Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China

This is the world's longest Vogue or Vanity Fair article. You know the kind -- the author talks about how she is Totally Fascinated By Something, The Something's Personal Meaning to Her, and goes off on a Quest to Discover the Something. In this case, the Something is Chinese food, and I give Lin-Liu credit for learning a king hell of a lot. The recipes in this sound delicious. But while this is more aware of its author's privilege than most Vogue/Vanity Fair articles ("yes, $gazillion is a lot to pay for something that only I would ever see. But the peace of mind I have from knowing that I $insert-spurious-reasoning-here makes it worth it."), that does not mean it is not ultimately superficial and disappointing. It's not bad enough show more that I decided not to finish it, but it's in no way good enough to recommend as a reading experience. show less

A wonderful approach to a personal story. The writer journeys to China and instead of pursuing her journalistic writing, she becomes interested in learning to cook Chinese food. With each new cooking experience, she learns about a different side of Chinese life. From the elderly cooking tutor who has lived through the cultural revolution, the young girls from the countryside who've moved to the city to work as waitresses, to owners of completely different restaurants, one an ordinary noodle restaurant another a chef who is a rising star on the international scene, each has a story to tell. And if you are brave enough, you can try out the real Chinese way of cooking.

This was a fascinating book, though my experience of it was a bit jumbled because the edition I had was missing pages. Every now and then I'd come across a passage that didn't make sense, only to discover that 2 or 3 pages were missing. But aside from that, I really enjoyed reading the author's experiences in different culinary environments in China. It's fascinating to read about the food culture of another country, and this book does not disappoint. Plus, recipes are sprinkled throughout the book, just enough so you can get the sense of the food she's describing, but not enough to make this a "cookbook".

I enjoyed this book. The author really cares about Chinese food, and used it to talk about Chinese history and society. Her interviews with Chinese people in the food industry, from a multi-national celebrity chef to a migrant waitress, were respectful and illuminating.

I will note, however, that the cover copy kept referring to the book as funny. I didn't think it was funny at all.

Mr Gagan calls this the best book on Chinese Cuisine in decades. That is utterly ridiculous and does Ms Lin-Liu no favor. She has written a very nice book on her life in China. It is very personal and we get to meet many interesting people I came to like. The food part feels very secondary to me. That may be just because the recipes are in smaller type.

Nonfiction journey through China, learning how to cook all the various ways China allows. Interesting, but kind of slow.

A young Chinese American woman takes cooking classes and serves apprenticeships in a noodle shop and a high-end restaurant - an inside look at Chinese food, restaurants and culture