singaporean cuisine teaches us that food is the tie that binds."
--Jennifer 8. Lee, author of The Fortune Cookie Chronicles

After growing up in the most food-obsessed city in the world, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan left home and family at eighteen for America--proof of the rebelliousness of daughters born in the Year of the Tiger. But as a thirtysomething fashion writer in New York, she felt the Singaporean dishes that defined her childhood beginning to call her back. Was it too late to learn the secrets of her grandmothers' and aunties' kitchens, as well as the tumultuous family history that had kept them hidden before In her quest to recreate the dishes of her native Singapore by cooking with her family, Tan learned not only cherished recipes but long-buried stories of past generations.

A Tiger in the Kitchen, which includes ten authentic recipes for Singaporean classics such as pineapple tarts and Teochew braised duck, is the charming, beautifully written story of a Chinese-Singaporean ex-pat who learns to infuse her New York lifestyle with the rich lessons of the Singaporean kitchen, ultimately reconnecting with her family and herself.

Reading Group Guide available online and included in the eBook.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan is a New York-based writer who has covered fashion, retail, and home design (and written the occasional food story) for the Wall Street Journal. Before that she was the senior fashion writer for InStyle magazine and the senior arts writer for the Baltimore Sun. Born and raised in Singapore, she studied journalism at Northwestern University. Her work has appeared in the New York Times and Marie Claire, among many other publications.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Voice; Original edition (February 8, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401341284
• ASIN: B005IUH8NE
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #427,127 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #42 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > Asian > Pacific Rim

More About the Author

Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan is the New York City-based author of "A Tiger in the Kitchen: A Memoir of Food and Family" (Hyperion, 2011). She is working on her second book, a novel, and is the editor of "Singapore Noir," a fiction anthology that Akashic will publish in 2014.

She has covered fashion, retail and home design (and written the occasional food story) for the Wall Street Journal. Before that she was the senior fashion writer for In Style magazine and senior arts, entertainment and fashion writer for the Baltimore Sun. Her stories have also appeared in The New York Times, Marie Claire and The Washington Post among other publications.

She has been an artist in residence at Yaddo, where she completed "A Tiger in the Kitchen," the Djerassi Resident Artists Program and the Studios of Key West. A native of Singapore, Tan was awarded major grants in support of her work in 2011 and 2012 by the National Arts Council of Singapore. She has spoken on memoir and food writing at various book festivals, including the Brooklyn Book Festival, Miami Book Fair, Shanghai International Literary Festival, Singapore Writers Festival, Wordstock and Hong Kong International Literary Festival, as well as the Museum of Chinese in America and Asia Society.

Born and raised in Singapore, she crossed the ocean to go to Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., after realizing that a) she wanted to be a journalist and b) if she was going to be as mouthy in her work as she was in real life, she'd better not do it in Singapore. Unsure of whether she would remain in the U.S. after college, she interned in places as disparate as possible. This led her to hanging out with Harley Davidson enthusiasts in Topeka, Kan., interviewing gypsies in about their burial rituals in Portland, Ore., covering July 4 in Washington, D.C., and chronicling the life and times of the Boomerang Pleasure Club, a group of Italian-American men that had been getting together to cook, play cards and gab about women for decades in their storefront "clubhouse" in Chicago.

She started her full-time journalism career helping out on the cops beat in Baltimore -- training that would prove to be essential in her future fashion reporting. Both, it turns out, are like war zones. The only difference is, people dress differently.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Culinary Treat! My mouth is still watering! February 12, 2011

By Sheila A. Dechantal

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Cheryl Lu-Lein Tan grew up in Singapore with no interest in the family traditional cooking that surrounded her youth. Cheryl's dreams were bigger than that. At the age of 18 she left home and family for America to become the fashion writer she had always hoped to. Yet in her 30's, Cheryl began to long for that taste of Singapore, the dishes that defined her childhood. Was it too late to learn the secrets that surrounded her youth and now were embedded within the kitchens of her Grandmothers and Aunts?

A memoir of not only the beauty of tradition and food but also the strength found in unlocking the stories of the past.

In this mouth-watering sensation of a book - I learned about the history of Singapore flavors to the point that I felt as though I could almost smell the scents of fried crab, peppery pork rib broth, and Hainanese Chicken Rice...

During one trip back to Singapore when Cheryl has decided to actively pursue learning more about her Singapore heritage in cooking and offers to help make the traditional Pineapple tarts, I had to laugh when she walks into the kitchen to help to find not one or two pineapples for the tart making - but seventy. The plan was to make 3,000 tarts.

Written and told by Cheryl Lu-Lein Tan herself, I enjoyed the humorous style of writing and had to laugh because she sounds a little like me - biting off more than she can chew (pun intended) such as traveling back and forth to Singapore to capture the family traditions, and in the midst of it all taking on the Bread Bakers Apprentice Challenge which was an on-line challenge to bake your way through every recipe in this book.... which includes triumphant stories "Bagels that were perfection right out of the oven!", as well as not so triumphant stories. "I knew the day would come when I would almost burn down my kitchen".

Oh - and just wait until she calls her maternal grandmother a liar. :D

Honestly I have not had so much fun reading a food memoir style read in a long time. I tasked myself to look up the words I did not know and turned this whole culinary adventure into a learning experience as well. As Cheryl makes her way through New York restaurants that feature Singapore favorites, and heads home to learn the "how to's" of her heritage she grows in more ways than she could have imagined.

I thoroughly enjoyed every morsel of this book. If you are looking for a real treat in culture, food, and everything in between, I would highly put my stamp of approval on this book. This book includes recipes in the back.

See more details on this review at my Book Blog: Book Journey

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars There's more to Singapore than the ban on chewing gum February 27, 2011

By Baguio Boy

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

My one and only visit to Singapore was 30 years ago, and two distinct memories from that visit continued to be the sole basis of my overall impression about this intriguing country -- tall buildings and the ban on chewing gum. I knew little about its history, culture and food - until I read Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan's "A Tiger in the Kitchen."

When I started reading the book, I expected to see pages and pages of recipes - linear listings of ingredients and cooking directions. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to read about poignant accounts of family relationships, ethnic roots, and interesting facets of a culture that seamlessly intersects with those of its Malay and Asian counterparts - all told within the confines of kitchen chatter, and within the delightful context of, what else -- food. In addition, narrations of long-held traditions surrounding marriage proposals and holidays like the Lunar New provide some humorous moments in the book.

I learned most of my cooking from my late mother, just watching her in the kitchen. She had no recipe books or cheat sheets, just the skill and knowledge probably passed on from my grandmother and my grandmother's mother. So it was a personal relief for me to read in Tan's book that the best dishes are probably the ones that are passed on by word of mouth and practice, judged not by measuring cups or kitchen timers, but by intuition and the pouring of one's heart into the cooking. "Agak-agak," as the book suggests.

You will enjoy reading the book once for its memoirs, and you will want to keep it among your treasured kitchen library collection. You will keep going back for the memories . . . and the recipes imbedded in them!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Well-written memoir about family and food February 20, 2011

By JLC

Format:Paperback

Cheryl Tan's new book focuses on her year long journey to her homeland Singapore where she learns how to cook her family recipes. Through this journey she learns not only the recipes of her grandmother, Tanglin Ah-Ma, but she is also told memories and secrets of her family.

The title refers to the year that Cheryl was born- the year of the tiger. In Chinese culture, being born in that year signifies stubbornness, ferociousness, ambition, and dedication. Cheryl purely embodies the essence of a tiger especially when it comes to cooking and baking. She shares her successes and failures throughout the book which is both hilarious and delightful to read. As much as Cheryl chronicles her cooking, the heart of the book is about her relationships with her family members. From her constant travel back to her homeland, she creates a bond, as well as recreates memories with her relatives through food.

Cheryl also talks about her bread baking adventures. As much as I found the stories to be wonderful, I felt that the stories were a bit random and wanted the whole book to be just about her experiences in Singapore. Nonetheless, this book is a great read. Cheryl does a fantastic job personalizing and connecting to her readers and also makes them extremely hungry. Lucky for us, she has included ten recipes from her adventures such as Pineapple Tarts, Bak Zhang, and many more.

reviewed by Jin Li at More Scrumptious Goodies (MSG) Food Blog