A Tiger in the Kitchen: A Memoir of Food and Family Review

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(More customer reviews)Cheryl Lu-Lein Tan grew up in Singapore with no interest in the family traditional cooking that surrounded her youth. Cheryl's dreams were bigger than that. At the age of 18 she left home and family for America to become the fashion writer she had always hoped to. Yet in her 30's, Cheryl began to long for that taste of Singapore, the dishes that defined her childhood. Was it too late to learn the secrets that surrounded her youth and now were embedded within the kitchens of her Grandmothers and Aunts?
A memoir of not only the beauty of tradition and food but also the strength found in unlocking the stories of the past.
In this mouth-watering sensation of a book - I learned about the history of Singapore flavors to the point that I felt as though I could almost smell the scents of fried crab, peppery pork rib broth, and Hainanese Chicken Rice...
During one trip back to Singapore when Cheryl has decided to actively pursue learning more about her Singapore heritage in cooking and offers to help make the traditional Pineapple tarts, I had to laugh when she walks into the kitchen to help to find not one or two pineapples for the tart making - but seventy. The plan was to make 3,000 tarts.Written and told by Cheryl Lu-Lein Tan herself, I enjoyed the humorous style of writing and had to laugh because she sounds a little like me - biting off more than she can chew (pun intended) such as traveling back and forth to Singapore to capture the family traditions, and in the midst of it all taking on the Bread Bakers Apprentice Challenge which was an on-line challenge to bake your way through every recipe in this book.... which includes triumphant stories "Bagels that were perfection right out of the oven!", as well as not so triumphant stories. "I knew the day would come when I would almost burn down my kitchen".
Oh - and just wait until she calls her maternal grandmother a liar. :D
Honestly I have not had so much fun reading a food memoir style read in a long time. I tasked myself to look up the words I did not know and turned this whole culinary adventure into a learning experience as well. As Cheryl makes her way through New York restaurants that feature Singapore favorites, and heads home to learn the "how to's" of her heritage she grows in more ways than she could have imagined.
I thoroughly enjoyed every morsel of this book. If you are looking for a real treat in culture, food, and everything in between, I would highly put my stamp of approval on this book. This book includes recipes in the back.See more details on this review at my Book Blog: Book Journey

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"Starting with charred fried rice and ending with flaky pineapple tarts, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan takes us along on a personal journey that most can only fantasize about--an exploration of family history and culture through a mastery of home-cooked dishes. Tan's delectable education through the landscape of Singaporean cuisine teaches us that food is the tie that binds."--Jennifer 8. Lee, author of The Fortune Cookie Chronicles
After growing up in the most food-obsessed city in the world, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan left home and family at eighteen for America--proof of the rebelliousness of daughters born in the Year of the Tiger. But as a thirtysomething fashion writer in New York, she felt the Singaporean dishes that defined her childhood beginning to call her back. Was it too late to learn the secrets of her grandmothers' and aunties' kitchens, as well as the tumultuous family history that had kept them hidden before? In her quest to recreate the dishes of her native Singapore by cooking with her family, Tan learned not only cherished recipes but long-buried stories of past generations.
A Tiger in the Kitchen, which includes ten authentic recipes for Singaporean classics such as pineapple tarts and Teochew braised duck, is the charming, beautifully written story of a Chinese-Singaporean ex-pat who learns to infuse her New York lifestyle with the rich lessons of the Singaporean kitchen, ultimately reconnecting with her family and herself.
Praise for A Tiger in the Kitchen
"Cheryl Tan, a Tiger in the Kitchen, keeps coming back to Singapore in pursuit of the haunting flavors of childhood meals and finds a part of herself she didn't know existed in the kitchens of her loving aunties." --Gael Greene, InsatiableCritic.com
"How does a NYC fashion journalist find herself in Singapore tackling 3000 pineapple tarts, rice dumplings, and other Teochew dishes? Along with the author, we discover the secrets of a culture through the language of the kitchen in this ultimate cure for culinary homesickness."--Kim Sunée, author of Trail of Crumbs

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