Carolyn J. Phillips

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 show more 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. show less

AT THE CHINESE TABLE -- Carolyn Phillips
This utterly delightful book combines memoir with recipes. The memoir portion consists of a fascinating account of the author’s years in Taiwan sparked by mouthwatering descriptions of the food she eats as she learns Mandarin and falls in love with the country, the cuisines of China and J H Huang. Along the way we are introduced to her imperious future mother-in-law who is won over with a time consuming, challenging recipe for a treat that hadn’t show more been tasted in 40 years by her now blissful MIL.
Because I love to cook as much as I love to read and eat, I tried several of the recipes. Because I live in a city with a thriving Chinatown I was able to find most of the authentic ingredients. The recipes cover everything from beverages to main dishes to side dishes and condiments to even an odd “dessert” of “Coffee Gelee.” Simple strong coffee gelled with Knox unflavored gelatin and then coated with sweetened condensed milk became an odd favorite of my family. Not so simple but equally appreciated were Strange-Flavor Peanuts, Chilled Winter Melon and Bear Paw Doufu. The recipes were easy to follow once the ingredients were obtained.
I highly recommend this book both as memoir and as cookbook.
5 of 5 stars show less

Memoirs revolving around food are always enticing. Phillips who married a Taiwanese man learned about Chinese food from her in-laws. Turning a pig’s head into a meal isn’t the most enticing chapter but you learn a lot. Now only does gathering at the Chinese table mean a new appreciation of the Chinese palate but it also provides cultural context and history. The sprinkle of romance was nice as well. Foodies who travel will want to read this memoir.

I came away from of this book, very full and satisfied. Carolyn Phillip's experiences with Chinese food and culture have been both alike and different from my own. I kept thinking about my past while I read about hers! Her first trip to Taiwan where she went to learn Mandarin was in 1976, my trip to China was in 1992. Both of us married men from Taiwan, both of their families had fled China. I learned some Chinese cooking before the language, and she learned some language before learning show more about Chinese cooking. Carolyn Phillips attempted cooking a pig's head, I never did. My husband is a vegetarian and I became one after we married, but I was impressed with many pork dishes before, but I never would to cook a pig's head! Eating a hamburger with real beef would make me cry!

I enjoyed her drawings in the book even more than the recipes. I learned why my husband turns off the water heater in the winter and turns it on for a shower. He would have never told me why but I found out this secret in her book.

Chinese history and Chinese genealogy can be very complex. My husband has shown little interest in it or in my own. The author did provide some elucidations on her husband's family history that I think would be safe to generalize to my husband's ancestral background.

It was also exciting to read about the growth of diversity of Chinese restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley. There was a tremendous amount of diversity in the different cuisines of China in that area. The author ate in restaurants that served meat, while we ate at vegetarian ones that varied so much! I remember crying when the restaurant where we had a couple of our wedding feasts closed, and loving Muslim Chinese Food that we found in Irvine.

I won this book in a FirstReads contest and received a hard copy from the publishers. My review reflects my thoughts and opinions alone. show less