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The Seventh Daughter: My Culinary Journey from Beijing to San Francisco
A pioneer in the food world, Cecilia Chiang introduced Americans to authentic northern Chinese cuisine at her San Francisco restaurant, the Mandarin, in 1961, earning the adoration of generations of diners, including local luminaries such as Marion Cunningham, Ruth Reichl, and Chuck Williams. In THE SEVENTH DAUGHTER, Chiang presents a classic collection of recipes framed b...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
October 1st 2007
by Ten Speed Press
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Cecilia Chiang came to America in the 60s from China by way of Japan, and almost inadvertently started a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco celebrating the food of China that wasn't available in the U.S. Her restaurant met great acclaim and success and had a profound influence on American dining tastes. This is her story of growing up in China and coming to the U.S., interwoven with some of her favorite recipes. (Her son, Philip, is the culinary influence behind the PF Chang chain of Chinese re...more
I enjoyed the history of her life and the political background of the times along with the recipes
A unique book by a pioneer who helped introduce northern Chinese cuisine to North America in the late 1960s with her successful Mandarin Restaurant in San Francisco (I lived four blocks away from her first restaurant on Polk St. but as a youth couldn't afford to eat there). Her book contains recipes for many dishes that her restaurant introduced sandwiched between chapters of her well-written memoir about her family's life in Beijing before and during WW II as their fortunes were lost over the c...more
I think this is the first memoirs recipe book I've read. I can't tell you what I liked best the recipes or Cecilia's account of her childhood and Life adventures. I was encouraged and related to so many of her experiences. Having a good life as a child and experiencing hardships and challenges as an adult. I love Asian foods so I look forward to the tea eggs, sesame shrimp and especially the clear soups. When you're able to do then do it! You don't have to wait for all the ducks to be in a row....more
I didn't really know quite what to expect when I picked up this book, although I had the general idea that Cecilia Chiang might use her recipes as a kind of memoir through food. I had no idea who she was when I started, either, and definitely wasn't expecting the emotional 'whomph' of her life story, or that the traditions she grew up with so closely mirrored my own. A lot of the recipes she includes in her book are ones that I grew up with and the ones I specifically request from my mother for...more
I really liked the part of this cookbook-memoir that was a memoir. I would try some of the recipes since I like simple asian cuisine, but what I really enjoyed was Mrs.Chiang's story telling, and in her stories her descriptions of food. My mom REALLY loved this book, she kept borrowing it! (Yes, Mom, I'm telling on you ;P
I want to try the veggie dishes, and the noddle dish, that was in the "street snack" section, and that I forget the name of (Ugh!)
I want to try the veggie dishes, and the noddle dish, that was in the "street snack" section, and that I forget the name of (Ugh!)
This is a book for anyone who was into the San Francisco restaurant scene in the 1970s and 1980s when Cecilia Chiang ran the Mandarin Restaurant in Ghirardelli Square, which includes me. The Mandarin was one of the first, perhaps actually the first, Chinese restaurant to offer both a fine dining experience as well as Chinese cuisine other than Cantonese. The book is full of recipes. I always get my books from the library, but I've decided that I need to get my own copy of this book. Not so much...more
Loved her story...makes me want to try her restaurant, which I haven't had a chance yet. Helps me get connected to my culture. I loved the part where she describes her 50th birthday party and how she got what she wanted. She's smart. The recipes however seem a little complicated, but I eventually was slowly getting it.
A combined cookbook and biography. Cecelia Chiang is a very glamarous and interesting woman who ran a famous Mandarin restaurant in San Francisco, I liked the biography part. The recipes are different and yet a lot of them are pretty simple, don't require a lof of hard to find ingredients.
This book is a memoir & cookbook. It tells the story of how a girl of some privledge in China becomes the owner of a top rated restaurant in San Francisco. She recalls her childhood, an escape from japanese occupied China, her life abroad and her return to communist china.
I haven't tried the recipes yet, but the story of her life was very well written.
I haven't tried the recipes yet, but the story of her life was very well written.
Some nice recipes, but what really makes this one stand out is the memoir. especially of Ms. Chiang's sheltered early life in China in an upper middle class family - something there's little about here in the West
This book was a wonderful collection of recipes interwoven with a fascinating but brief story of Cecilia Chiang's life. The stories of growing up in an upscale Chinese family in the midst of war and Communist Revolution were interesting. The emphasis of how food effected all area's of her life was very well done as well.
A brief biography of Cecilia Chiang, famous icon of the culinary world based out of San Francisco and a solid collection of recipes. I'm ashamed to say I had never heard about Cecilia Chiang before, but a foreword by Alice Waters proves that Mrs. Chiang looms large in the foodie community. The recipes seem to be chosen with care, sticking with a heterodox approach to Chinese cuisine, and the biography is well written. Overall, an excellent cook book with an interesting if at times disheartening...more
I have read most of the narrative passages in this book and felt for the sincerity with which the author shared her family memories. I've not tried any of the recipes yet, but they look delicious. I attended a luncheon at Santa Clara University at which all the dishes were made with her recipes and she was present to answer questions and sign copies of this book. What a delightful day that was!
Sep 16, 2008
Mary
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who wants to cook something new
Shelves:
cookbooks
This is one of those cookbooks that you find yourself reading as a book before bed as Ms. Chiang's story is as interesting as the food itself. One of the (if not the) best compliation of authentic Chinese food I've come across. The recipes are easy to follow, the book's beautiful and it is guaranteed to make you crave Chinese food and San Francisco.
Very interesting. I liked this because it was an interesting story about an interesting life, but it was not bogged down in detail. She kept her narrative fairly short. I am dying to try some of the recipes.
bright, easy read with exactly what i was looking for: legit chinese recipes written in english. and they're not all that complicated.
Apr 13, 2013
Stella Ramirez
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