At the Chinese Table: A Memoir with Recipes by Carolyn Phillips

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Product Details

Web ID: 14788413

Finalist for the 2022 IACP Award in Literary or Historical Food Writing KCRW Best Culinary books of 2021 WBUR Here & Now Favorite Cookbooks of 2021 Part memoir of life in Taiwan, part love story - a beautifully told account of China's brilliant cuisines with recipes. 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.

  • Product Features

    • Author - Carolyn Phillips
    • Publisher - Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
    • Publication Date - 06-15-2021
    • Page Count - 304
    • Hardcover
    • Adult
    • Cookbooks
    • Product Dimensions - 6.1 W x 8.2 H x 1.2 D
    • ISBN-13 - 9781324002451
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Ratings & Reviews

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4 years ago
from CO

Great Memoir

A truly delightful memoir peppered with recipes. A love story, with a country, a people and the richness of the culinary delights to be experienced. I really enjoyed the experiences through Carolyn’s down to earth retellings. The recipes are an added bonus that I cannot wait to try. I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own, freely given.

Recommends this product

Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

4 years ago
from USA

A memoir told in food

A memoir told in food. This is a unique mix of memoir lightly peppered with recipes. The story itself is lush and a love story and adds in the discordant ingredients that make a family. Recommend.

Recommends this product

Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

4 years ago
from Seattle, WA

Enjoyed the writing style and recipes

I absolutely adore Phillips' writing style, and the incorporation of her line drawings into the book--a charming, beautiful addition that complemented the narrative and brought the stories to life in a fresh way. I only took one East Asian history class in college, so between that and the cursory American educational curriculum in K-12 (which could be great or ... less so, lol), I really didn't know much coming in, and felt like I learned a ton both about the area's food and history. The recipes look great, and Phillips does a great job at directing the reader where to find ingredients or swap as desired. For me personally, Phillips' and my worldviews vary widely on a few points, and that was sometimes challenging (particularly as a friend walks a certain road right now--it gave me even more pause than it might have at other times). I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Customer review from barnesandnoble.com