03/25/2024

UNC Chapel Hill history professor King interweaves biography, memoir, and culinary history in her delicious debut. Fu Pei-mei (1931–2004) was a cook and culinary teacher, whose long-running show on Taiwanese television led the New York Times to label her “the Julia Child of Chinese cooking.” She and her husband arrived in Taiwan in 1949 as refugees from the Chinese civil war. As a young bride, Fu struggled to make dishes that appealed to her husband’s tastes, and turned to neighbors and friends for help in the kitchen. She parlayed her newfound skills into cooking classes that she taught in her backyard, and in the early 1960s one of Fu’s students recommended her to a TV producer who was seeking cooking show hosts. Fu went on to host her own show for more than four decades and author more than a dozen cookbooks. King interweaves the narrative’s main biographical thread and “kitchen conversations” with people influenced by Fu’s career, including poignant sections about her own mother, who transformed from “non-cook to home cook” with Fu’s help. This tasty ode to an undersung chef satisfies. (May)

"Michelle Tien King fuses the story of a fascinating modern culinary leader—a champion of Chinese mothers and wives—with the history of postwar Taiwan. It made me hungry for more Fu Pei-mei—and for dumplings."

"A joyous tribute to an icon of Chinese cookery. While many have heard of Fu Pei-mei, few know her backstory. This book is an excellent and long overdue celebration of Fu’s long-lasting influence in kitchens around the world."

"Fu Pei-mei is the role model that I’ve been looking for: a chef whose influence—extending from her cooking schools to her shows, books, and products—is as wide-ranging as it is enduring. Chop Fry Watch Learn stands as evidence that cooking transcends sustenance when propelled by visionaries like Fu."

"Finally, a beautifully written and meticulously researched book that celebrates the woman behind the technicolor pages, the fascinating times Fu Pei-mei lived in, and the immense scopeof her influence. An engaging and important work for any reader, whether they grew up with Pei-mei in their kitchen or not."

"Fascinating. . . . As Michelle T. King demonstrates in this moving and ambitious biography, Fu Pei-mei was far more than ‘the Julia Child of Chinese cooking.'"

"Comprehensive. . . . [Chop Fry Watch Learn] spans the length of Fu’s career while acknowledging the broader societal tensions."

"This delicious book is a must-read for cooks and food lovers."

"A large portion of the American populace still confuses Chinese American food with Chinese food. What a delight, then, to discover this culinary history of the worldwide dissemination of that great cuisine—which moonlights as a biography of Chinese cookbook and TV cooking program pioneer Fu Pei-mei."

"King presents not just a biography of an indomitable woman, but a portrait of how cultures eat."

"King does a remarkably thorough job of documenting Fu's life. . . . An appealing biography for gastronomes and students of feminist history alike."

"A spectacularly good book combining the subtle arts of memoir, narrative history, social analysis, and media criticism. I am excited to use it in my class to draw attention to the social dynamics of cooking outside the Euro-American world."

"A fascinating, in-depth look at the history and impact of the woman who taught countless mothers and grandmothers how to master Chinese home cooking. As Michelle T. King writes, and we couldn’t agree more: ‘Skilled home cooks . . . are made in the kitchen, not born through blood.’"

"King has woven together feminism, cultural identity, and personal stories into a fully realized portrait of an extraordinary life set against contemporary Taiwanese history."

"King weaves history lessons, personal anecdotes and firsthand interviews into the thoroughly researched Chop Fry Watch Learn to paint the extent of Fu’s legacy. . . . Readers are sure to find her diligent biography compelling."

"The long-awaited tribute to Fu Pei-mei whose story is fascinating and inspiring, and whose influence on Chinese home cooking is astonishing. This is an eye-opening biography that’s well researched from a great storyteller."

2024-02-15
A well-researched biography of the woman the New York Times called “the Julia Child of Chinese cooking.”

Fu Pei-mei (1931-2004) was a chef and an author who taught countless women how to cook, and her soft diplomacy skills helped bolster Taiwan’s global image. In the mid-1950s, she was a young mother struggling to feed her family tasty and nutritious meals with little or no help. The problem was, she didn’t know how to cook. Raised in a wealthy family in China, Fu didn’t enter the kitchen until after her marriage. Using funds from her own dowry, she hired chefs from local restaurants to teach her how to make the cuisine of China’s six diverse regions. More often than not, the chefs—all male—ignored her questions and cooked the complex dishes without a word. Undaunted, Fu took copious notes and tried to make the dishes herself the next day. She shared this hard-won knowledge with other women, and her advice became so popular that she opened a cooking school. In 1962, Taiwan Television came calling, and her shows stayed on the air for almost 40 years. Her cookbooks, written in both Chinese and English, became reference staples in kitchens around the world. King adeptly tracks Fu’s career as a cooking pioneer as well as de facto ambassador for Taiwan. “In the context of postwar Taiwan, Fu’s television cooking demonstrations did more than teach women how to cook,” writes the author. “Her comprehensive televisual survey of Chinese regional cuisines united an otherwise fractious and fragile nation, brought together by the universal Chinese appreciation for good food.” King adds reminiscences by elder relatives and friends of cooking from Fu’s cookbook, and these personal touches freshen the drier narratives of Taiwan’s history.

An appealing story of a determined home cook who taught generations how to prepare authentic Chinese food.