2009 Jun 27 Opening Sesame: Jen Lin-Liu’s Kitchen Classroom
Jen Lin-Liu is here for the food. The Chinese-American writer enrolled in a local cooking school in 2005, apprenticed with a chef, worked in restaurant kitchens both humble and grand, wrote about all of these experiences in her memoir, Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China – and then topped it off by opening her own cooking school, Black Sesame Kitchen. We recently asked her a few questions about words and woks.
the Beijinger: What’s on your summer reading list?
Jen Lin-Liu: I’m reading The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones right now, followed by Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper by Fuchsia Dunlop and Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8. Lee. I figure I have to keep up with the competition …
tbj: What’s on your summer eating list?
JL: Lots of fruit. I can’t wait for August for the Hami melon from Xinjiang, one of my absolute favorite fruits. Also, I love lychees and rambutan in the summer, the mangoes from Taiwan, and loquats, dragonfruit and mangosteens.
tbj: What’s your opinion of MSG?
JL: It’s kind of like Nutrasweet or Equal. Plenty of people like
artificial sweeteners and no one seems to have a problem with them. I’m not a fan of anything artificial though, and I especially dislike MSG when it’s added to cold, uncooked dishes. It has a really fake, chemical taste.
tbj: One Chinese dining habit you particularly appreciate?
JL: I appreciate the fact that Chinese eat every part of the animal – from the head to the eyes to the tail. There’s a real beauty in that, and it shows how Chinese hate to waste precious resources.
Black Sesame Kitchen is open for cooking classes and dinner every day.
To learn more, visit www.blacksesamekitchen.com. Lin-Liu will be speaking about her book, Serve the People, at 3pm on Jun 28 at Garden Books.
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