My friend Cheuk Kwan just found a great article about an event we participated in more than a year ago. Last September, Cheuk and I discussed “Food and the Chinese Diaspora” at the Vancouver Public Library. As author of Have you Eaten Yet?,Cheuk talked from his experiences filming and eating in Chinese restaurants around the world. I talked from my experiences interviewing Hakka from around the world for The Hakka Cookbook.
Unbeknown to us, a Hakka Toisan Chinese writer, Melody Yun Ya Ma was in the audience and wrote a wonderfully descriptive piece about our event for Rungle.org . If you missed our discussion last year, this article captures it beautifully. Or view this video. To see this years event,Eating Globally: Chinese Cuisine, view this video.
Beans in tea? I never really considered it until Kris Martins, a Brazilian-American food journalist in Washington DC interviewed me. She was researching beans in beverages for her zine about beans, Le Legume. She asked about the Hakka tea, lei cha (pounded tea). This tea gets its name from the pounding process to make it. With a mortar and pestle, pound tea leaves, nuts, and seeds to make a nutritious paste. Whisk in boiling water to make tea.
Beans in lei cha
In The Hakka Cookbook, I featured two versions of lei cha–one savory, one sweet. As I review the recipes, I see beans, although in rather minor roles.
In Singapore and Malaysia, they add lots of fresh herbs to the tea-nut-seed paste to make a green herbaceous tea. A bowl of garlic rice topped with mounds of peanuts, preserved radish, tofu (made from dried soybeans), and a variety of stir-fried veggies (including fresh green beans) accompany the tea. To eat, pour the creamy green tea over the rice and mix together for a healthy and satisfying meal.
Another version I encountered in a Taiwan tea house is sweet. The pounded tea paste includes tea leaves, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, pine nuts, walnuts, and sesame seeds. It has no fresh herbs. Embellish the small bowls of the creamy grey-green tea with puffed rice and a sweet mixture with red beans, red dates, tapioca, goji berries, and candied ginger.
Set-up to make lei cha in Taiwan: a big stick for pounding; small dishes of nuts, seeds, tea leaves; a rough-sided bowl, and a cloth to keep bowl from slipping.In a tea house in Taiwan, he pounds tea leaves, nuts, and seeds to make paste, then adds boiling water to make a creamy tea.
Beans play a part in tea in the past and today. As I read Martin’s article, my view of beans in tea expands. In her article I learn mung beans were used in tea as early as the 14th century. And the custom of eating tea as a meal likely started more than 3,000 years ago according to Miranda Brown, professor of Chinese Studies at the University of Michigan. In Taiwan today, the company Leichacha expands the role of beans in lei cha. It blends a variety of roasted ground beans with tea to imbue the tea with a velvety texture and nuttiness.
If you love beans, follow Le Legume as Martins explores how beans serve as a door to explore other cultures and cuisines. To get a copy of the article and Le Legume, click this link.
With the publication of the Chinese translation of The Hakka Cookbook in Taiwan, my audience grew. Recently the Taipei Hakka Cultural Quarterly, published by the Hakka Affairs Council of Taipei City Government asked me to write a personal story about family, Hakka cuisine, and memories. My story about my grandmother, ”My Hakka Savior” was just published in their online magazine.
I wrote about how my Hakka grandmother helped my family adjust and thrive in a small conservative town where we were the first and only Chinese. Her Hakka spirit with a strong work ethic, ability to adjust, and business savvy, guided our family to a path of survival in a difficult and stressful new environment.
I wrote the article in English and the magazine translated it into Chinese. Their design team cleverly worked visual elements of my story into the layout. If you can read Chinese, and would like to read the complete magazine, click this link.
To read a pdf that includes Chinese and English, download the following file or click this link.
I read King’s book because I own a copy of Pei Mei’s Chinese Cookbook. I bought Pei Mei’s book in San Francisco Chinatown when I first started my career as a food writer in the early 1970’s. Compared to the glossy cookbooks of today, this book looks rather plain and simple. Yet it fulfilled a need. This ground-breaking book made Chinese cooking accessible to busy home cooks in a changing society.
In 1949 Fu immigrated to Taiwan from mainland China. She married two years later. Like many young post-war housewives, she found herself confronted with the realities of cooking daily meals for her family. Frustrated with her food failures, she educated herself through lessons with chefs and more experienced home cooks. As she gained a reputation for her cooking, she shared her knowledge with other housewives. In 1962, Taiwan Television asked her teach on the screen. Her first show led to a career as a television culinary instructor that spanned four decades. Her recipes modernized Chinese cooking and spread throughout Taiwan and the world, even to King’s and my kitchen in America.
I was pleasantly surprised to find The Hakka Cookbook listed in Chop Fry Watch Learn. As I finished the book, I saw my name in Suggested Readings, under Chinese Cookbooks on page 286. Under the heading, the author writes “I like these cookbooks because they combine recipes with personal stories.” Thank you Michelle T. King for the shout out. If you’re interested in Fu Pei-Mei and how she influenced modern Chinese cuisine, read Chop Fry Watch Learn.
I’m so excited ! The Hakka Cookbook, Chinese Soul Food from around the World is now available in Chinese. This Chinese translation greatly expands the audience for the book. If you’re interested in ordering this Chinese translation of The Hakka Cookbook, it is available from Taiwan publisher SMC Books. They also publish and sell other books on Hakka studies.
The Hakka Cookbook was originally published in 2012 by the University of California Press. I had long hoped that the book would be translated to Chinese. Finally, a couple of years ago, SMC Books in Taiwan purchased the translation rights to my cookbook. Last week I received a press release announcing the publication of the Chinese translation of The Hakka Cookbook in Taiwan. Another new book about Hakka food research around the world was also released at the same time.
This documentary tells the multi-faceted story about my brother, Alan Lau. Alan created the art for The Hakka Cookbook. His art for the book was a mere sketch of his artistic talent as seen in this film. Alan is an artist, poet, produce worker, community leader, and arts editor.
Paintings by Alan Lau for The Hakka Cookbook. Some are in the film, alan@work
The film, alan@work was recently shown at the Seattle International Film Festival. If you missed the theater showings, you can stream it for a short time until the festival ends May 28, 2023. You can buy streaming tickets here.
Alan worked as a produce worker at Uwajimaya in Seattle for many years. The produce inspired him to create art and poems that resulted in the book blues and greens: a produce worker’s journal. The publisher University of Hawaii Press is selling the remaining books at a bargain price of $1. at this site.
About two years ago I contributed a recipe and story to this project that focused on the cultural table. I shared my mom’s recipe for Steamed Black Bean Spareribs. I sent it with my story of growing up as the first Hakka Chinese family in Paradise, a small all-white town in Northern California.
With the museum closed due to covid and renovation, the exhibit transformed into an innovative online exhibit. It featured images and videos of women artists in their own kitchens. Paired with recipes and stories from the public, the exhibit brought different cultures and generations together. You feel the power of food connecting us through this exhibit.
Have you noticed that everywhere you go around the world, you will find a Chinese restaurant? Cheuk Kwan, a Canadian film-maker and now author, explores this global phenomenon in his new book, Have you Eaten Yet? The book follows Kwan’s exploration of family-run Chinese restaurants from the Arctic to South Africa, from Trinidad to India. The restaurants symbolize the Chinese migration. Kwan tells the stories of these immigrants and how they adapted to their new homes while maintaining their Chinese culture.
Last weekend, Kwan was in the Bay Area to promote his new book. The best way to discuss a book about Chinese restaurants is over a good Chinese meal. So we shared lunch at the Hakka Restaurant in San Francisco. The book records his journey he took over two decades ago when he produced the documentary series Chinese Restaurants. He goes behind the scenes and reveals the feelings, emotions, and soul of these Chinese migrants.
I first met Kwan, shortly after his film series was released in 2004. My daughter had seen one of his episodes at a film festival and suggested I see his series for my book research. I ordered his 15 episode DVD set. Many of his restaurateurs were Hakka, like my father, immigrants looking for a way to make a living.
I contacted Kwan and asked him about his Hakka chefs. He suggested we meet because he would be in the Bay Area for a film festival next week. Our projects shared a similar focus on the global Chinese diaspora.
I was still in the early days of research for my Hakka cookbook. Kwan told me I needed to go to Toronto. He said he could set me up with a Hakka friend who could gather many contacts for me. Within a few weeks, I was in Scarborough, a suburb of Toronto, sharing a meal with a dozen new Hakka friends. They came from all over the world. I interviewed them, asking about their stories and their food. Many of their stories and recipes found their way into The Hakka Cookbook. I’m so grateful to have met Cheuk Kwan.
I asked him about his documentary series, Chinese Restaurants. He said he has posted the episodes on YouTube so everyone can see it. Read “Have you eaten yet?” then view his series to see their faces. It’s an insightful view of the Chinese diaspora. Click this link to see.
The next day at a book signing event at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, Kwan shared some of his experiences writing the book. Martin Yan also interviewed him about the Chinese diaspora. Read the book and enjoy the historical and revealing journey of Chinese migrants who dared to open a restaurant across the world.
“Best Chinese Cuisine Cookbook of the World”With Alan Lau, artist and my brotherPhoto by Dabin LoWith Martin Yan and his wife, Susan Cooking with Mark Bittman, NY Times writer.
Happy Birthday to The Hakka Cookbook! The month marks the 10th anniversary of The Hakka Cookbook. I’m so happy that the book is still in print. It has never been a best seller, but has gained fans among the Hakka population and continues to sell consistently. It has been reprinted at least four times.
Timeline
On this significant anniversary, let’s look back on the journey of the creation and life of The Hakka Cookbook.
2004: I began developing the concept and plan for this book. Interviewed Hakka in Malaysia, Singapore, and Hawaii.
2005: Went on a Hakka scouting trip to China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
2006: Worked on the book proposal. Interviewed Hakka in Peru and Toronto, Canada. In March, I found a cookbook agent.
2007: Worked on the book, researched, and tested recipes. After 1 ½ years, ended my contract with the agent. Decided to sell the manuscript myself.
2008: Went to my first Toronto Hakka Conference. Found a publisher!
2009: Publisher canceled contract due to economic downturn. Continued working on the book and looked for a new publisher.
2010: University of California Press accepted my proposal!
2011: Edited the book. Forwarded my brother’s art to publisher.
July 2012: First copy of The Hakka Cookbook landed on my doorstep on my birthday.
September 2012 : Books arrived from printer in China. The Hakka Cookbook officially debuted at the Asian Art Museum on September 29.
October to November 2012: Book parties and events. Interviews and articles appeared in local press. Book tour in the Northwest; many with my brother and artist, Alan Lau.
November to December 2012: National press: Wall Street Journal. The Hakka Cookbook included on “Favorite or Best of 2012 Cookbook lists”: Saveur, Martha Stewart, Associated Press, The Globe and Mail.
March 3, 2014: Asia Society Northern California sponsored an event: Chinese Soul Food: Hakka Cuisine at M.Y. China in San Francisco, featuring Martin Yan.
2014 to 2018: Various presentations, classes, and talks. The Hakka Cookbook appeared in numerous publications:
2021: Taiwan publisher SMC Publishing Inc. bought foreign rights to publish The Hakka Cookbook. Look for the Chinese version of The Hakka Cookbook in 2023.
Chinese Bacon with Preserved Greens from Zhong Shan Restaurant
Last year, the owners of Ton Kiang, a Hakka restaurant with a long history in San Francisco, retired. Today Zhong Shan Hakka Restaurant closes. Chef/owner Jin Hua Li, who I featured in The Hakka Cookbook, has been one of my favorite Hakka chefs. I first met him in 2011 just a few months before I submitted my cookbook manuscript. I knew very few restaurants that served Hakka food. This one proudly announced it in their name, Hakka Restaurant. The menu offered many of the popular dishes served at most Chinese restaurants, but under “Chef’s Special” many Hakka dishes were listed.
Hakka Restaurant became our go-to restaurant in San Francisco for banquets and meals with family and friends. Over the years some of our favorite Hakka dishes were the Chinese Bacon with Preserved Greens and the House Special Pan Fried Tofu. The restaurant drew local neighborhood customers as well as outliers as their reputation grew.
A couple of years ago, I heard that Chef Li had retired but now was opening a new restaurant. Apparently retirement grew boring. Chef Li and his wife, Bonnie returned to the business with Zhong Shan Restaurant on Taraval. Our favorites remained on the menu but there were new dishes to try. We had eaten several banquets there and was looking forward to returning once the pandemic ended.
But just last week Serena Dai, the San Francisco Chronicle food editor called to ask about the restaurant and its impending closure. Apparently they sold the restaurant. We went last Friday to order my husband’s favorite Chinese Bacon with Preserved Greens, Salt-Baked Chicken and some extra dishes for my daughter. Hopefully, Chef Li will come out of retirement once again.
Fortunately, we still have access to good Hakka food when eating out. A San Francisco friend who has eaten at both Zhong Shan and Li’s first location said that the original Hakka Restaurant continues to serve good food. Chef Li had sold the restaurant to his sous chef so the food maintains much of the quality of the original chef. Hope to be back to Hakka Restaurant at Cabrillo and 45th Avenue soon.
