Description

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Veteran food writer Linda Lau Anusasananan opens the world of Hakka cooking to Western audiences in this fascinating chronicle that traces the rustic cuisine to its roots in a history of multiple migrations. Beginning in her grandmother’s kitchen in California, Anusasananan travels to her family’s home in China, and from there fans out to embrace Hakka cooking across the globe—including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada, Peru, and beyond. More than thirty home cooks and chefs share their experiences of the Hakka diaspora as they contribute over 140 recipes for everyday Chinese comfort food as well as more elaborate festive specialties.

This book likens Hakka cooking to a nomadic type of “soul food,” or a hearty cooking tradition that responds to a shared history of hardship and oppression. Earthy, honest, and robust, it reflects the diversity of the estimated 75 million Hakka living in China and greater Asia, and in scattered communities around the world—yet still retains a core flavor and technique. Anusasananan’s deep personal connection to the tradition, together with her extensive experience testing and developing recipes, make this book both an intimate journey of discovery and an exciting introduction to a vibrant cuisine.

About the Author

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Linda Lau Anusasananann was recipe editor and food writer for Sunset Magazine for 34 years. She also served as a special consultant to cookbooks such as Sunset Chinese, Sunset Oriental, Sunset Wok, Sunset Seafood, and Sunset Pasta. She was the president of the Association of Chinese Cooking Teachers and president of the San Francisco Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier. Artist Alan Lau wrote and illustrated Blues and Greens, a Produce Worker's Journal.

Praise For…

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“If you had to define Hakka fare in a few words, you could say that it's a form of Chinese peasant food. You wouldn't be doing it justice, though. . . . Northern California-born Linda Lau Anusasananan explores her heritage through cooking. The result is more than a collection of recipes; it is a chronicle of the effects of diaspora and assimilation as reflected on the plate. . . . Covering classic dishes like salt-baked chicken, pork belly with mustard greens and stuffed tofu, she also looks at how these foods have evolved in different locales. Newer inventions—tangra masala beef from India, stuffed bitter melon in tomato sauce from Trinidad, a goat stew with preserved lime sauce from Jamaica—offer lessons in innovative adaptation and a chance to sample untried flavor thrills.”
— Wall Street Journal

“Good cookbooks that delve into a single area of China’s vast culinary culture are rarities. . . . The Hakka Cookbook easily vaults into this exclusive club. . . . Anusasananan weaves a tale around these foods, drawing us in and helping us not only understand what these foods taste and look like, but more important, why she loves them so. 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.”
— Zester Daily

“Captures the flavors and stories of an often overlooked Chinese diaspora. Fried eggs and bitter melon, tangy-sweet raw fish salad, and chicken stuffed with preserved mustard greens offer new insights to even the savviest fan of Chinese food.”
— Associated Press

“A documentation of how a cuisine has adapted to its surroundings, a fusion food out of necessity.”
— Honolulu Magazine

“The rustic Hakka cooking of central China has sustained multiple migrations all over the world. Veteran food editor Linda Anusasanananan finds how far the cuisine has traveled, with dishes like Hakka Soup Noodles, from Jamaica.”
— Martha Stewart Living

“Chapters follow Anusasananann's travels, and include essays and recipes that most readers will identify as simply Chinese but are actually benchmarks of Hakka fare. Dishes like salt-baked chicken, pork belly with preserved mustard greens and stuffed tofu appear alongside versions of fried wontons, steamed egg custard and assorted stir-fries. . . . What emerges is a comprehensive, yet accessible, look at a rarely explored group and the food that defines them.”
— San Francisco Chronicle

“Starting in her grandmother's kitchen, the author traces the culinary roots of the Hakka people, who were forced from China's Henan Province by invaders in 317 and have been part of a global diaspora ever since. Her recipes reveal how Hakka dishes have absorbed the flavors around them, from Jamaica, where Scotch bonnet peppers are added to soup noodles, to Peru, where yucca is substituted for taro in a steamed pork dish.”
— Saveur

"Hakka meals today carry decidedly global influences from Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Malaysia. Anusasananan's recipes embolden you to finally create a party-worthy spread that includes a plethora of delectable and flavorful pickles, steamed black bean pork sliders and a yummy tray of garlic-chile eggplant sticks."
— SF Weekly

“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.”
— Foodgal

“Captures the flavors and stories of an often overlooked Chinese diaspora. Fried eggs and bitter melon, tangy-sweet raw fish salad, and chicken stuffed with preserved mustard greens offer new insights to even the savviest fan of Chinese food.”
— Des Moines Register

"The author, a food editor at Sunset magazine for 34 years, is adept at writing recipes, and the introductions to each merit careful reading for their addiitonal information on ingredients, cooking techniques, and serving."
— Art of Eating

“One of the most interesting Asian cookbooks released this year. . . . The book begs you to spend time with it."
— Viet World Kitchen

“Fascinating . . . . The book contains recipes for classics, including tofu stuffed with ground pork, as well as dishes such as a Hakka-Jamaican goat stew with preserved-lime sauce, that tell stories of movement and adaptation. With Anusasananan’s book in one hand and a hot wok in the other, we too can taste what it means to be Hakka.”
— Tasting Table San Francisco

“Anusasananan’s deep personal connection to the tradition, together with her extensive experience testing and developing recipes, make this book both an intimate journey of discovery and an exciting introduction to a vibrant cuisine. Alan Lau’s art gracefully weaves a visual trail through the pages.”
— Van Nuys News Press