Category Archives: In the news-reviews, articles

Need a Chinese cooking teacher?

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grokker videoA few months ago I was asked by Grokker.com to be one of their experts on their website which features cooking and fitness videos. It seemed a perfect fit for me since I love food and yoga. We spent four long days shooting cooking segments in my kitchen. This week three of my videos were released. I demonstrate some variations of recipes from The Hakka Cookbook and also show how to prepare some other popular Chinese dishes. I always loved developing recipes, especially for the home cook.

If you are interested in learning how to cook Chinese food, click on the following links. You will see about two minutes of the video and then it stops. To see the complete video, you will need to register (it’s free and easy). Once registered, you will be notified of my upcoming cooking demos. You can also view videos from other cooking and fitness experts. Since grokker.com is in beta stage (testing phrase), it is a great opportunity to register and visit the site now for free. Get recipes and lessons from cooking experts from gluten-free to ethnic.

I demonstrate some Hakka recipes in these videos. Click here to learn about the Hakka.  I tasted Chinese Eggplant with Pork (click here for video) in a  tea house in the Hakka village of Beipu in Taiwan. A Hakka woman from Mauritius, a tiny island in the Indian Ocean, shared her recipe for Chicken Fried Rice with Tomato Chutney; click here for video. Since Mauritius has a multicultural society, people often blend cuisines. She paired Chinese fried rice with an Indian-style fresh chutney to add a spicy hot taste.

Want to know how to cook Chinese broccoli like served in many restaurants? It is really easy, check out Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce. Click here for video.
Or see a short overview of my Grokker eggplant video. Click here for video on youtube. Join me at Grokker.com to learn how to cook Chinese food, my way.  I believe in realistic, simplified recipes for the home cook with authentic tastes. Share with your friends, especially those who love to eat but need some help in the kitchen.

 

The Hakka Cookbook, a year in review

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With book artist and brother, Alan Lau, at Book Larder in Seattle

With book artist and brother, Alan Lau, at Book Larder in Seattle

 

Just one year ago on September 29, 2012, I officially launched The Hakka Cookbook, Chinese Soul Food from around the World at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. It was a bit like giving birth in public after a seemingly endless pregnancy, more than seven years. The long labor was worth it.

What a great year! The press has been good to the book, gaining attention even at some of the big names such as New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, and Martha Stewart Living.

Cooking with Mark Bittman, NY Times writer.

Cooking with Mark Bittman, NY Times writer.

The Hakka Cookbook was recognized as “Best Chinese Cuisine Cookbook in the World” in Paris, I’ve talked about the book on the radio and cable television and many book signing events. Bloggers wrote very thoughtful and appreciate reviews. Best of all, I have connected and met with Hakkas from all over the world. Just shy of its first birthday, the book is in its second printing.

Here’s a quick summary of year one for The Hakka Cookbook. For details on this list, visit this page.

"Best Chinese Cuisine Cookbook of the World"

“Best Chinese Cuisine Cookbook of the World”

  • 21 Printed articles and reviews
  • 24 Digital and blog articles
  • 5 Best or Favorite Cookbook Lists
  • 3 Radio interviews
  • 1 Television/youtube interview
  • 1 Cookbook Award
  • 26 Book signing events

Thanks for all your support. Hope to meet you at a  future event.

 

Best Chinese Cuisine Cookbook in the World

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A couple of months ago I was notified that The Hakka Cookbook was the USA finalist and on the shortlist for the Chinese Cuisine category in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. The award ceremony would take place in Paris. At first, I thought Paris seemed an expensive trip to go for an award I was unlikely to receive. Yet, I might never have another chance for this experience. Any excuse to visit Paris seemed good enough, win or lose.

Last weekend we sat in a ballroom packed with people, some dressed in backless gowns, Japanese kimonos, or Russian costumes. Finalists were from all over the world— Malaysia, Australia, Mexico, Ireland, China, Turkey, India, South Africa. People were just as excited as if they were at the Academy Awards. As the awards were announced, the winners came to the stage, received a large certificate (sorry, no golden statue), and a brief chance to thank their supporters.

Shock, disbelief, joy–these emotions flooded through me as I heard the host of the ceremonies announce, “We have a tie for first place for best Chinese Cuisine Cookbook in the World.” I looked at the screen on stage and my book, The Hakka Cookbook appeared alongside China’s finalist Da Dong Artistic Conception of Chinese Cuisine. I couldn’t believe it, my modest book, which took years to find a publisher was awarded Best Chinese Cuisine Cookbook in the World for 2012. My husband was so shocked, he almost forgot to take photos as I walked to the stage to receive my award certificate.

The day after the awards, I compared the finalists in my category. Interestingly, the two first place winners were complete opposites. I would almost consider the book from China an art book. Big and beautiful with glossy pages of lush color photos of stylized dishes, it seemed to be made for the coffee table rather than the kitchen. Recipes were chef-oriented. The Hakka Cookbook, the only finalist without color photos, used duo tone paintings by my brother, Alan Chong Lau, to illustrate the pages. Detailed recipes for comfort food was written for home cooks. Yet the book also contained history, and stories about the Hakka, a people and cuisine rarely written about. Perhaps the judges awarded both of us for innovation in different ways, we both explored new territory in unique presentations. Whatever the reasons, winning made my trip to Paris, even sweeter.

Dedicated to the Hakka around the world

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I dedicated this book to Hakka all around the world. That’s why I was so touched to read a post on Maya in the Morning by Maya Leland, a fellow Hakka who received The Hakka Cookbook as a gift.

In Roots uncovered, she writes about our shared history and most importantly she relays her own family story of migration from China to British Guyana to Jamaica. Her daughter-in-law even cooked one of the more exotic dishes in the book, Spiced Goat Stew with Preserved Lime Sauce, a recipe from a Hakka Jamaican who now lives in Toronto.

Reading blogs and reviews like this fulfills one of my goals for writing The Hakka Cookbook. Hopefully the book makes Hakkas as well as the world to be more aware of who we are, our unique history of migration, our strong character, and our food.

Thanks Maya.

Save your culinary history

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Natalie Com Liu cooks her Hakka dishes in her kitchen in Lima, Peru as I record her recipes.

Zester Daily invited me to write a piece for Soapbox.  I struggled over the subject and wrote several different drafts. Eventually I settled on “recording your culinary history.” I was inspired by a blog post written by Pat Tanumihardja for The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook a few months ago.

A few days after I filed the post, I learned about the unexpected death of one of my Hakka contacts in Toronto. That reminded me of another contributor, a young chef from Beijing who had also passed away a few years ago. Life passes quickly. I’m so glad I was able to record part of their history while they were still here.

If you always wanted to know how your grandmother, father, or great-aunt cooks their special dish, ask them now. With Chinese New Years coming up soon, it’s the perfect opportunity to capture some of those special dishes. Spend some time with them. Watch them cook, take notes, shoot photos or a video, and taste their food. Record their stories and history. They will be flattered and you will be able to pass on their culinary legacy. Pretty soon, you will be writing your own family cookbook.

In the Wall Street Journal

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Author and artist of The Hakka Cookbook. Photo by Therdphong Anusasananan

Wow! Just found out that The Hakka Cookbook made it into the Wall Street Journal this weekend, November 24, 2012 issue. Look for it in the Off Duty section, Bits and Bites: News You Can Eat by Charlotte Druckman. I’m thrilled the book has been recognized by such a prestigious publication.

Other respected media such as Saveur, Martha Stewart Living, Associated Press, and The Globe and Mail have listed the book in their favorite gift cookbooks for 2012. It’s been a good month. Many thanks to all the reviewers. For a complete list of reviews and media, click here.

Recent kudos for The Hakka Cookbook

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large version of cover of The Hakka CookbookThe Hakka Cookbook is one month old.  Since the book has been released, several reviews have appeared in the past month. Here’s a brief summary. For the whole line-up of press coverage, check the media page.

Caitlin Donohue of the San Francisco Bay Guardian interviews me for their food and wine issue Feast  (10/23/12), then follows up with Hakka at Home (10/25/12).  “I’ve read few cookbooks as interesting as The Hakka Cookbook…”

In Zester Daily, an online newsletter on the culture of food and drink, Carolyn Phillips wrote a thoughtful review on The Hakka Cookbook on October18.  Phillips, a master of Chinese cooking herself,  learned many Hakka dishes from her Hakka father-in-law while living in Taiwan. Phillips writes,  “All of the Hakka classics are here for the first time in an English cookbook, as well as local specialties from the diaspora that flung Hakka descendants to the far corners of the world. It’s a rich tapestry of stories, savory flavors and rich broths.”

The Hakka Cookbook made  Sunday’s food section (10/14/12) in the San Francisco Chronicle. On page G2 under “What’s New”, Amanda Gold describes the book. She summarizes “What emerges is a comprehensive, yet accessible, look at a rarely explored group and the food that defines them.”  If you missed it, check out this online version.

On October 4, my friend Carolyn Jung, creator of Food Gal, a delicious online food blog wrote a lovely review of my book. “For Chinese-Americans like myself, we’re all the better for its publication, too, because it includes so many recipes for dishes that we grew up with and still crave to this day.”

The Debut of The Hakka Cookbook

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My friend Rebekah and I at the Tsung Tsin dinner in Honolulu.

It’s been a busy weekend for The Hakka Cookbook. Saturday I introduced The Hakka Cookbook to the world at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco.  Met some interesting Hakka from Mauritius and Taiwan in the the audience.

The next day, I presented the book at the Tsung Tsin dinner in Honolulu. It’s interesting that since this book came out, I’m meeting Hakkas everywhere.

 

 

 

In the news

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The Hakka Cookbook makes the news. First article about my upcoming cookbook came out yesterday.  Jennifer Bain of the Toronto Star wrote an excellent story about a dinner with some of my Hakka friends and recipe contributors at the Royal Chinese Seafood Restaurant. The chef prepared mostly Chinese-Hakka dishes (some are not on the menu and need to be special ordered). We also sampled a few of his spicy Indian-Hakka recipes.

A photographer also spent a few hours with us taking photos. Just one picture made it into the story, so I thought I would share another one that I took with my iPod camera. Chef Kuo Shan Liu prepared Hakka Garlic Chicken which is steamed salted chicken with his special garlic sauce. We also ate Fish Meatball Soup with Radish, Hakka Braised Pork, Steamed Pork with Taro, Fish with Preserved Lemon, Beef and Preserved Vegetables in Rice Wine Sauce, Crispy Shrimp Balls, and Fried Stuffed Tofu, Hakka-Style. Dishes with a more Indian flavor included Tandoori Masala Chicken and Chili Chicken.