"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.