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The Art of Escapism Cooking: A Survival Story, with Intensely Good Flavors
“Lee, who vents about living abroad in her Lady and Pups blog, fuels this stunning cookbook with the ferocity of Sichuan peppercorns and chili oil. . . . An energetic confessional, for Lee is as gifted a writer as she is a cook. . . . Innovative. . . . [A] unique and deeply felt debut.” - Publisher's Weekly (starred review)
In this inventive and intensely personal cookbook, the blogger behind the award-winning ladyandpups.com reveals how she cooked her way out of an untenable living situation, with more than eighty delicious Asian-inspired dishes with influences from around the world.
For Mandy Lee, moving from New York to Beijing for her husband’s work wasn’t an exotic adventure—it was an ordeal. Growing increasingly exasperated with China’s stifling political climate, its infuriating bureaucracy, and its choking pollution, she began “an unapologetically angry food blog,” LadyandPups.com, to keep herself from going mad.
Mandy cooked because it channeled her focus, helping her cope with the difficult circumstances of her new life. She filled her kitchen with warming spices and sticky sauces while she shared recipes and observations about life, food, and cooking in her blog posts. Born in Taiwan and raised in Vancouver, she came of age food-wise in New York City and now lives in Hong Kong; her food reflects the many places she’s lived. This entertaining and unusual cookbook is the story of how “escapism cooking”—using the kitchen as a refuge and ultimately creating delicious and satisfying meals—helped her crawl out of her expat limbo.
Illustrated with her own gorgeous photography , The Art of Escapism Cooking provides that comforting feeling a good meal provides. Here are dozens of innovative and often Asian-influenced recipes, divided into categories by mood and occasion, such as:
For Getting Out of Bed
Poached Eggs with Miso Burnt Butter Hollandaise
Crackling Pancake with Caramel-Clustered Blueberries and Balsamic Honey
For Slurping
Buffalo Fried Chicken Ramen
Crab Bisque Tsukemen
For a Crowd
Cumin Lamb Rib Burger
Italian Meatballs in Taiwanese Rouzao Sauce
For Snacking
Wontons with Shrimp Chili Coconut Oil and Herbed Yogurt
Spicy Chickpea Poppers
For Sweets
Mochi with Peanut Brown Sugar and Ice Cream
Recycled Nuts and Caramel Apple Cake
Every dish is sublimely delicious and worth the time and attention required. Mandy also demystifies unfamiliar ingredients and where to find them, shares her favorite tools, and provides instructions for essential condiments for the pantry and fridge, such as Ramen Seasoning, Fried Chili Verde Sauce, Caramelized Onion Powder Paste, and her Ultimate Sichuan Chile Oil.
In this inventive and intensely personal cookbook, the blogger behind the award-winning ladyandpups.com reveals how she cooked her way out of an untenable living situation, with more than eighty delicious Asian-inspired dishes with influences from around the world.
For Mandy Lee, moving from New York to Beijing for her husband’s work wasn’t an exotic adventure—it was an ordeal. Growing increasingly exasperated with China’s stifling political climate, its infuriating bureaucracy, and its choking pollution, she began “an unapologetically angry food blog,” LadyandPups.com, to keep herself from going mad.
Mandy cooked because it channeled her focus, helping her cope with the difficult circumstances of her new life. She filled her kitchen with warming spices and sticky sauces while she shared recipes and observations about life, food, and cooking in her blog posts. Born in Taiwan and raised in Vancouver, she came of age food-wise in New York City and now lives in Hong Kong; her food reflects the many places she’s lived. This entertaining and unusual cookbook is the story of how “escapism cooking”—using the kitchen as a refuge and ultimately creating delicious and satisfying meals—helped her crawl out of her expat limbo.
Illustrated with her own gorgeous photography , The Art of Escapism Cooking provides that comforting feeling a good meal provides. Here are dozens of innovative and often Asian-influenced recipes, divided into categories by mood and occasion, such as:
For Getting Out of Bed
Poached Eggs with Miso Burnt Butter Hollandaise
Crackling Pancake with Caramel-Clustered Blueberries and Balsamic Honey
For Slurping
Buffalo Fried Chicken Ramen
Crab Bisque Tsukemen
For a Crowd
Cumin Lamb Rib Burger
Italian Meatballs in Taiwanese Rouzao Sauce
For Snacking
Wontons with Shrimp Chili Coconut Oil and Herbed Yogurt
Spicy Chickpea Poppers
For Sweets
Mochi with Peanut Brown Sugar and Ice Cream
Recycled Nuts and Caramel Apple Cake
Every dish is sublimely delicious and worth the time and attention required. Mandy also demystifies unfamiliar ingredients and where to find them, shares her favorite tools, and provides instructions for essential condiments for the pantry and fridge, such as Ramen Seasoning, Fried Chili Verde Sauce, Caramelized Onion Powder Paste, and her Ultimate Sichuan Chile Oil.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2019
141 people are currently reading
642 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
January 5, 2020
The Art of Escapism Cooking: A Survival Story, with Intensely Good Flavors is what resulted when blogger Mandy Lee had to find a way to cope with her miserable relocation to Beijing. The recipes are primarily Asian, and all fused with various other international cuisines. The dishes are highly original, and my favorites are the homemade condiments and sauces, such as "My Ultimate Chile Oil" ... which I made and OMG. Ingredients within this book may require online shopping for most readers, but Mandy does a good job of educating about potentially hard-to-find items. The photos are beautiful, and the dark and violent introduction was quite a treat. Here's a link for Mandy Lee's blog to give you an idea of her style: ladyandpups. Enjoy!
October 24, 2019
This is as much a cookbook to curl up in bed with, as it is to cook from. Gorgeous photography, beautifully honest memoir sections with a dose of dark humor, and the kind of recipes you give up a whole day to. These recipes are often real projects, with homemade components, that will fill your home with amazing aromas, and give so much comfort, joy and satisfaction in both preparing and eating. I wish I had more time to dedicate to this kind of cooking, but I will definitely try and find some :)
November 23, 2019
Um, I’m like so worried about this lady. Her cooking is insane and inventive.
May 7, 2020
It's impossible to not admire Mandy Lee's enthusiasm and ability/willingness to improvise to attain the flavours and/or textures she craves.
Often, Lee's writing can be somewhat self-conscious—she may spend a little too much time trying to talk like the Big Boys (Ramsey... Bourdain....)
This is definitely not a bread cookbook for the neophite. In fact, one of the reasons for 3 star rating rather than 4 is because of the bread recipes. Lee's bread recipes are a little bizarre - or rather they are to me (yes, it's true; I'm probably equally opinionated), but this statement about the requirement to use an electric mixer for mixing and/or kneading dough is just silly and misguided.
Knead "sticky dough" vigorously for 45 minutes?? I think not.
Lee's "chewy scallion and garlic naan" recipe contains ingredients I would never have thought of adding to naan. Tapioca flour isn't the only unconventional ingredient, but roasted barley tea powder might be very interesting addition.
Considering the overly high amount of salt in the All-Purpose Mother Dough recipe, it's no wonder Lee cautions that the bread may fail at first. If you're making bread for the first time follow someone else's basic recipe. Ken Forkish. Rose Levy Beranbaum. Chad Robertson... ie: the failure probably IS the recipe here.
In spite of the instruction to weigh all the ingredients, the recipe for All-Purpose Mother Dough has no weight measurement for the yeast. To make things even more difficult, the 1/3 character does not display on the e-reader. Instead, this is what appears: " teaspoon instant dry yeast". This error could cause nightmares for a neophyte bread baker!
Lee's ersatz sourdough has equally misguided ideas. It might be okay bread! But it's not sourdough if it contains commercial yeast and I suspect it isn't even close in flavour to a real sourdough. Yoghurt is not going to add the "sour" notes to make the bread mimic sourdough. (Since when does bread raised with wild yeast have to be sour?)
And her challah! That contains prosciutto. Again, this might be great bread. But can it really be called challah if it contains pork?
For each bread and dough recipe, Lee writes "I urge you to measure by weight". This is a good thing. But. How has she (or her editor) arrived at the weight measurements? For instance, she notes 115gm for 1/2 c water, yet a cup holds 250 ml in Canada and 240ml in USA.
1 ml water = 1 gram water
Therefore, half a cup of water will weigh 120 grams if it's USA cup or 125grams if it's a Canadian cup. Sure, 5 grams of water isn't a huge difference, but missing it can make or break a bread dough.
Her pastry recipe (with a note strongly recommending to measure by weight) calls for "1¼ teaspoons fine sea salt". There IS no weight measurement listed for the salt!
But, every few pages, it's clear why this book is published. There are great ideas!
+ + + + +
If you purchase the e-book, be sure to look at the recipes on your computer, to be sure that you will see any of the 1/3 characters....
Also, any footnotes are decidedly difficult to locate.
The only way that I could find the footnote was to look at the e-book on the computer from the library website - clicking on the asterisk beside "bubbly" (pressing on a single tiny character on my Kobo Glo is not the easiest thing to do. It's equally tricky on Adobe Digital Reads...). Unbelievably, it turns out that the footnotes (there are just two) are hiding at the end of the book - after the acknowledgements, universal conversion chart, index of recipes, copyright, and publishing details - with no hint about what the footnotes are referring to!
Here is the footnote for "bubbly":
And here is the second footnote for who knows which recipe that calls for some sort of flour:
Dried shrimp [...] If you've ever had the blessing of tasting a proper bowl of laksa, you know you need to keep a large bag of dried shrimp in your freezer. It's crucial, inarguable. Don't even think about substituting fresh shrimp. [first, pantry]
Often, Lee's writing can be somewhat self-conscious—she may spend a little too much time trying to talk like the Big Boys (Ramsey... Bourdain....)
So we can't like or use stuff that's not real now? Especially when the real shit can cost thousands of dollars per pound? So what if truffle oil has nothing to do with real truffles? Does the orange goo in Kraft Mac & Cheese have anything to do with real cheese? Does toothpaste have anything to do with fresh mint? Does soap have anything to do with real flowers?
[truffle lard infused ramen with fennel pork belly]
~ ~ ~ ~
Neither the tomato itself nor baking stuff on top of a fermented dough was an original Italian idea, and if the Italians from a few hundred years ago were dumb enough to give a shit about that, then there wouldn't even be such a thing as pizza today. All the dishes we eat today were fusion at some point in history. And to say that this progression should stop and freeze at an arbitrary point for the sake of national pride is both dangerous and dumb-sounding. [pizza]
This is definitely not a bread cookbook for the neophite. In fact, one of the reasons for 3 star rating rather than 4 is because of the bread recipes. Lee's bread recipes are a little bizarre - or rather they are to me (yes, it's true; I'm probably equally opinionated), but this statement about the requirement to use an electric mixer for mixing and/or kneading dough is just silly and misguided.
If you can't afford a stand mixer, then at the very least get a handheld mixer that has a dough hook attachment. The level of gluten formation in a lot of doughs out there (such as the layered paratha) is simply too difficult to be achieved by the bare hands of mortals [tools]
~ ~ ~ ~
You must use a stand mixer or handheld mixer with a dough hook for this recipe to develop the kind of body this dough needs. If you don't have an electric mixer, I really wouldn't waste my time, unless you have the perseverance to knead a very sticky dough vigorously for 45 minutes to achieve the same result. In that case you have my full blessing.
Knead "sticky dough" vigorously for 45 minutes?? I think not.
Lee's "chewy scallion and garlic naan" recipe contains ingredients I would never have thought of adding to naan. Tapioca flour isn't the only unconventional ingredient, but roasted barley tea powder might be very interesting addition.
If you are making bread for the very first time, please, don't expect it to come easy. It's not you, nor is it the recipe. It's just how it works with bread. It's a romance that should and will involve some necessary, even respectful, courtship. A dinner and a movie plus a few hour-long conversations about a rosy future and maybe—just maybe—you'll get to second base on your third date. So much of the essence of a good bread depends on variants that can't be fully transcribed in a recipe—the hand-feel of its skin and flesh, the sounds of its moans and hisses. The relationship is flirtatious and spontaneous. [All-Purpose Mother Dough]
Considering the overly high amount of salt in the All-Purpose Mother Dough recipe, it's no wonder Lee cautions that the bread may fail at first. If you're making bread for the first time follow someone else's basic recipe. Ken Forkish. Rose Levy Beranbaum. Chad Robertson... ie: the failure probably IS the recipe here.
In spite of the instruction to weigh all the ingredients, the recipe for All-Purpose Mother Dough has no weight measurement for the yeast. To make things even more difficult, the 1/3 character does not display on the e-reader. Instead, this is what appears: " teaspoon instant dry yeast". This error could cause nightmares for a neophyte bread baker!
Lee's ersatz sourdough has equally misguided ideas. It might be okay bread! But it's not sourdough if it contains commercial yeast and I suspect it isn't even close in flavour to a real sourdough. Yoghurt is not going to add the "sour" notes to make the bread mimic sourdough. (Since when does bread raised with wild yeast have to be sour?)
And her challah! That contains prosciutto. Again, this might be great bread. But can it really be called challah if it contains pork?
For each bread and dough recipe, Lee writes "I urge you to measure by weight". This is a good thing. But. How has she (or her editor) arrived at the weight measurements? For instance, she notes 115gm for 1/2 c water, yet a cup holds 250 ml in Canada and 240ml in USA.
1 ml water = 1 gram water
Therefore, half a cup of water will weigh 120 grams if it's USA cup or 125grams if it's a Canadian cup. Sure, 5 grams of water isn't a huge difference, but missing it can make or break a bread dough.
Her pastry recipe (with a note strongly recommending to measure by weight) calls for "1¼ teaspoons fine sea salt". There IS no weight measurement listed for the salt!
But, every few pages, it's clear why this book is published. There are great ideas!
To be clear, as is evident in this book, I don't have a problem with natural food chains, bigger animals eating smaller animals, so on and so forth, and I'll also point out the potential disastrous effect on that food chain if all the predators on earth suddenly developed an emotional soft spot for their prey. However, I do struggle to find a balance between eating what I like and being a responsible earthling who understands the huge, well-documented consequences of raising and consuming livestock on an industrial scale, especially how that contributes to climate change and pollution. In one small effort, I stopped eating tuna ten years ago, and I don't have a beef with not eating steaks or burgers for long stretches. But my own choices aside, I wanted to create a recipe for people who choose to avoid animal products—and one that fully satisfies my own personal cravings.
~ ~ ~ ~
Fried shallots, or crack as I sometimes call them, are the key component in so many Asian recipes for their intense and irreplaceable aroma that makes so many Indian, Taiwanese, and Southeast Asian dishes pop. Whether dry or stored in fat, they can sometimes be found in Asian grocery stores. But I think the homemade version is often superior in quality and fragrance. And once you're over the illogical fear of making something unfamiliar, you'll find that this is exponentially easier than baking a cake.
For maximum flavor, use real lard or schmaltz (chicken fat) to fry the shallots. [Fried shallots]
+ + + + +
If you purchase the e-book, be sure to look at the recipes on your computer, to be sure that you will see any of the 1/3 characters....
Also, any footnotes are decidedly difficult to locate.
1. First Rise: [...] The dough should about triple in size and look puffy and bubbly.* [All-Purpose Mother Dough | Crusty Loaves]
The only way that I could find the footnote was to look at the e-book on the computer from the library website - clicking on the asterisk beside "bubbly" (pressing on a single tiny character on my Kobo Glo is not the easiest thing to do. It's equally tricky on Adobe Digital Reads...). Unbelievably, it turns out that the footnotes (there are just two) are hiding at the end of the book - after the acknowledgements, universal conversion chart, index of recipes, copyright, and publishing details - with no hint about what the footnotes are referring to!
Here is the footnote for "bubbly":
* If you want to prepare the dough a couple of days in advance, or if you want a longer proofing period for better flavor and texture, let the dough expand only 200 percent (double) in the first rise and leave it in the fridge for up to 48 hours in the second rise. [footnote for bubbly]
And here is the second footnote for who knows which recipe that calls for some sort of flour:
* Or substitute rye flour, buckwheat flour, mung bean flour, or whole wheat flour. [without re-reading the whole book, your guess is as good as mine for which recipe this is about.]
December 29, 2019
“Everyone knows I am a canned sardine whore. ” - Mandy Lee (The Art of Escapism Cooking)
Been a long-time fan of her food blog (fun fact : Lee bypassed the (Chinese?) government's firewall with a VPN in order to sustain/maintain/build her blog/posts); and I thought the cookbook was/is so fab. I didn't think I'd like it as much as I did because I didn't think it'd be good - having thought that it's just another cookbook written by a 'home-cook'. I was so wrong; the cookbook hits all the right spots one could ever want/need from a cookbook. The writing was deeply entertaining, personal; poetic even. The recipes are incredibly personal, and so creative - it's like you're tasting/eating 'stories'.
'Lee grappled with transnationalism: "I think it’s safe to say that I’m a product of the environment of a shrinking globe. That I’m suffering from [an] identity crisis."'
[https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/8x...]
Lee's recipes are not 'fine', and they're not 'simple'/predictable. I'd call her recipes 'contemporary' and reflective of her experiences. It's beautifully strange and unique without falling into the category of gross 'fusion food'. It's experimental but definitely not tacky/trashy. Lee had used 'cooking' as a form of therapy to deal with her emotional and mental unease. Some write poetry, some paint, some make music, and some make fucking delicious things that are almost 'sublime' - one can't tell if it's art or if it's 'food'. I guess if you don't eat it - it's art; and if you do - it's food ? Lord knows, but regardless - this cookbook is a fucking gem. Delicious comfort food; edible poetry. What's not to like?
Also, Lee, being a dog mom dedicated a chapter of delicious doggo recipes to her doggos. When she lived in NYC, she used to work in a dog food company ish called 'Big Bone'; and in her book, she warned readers that it is best not to Google it unless you're in the mood to be bombarded with a galore of dick pics.
Been a long-time fan of her food blog (fun fact : Lee bypassed the (Chinese?) government's firewall with a VPN in order to sustain/maintain/build her blog/posts); and I thought the cookbook was/is so fab. I didn't think I'd like it as much as I did because I didn't think it'd be good - having thought that it's just another cookbook written by a 'home-cook'. I was so wrong; the cookbook hits all the right spots one could ever want/need from a cookbook. The writing was deeply entertaining, personal; poetic even. The recipes are incredibly personal, and so creative - it's like you're tasting/eating 'stories'.
'Lee grappled with transnationalism: "I think it’s safe to say that I’m a product of the environment of a shrinking globe. That I’m suffering from [an] identity crisis."'
[https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/8x...]
Lee's recipes are not 'fine', and they're not 'simple'/predictable. I'd call her recipes 'contemporary' and reflective of her experiences. It's beautifully strange and unique without falling into the category of gross 'fusion food'. It's experimental but definitely not tacky/trashy. Lee had used 'cooking' as a form of therapy to deal with her emotional and mental unease. Some write poetry, some paint, some make music, and some make fucking delicious things that are almost 'sublime' - one can't tell if it's art or if it's 'food'. I guess if you don't eat it - it's art; and if you do - it's food ? Lord knows, but regardless - this cookbook is a fucking gem. Delicious comfort food; edible poetry. What's not to like?
Also, Lee, being a dog mom dedicated a chapter of delicious doggo recipes to her doggos. When she lived in NYC, she used to work in a dog food company ish called 'Big Bone'; and in her book, she warned readers that it is best not to Google it unless you're in the mood to be bombarded with a galore of dick pics.
October 24, 2019
Cooking for many people is simply a means to an end. You need to feed your family so you make dinner. For others the kitchen is a retreat – a place to go to get away from the world or from your troubles. There is something very comforting about starting with a list of ingredients and ending with a delicious and nourishing meal or dessert.
I can fully relate to this as when my world imploded I found my solace in the kitchen. Back when my aneurysm was found and I was left with my chronic headache I would often retreat into the kitchen to bake. It would take my mind off of everything going on around me. I could just gather the ingredients, follow (or maybe not follow) the recipe and have a sweet treat at the end. Cooking or baking is never frustrating for me and always comforting. That is why this cookbook made so much sense to me.
The recipes in it are for the most part not of the simple variety. They are the type of recipe that keeps you busy in the kitchen. They are wildly inspired and sound heavenly. I haven’t had an opportunity to try any as of yet as the book arrived just as my husband was leaving for a trip so I couldn’t get to the store for ingredients. I will share one in the near future.
Ms. Lee shares herself along the way; her life and struggles living in China. She is very upfront, funny, and at times profane but reading her stories and recipe intros is worth the time. You get a real understanding of the recipe and its origin.
I don’t know how many of these recipes I will make but it’s a beautiful book that will inspire me to expand my experiences in the kitchen
I can fully relate to this as when my world imploded I found my solace in the kitchen. Back when my aneurysm was found and I was left with my chronic headache I would often retreat into the kitchen to bake. It would take my mind off of everything going on around me. I could just gather the ingredients, follow (or maybe not follow) the recipe and have a sweet treat at the end. Cooking or baking is never frustrating for me and always comforting. That is why this cookbook made so much sense to me.
The recipes in it are for the most part not of the simple variety. They are the type of recipe that keeps you busy in the kitchen. They are wildly inspired and sound heavenly. I haven’t had an opportunity to try any as of yet as the book arrived just as my husband was leaving for a trip so I couldn’t get to the store for ingredients. I will share one in the near future.
Ms. Lee shares herself along the way; her life and struggles living in China. She is very upfront, funny, and at times profane but reading her stories and recipe intros is worth the time. You get a real understanding of the recipe and its origin.
I don’t know how many of these recipes I will make but it’s a beautiful book that will inspire me to expand my experiences in the kitchen
Read
October 11, 2019When Mandy Lee moved from New York to Beijing for her husband’s work, she was hit with a soul-killing depression unlike anything she had felt before. Growing increasingly exasperated with China’s autocratic political climate, infuriating bureaucracy, and choking pollution, she began “an unapologetically angry food blog,” Lady and Pups, to keep herself from going mad.
Mandy blogged and filled her kitchen with warm spices and sticky sauces because it channeled her focus and helped her cope with the difficult circumstances of her new life. From this deep-rooted passion, Mandy created The Art of Escapism Cooking (William Morrow).
Laced with dark humor and elaborate flavors, this recipe-memoir is the story of how “escapism cooking”—using the kitchen as a refuge to create delicious and satisfying meals—helped Mandy evade a miserable reality. The author hopes her perspective on food, presented with humor and intimacy, will change the way people approach cooking.
“This book is written for those who share the same perverse tendency to engage in cooking as a loner spends time with his Xbox or a teenager with porn—ultimately as a delicious evasion of unpalatable realities,” she says.
“Escapism cooking. It’s not a passion; it’s a drug. I’m not selling you a lifestyle; I’m telling you how I evaded one.”
The rest of the review: https://booktrib.com/2019/10/mandy-le...
Mandy blogged and filled her kitchen with warm spices and sticky sauces because it channeled her focus and helped her cope with the difficult circumstances of her new life. From this deep-rooted passion, Mandy created The Art of Escapism Cooking (William Morrow).
Laced with dark humor and elaborate flavors, this recipe-memoir is the story of how “escapism cooking”—using the kitchen as a refuge to create delicious and satisfying meals—helped Mandy evade a miserable reality. The author hopes her perspective on food, presented with humor and intimacy, will change the way people approach cooking.
“This book is written for those who share the same perverse tendency to engage in cooking as a loner spends time with his Xbox or a teenager with porn—ultimately as a delicious evasion of unpalatable realities,” she says.
“Escapism cooking. It’s not a passion; it’s a drug. I’m not selling you a lifestyle; I’m telling you how I evaded one.”
The rest of the review: https://booktrib.com/2019/10/mandy-le...
February 21, 2020
I grabbed it mostly for the title, however the actual personal content is low compared to the recipe/food content, so the storytelling aspect is not there. I would classify Lee's cooking style as spicy world fusion, she mostly likes it hot so if you have a 'cat tongue' and don't like spicy, give this a pass. The recipes mostly contain meat and dairy, so its not a good book for vegetarians and the amount of prep and cooking make it unsuitable for the lazy home chef. Some interesting and wierd food combos, but you might be better off reading her food blog(https://ladyandpups.com/).
A better book about a cooking obsession: Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen.
A better book about a cooking obsession: Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen.
March 14, 2020
This is a unique, personal, and finely-crafted cookbook. While the recipes draw heavily from Asia, many of them remix global cuisines in novel and delicious ways. In contrast to many reviewers, however, I wasn't a fan of the writing style. It is certainly bold and colorful, but also overwrought, and the deep undercurrent of cynicism and depression was very off putting to me. Still recommended though, with that caveat.
January 15, 2020
Beautiful pictures, funny writing, interesting flavors. Mandy Lee has a really interesting palate, focused mostly on funky smells like fish oil. I'm really into intense smelling foods (blue cheese, fish oil, mushrooms, and all other feet-type smelling things).
The recipes are really complicated. I make homemade pasta all the time but the ramen noodle recipe made me want to burn my house down with rage. Tapioca flour? Is this a chemistry joke? Is it solid or liquid? 4 stars?
The recipes are really complicated. I make homemade pasta all the time but the ramen noodle recipe made me want to burn my house down with rage. Tapioca flour? Is this a chemistry joke? Is it solid or liquid? 4 stars?
December 26, 2020
This cookbook had me non-stop shivering in culinary fever dreams. Can't wait to start on the recipes.
December 30, 2019
"So, if you're experiencing thoughts of suicide along with the midnight urge to butcher a chicken, this book may be right for you, my friends--those of you who find yourselves, likewise, cooking for one reason and one reason only. Happiness."
An angry, innovative, brutal, unrelenting cookbook, that I am so very excited to play with.
An angry, innovative, brutal, unrelenting cookbook, that I am so very excited to play with.
January 22, 2021
How original: this might be a perfect cookbook--I'll come back and confirm it after I've tried some recipes. Before I do, I'll say that it looks like it'll fit my palate (interesting takes on dishes I love), and it looks like the recipes are improvise-able and that there are details that'll make great pantry staples.
December 14, 2019
Wonderful read! Lee doesn't beat around the bush. Her tales of surviving life in an incompatible city are refreshing. Her recipes are inventive and, best of all, they WORK! I have been disappointed by imaginative cookbooks before, when the reality doesn't match the recipe. So far the recipes I've tried have been fun to execute and wonderful eating.
July 31, 2020
I got this from the library, but I think I'm gonna have to buy it. Lots of very intense flavors, as the subtitle says, and also full of anger, which isn't necessarily what I look for in a cookbook, but in this case it sure works. There's also a chapter of food for dogs.
January 4, 2020
I have only cooked one recipe from this cookbook, but I had to go ahead and write a review because it was THAT GOOD. One the basis of the Kori-Mex bibimbap alone, this cookbook is already absolutely worth a purchase even if you don't cook anything else from it. The combo of bibimbap, mole, and taco rice is genius and mind-blowingly delicious.
Additionally, this is just a fun cookbook to read. Even the super involved recipes that I'll probably never cook are interesting to read about. I am normally very turned off by super long food blogger intros, but hers are short and to the point and actually really fascinating. I'm not familiar with any other food writer who writes about loneliness and isolation so clearly and openly.
So:
-Actually interesting to read, not just a cookbook
-At least one incredible recipe
-I suspect I'm going to be using the 15-second scrambled egg and vegetable broth recipes pretty regularly. They both have clever ideas for fixing problems I often have with those two things.
-There are a couple of easy recipes that look like very good weeknight/lunch meals (Japanese curry risotto, which is basically throwing a block of Vermont curry in with some cooked rice and cheese? Don't mind if I do)
-Some weekends when I'm feeling brave I'll definitely be trying some of the more involved recipes, probably with edits to make them easier. There are some ramen, meatball, and soup dumpling recipes that look amazing but pretty intimidating.
I'm planning to rate the individual recipes on eatyourbooks once they have this one indexed, so I'll put those up as I keep cooking.
Additionally, this is just a fun cookbook to read. Even the super involved recipes that I'll probably never cook are interesting to read about. I am normally very turned off by super long food blogger intros, but hers are short and to the point and actually really fascinating. I'm not familiar with any other food writer who writes about loneliness and isolation so clearly and openly.
So:
-Actually interesting to read, not just a cookbook
-At least one incredible recipe
-I suspect I'm going to be using the 15-second scrambled egg and vegetable broth recipes pretty regularly. They both have clever ideas for fixing problems I often have with those two things.
-There are a couple of easy recipes that look like very good weeknight/lunch meals (Japanese curry risotto, which is basically throwing a block of Vermont curry in with some cooked rice and cheese? Don't mind if I do)
-Some weekends when I'm feeling brave I'll definitely be trying some of the more involved recipes, probably with edits to make them easier. There are some ramen, meatball, and soup dumpling recipes that look amazing but pretty intimidating.
I'm planning to rate the individual recipes on eatyourbooks once they have this one indexed, so I'll put those up as I keep cooking.
February 13, 2020
I've seen enough of those "angry" cookbooks that try too hard: collect some Rachel Ray recipes and give them a slight Guy Fieri twist, mix in an ungenuine quantity of profanity, and rake in the profits. I'm thinking "Thug Kitchen" (Ugh, Gwyneth Paltrow says "this might be my favorite thing ever.") If Hot Topic sold cookbooks, they'd stock up on "Thug Kitchen."
This cookbook is the hard stuff. The recipes are brutally good - Mandy takes an assortment of punchy flavors from both Asian and Western cuisines and slips them into traditional dishes. It's not a corporate campaign - these recipes were her coping mechanism for dealing with an unhappy move from New York to Beijing.
I imagine this is the kind of stuff Asian-American line cooks concoct in their free time to self-medicate against the punishing rigors of the job. The recipes feel like hard-won trade secrets; alien versions of familiar dishes, dialed up to 10. And the pictures...just look at the pictures. I think the term "food porn" is tacky and overused, but these photos inspire a combination of mystery and lust that I rarely feel about food. I do find myself staring at them in my free time.
Sushi rice risotto with pork fat crispy rice
Milk tea swamp cake with sago pearls
Kori-Mex bibimbap with minced beef mole
Crackling pancake with balsamic blueberry caramel
It's $17 on Amazon. Just buy it, alright?
This cookbook is the hard stuff. The recipes are brutally good - Mandy takes an assortment of punchy flavors from both Asian and Western cuisines and slips them into traditional dishes. It's not a corporate campaign - these recipes were her coping mechanism for dealing with an unhappy move from New York to Beijing.
I imagine this is the kind of stuff Asian-American line cooks concoct in their free time to self-medicate against the punishing rigors of the job. The recipes feel like hard-won trade secrets; alien versions of familiar dishes, dialed up to 10. And the pictures...just look at the pictures. I think the term "food porn" is tacky and overused, but these photos inspire a combination of mystery and lust that I rarely feel about food. I do find myself staring at them in my free time.
Sushi rice risotto with pork fat crispy rice
Milk tea swamp cake with sago pearls
Kori-Mex bibimbap with minced beef mole
Crackling pancake with balsamic blueberry caramel
It's $17 on Amazon. Just buy it, alright?
October 12, 2019
Photographed beautifully, this memoir cookbook is fascinating. I found Lee's wry wit and use of the f-word oddly endearing. Her voice is honest and her photographs are fantastic. Her food is honest as well and even though she maintains anyone can cook it, I had to wonder. Her recipes are inventive with an Asian flare, but don't call it fusion. I plan on tackling a few dishes, but some are out of my realm of expertise (and honestly would take up too much of my time).
I loved reading her story (as interludes between recipe sections) and again, I loved her sense of humor. How can you not love a cookbook with a section entitled, "Shit I Eat When I'm By Myself."
Some may know Lee from her blog, Lady and Pups.
I loved reading her story (as interludes between recipe sections) and again, I loved her sense of humor. How can you not love a cookbook with a section entitled, "Shit I Eat When I'm By Myself."
Some may know Lee from her blog, Lady and Pups.
November 19, 2019
Fantastic read but not in my wheelhouse for actually cooking these unique recipes. Still, a beautiful book.
May 3, 2024
So, this is a really intense book. Lee cooks to manage her anger and she’s an impressive cook. But other people’s anger is really exhausting to carry.
November 13, 2021
I was drawn to this book via its unusual backstory - a visceral, furiously-negative expat experience in China. Mandy Lee is a Taiwan-born Canadian whose spiritual home is New York City - where she trained as an architect at the prestigious Parsons School of Design. When she and her husband moved to Beijing, the pervasive air pollution and the sudden restrictions on her freedom of (political) speech - including the circumspection amongst her expatriate circle - made her tremendously unhappy, frustrated, and ultimately, depressed. She became unwilling to leave her apartment. Eventually, she turned to cooking, becoming obsessed with perfecting dishes; and through this, she ended up creating an award-winning blog out beyond the "Great Firewall of China" - an act of rebellion that became her salvation.
This memoir-cookbook is borne of that time and headspace.
Mandy Lee's recipes offer bold flavours resulting from clever, almost whimsical / wilful combinations of influences: think Sichuan mala hotpots flavoured with thai herbs, challah breads incorporating mochi (sticky rice) dough, and pizza with Chinese sweet-cured meats. She loves Sichuan peppercorns and all types of chiles and other hot spices. The dishes look delicious and beautiful - the washed-out colour palette and chiarascuoro makes each photo look like an Old Master still life.
I have to admit that while this book offers great food inspiration, I do feel a bit intimidated about cooking from it, feeling that many of the recipes appear difficult or hard-work. Perhaps this is a mistaken assumption based on my awareness of how these recipes were the result of obsessive for-weeks-on-end-type experimentation; but for me, this book lies more in the "dreamy" rather than "useful" category.
Mandy's memoir appear as the introduction to each section of the book. Her story is simultaneously revealing and concealing; she is open about her emotions but is scant with details of events. I feel connected to her story as a fellow member of the Chinese diaspora; I am curious to learn more, both about her husband's experiences during this time, and also about her subsequent life in Hong Kong, which has been offering her a physically- and emotionally-healthier environment for the past few years.
The Art of Escapism Cooking is worth seeking out both for its food and its story - be prepared for sensory overload in the most delicious way.
This memoir-cookbook is borne of that time and headspace.
Mandy Lee's recipes offer bold flavours resulting from clever, almost whimsical / wilful combinations of influences: think Sichuan mala hotpots flavoured with thai herbs, challah breads incorporating mochi (sticky rice) dough, and pizza with Chinese sweet-cured meats. She loves Sichuan peppercorns and all types of chiles and other hot spices. The dishes look delicious and beautiful - the washed-out colour palette and chiarascuoro makes each photo look like an Old Master still life.
I have to admit that while this book offers great food inspiration, I do feel a bit intimidated about cooking from it, feeling that many of the recipes appear difficult or hard-work. Perhaps this is a mistaken assumption based on my awareness of how these recipes were the result of obsessive for-weeks-on-end-type experimentation; but for me, this book lies more in the "dreamy" rather than "useful" category.
Mandy's memoir appear as the introduction to each section of the book. Her story is simultaneously revealing and concealing; she is open about her emotions but is scant with details of events. I feel connected to her story as a fellow member of the Chinese diaspora; I am curious to learn more, both about her husband's experiences during this time, and also about her subsequent life in Hong Kong, which has been offering her a physically- and emotionally-healthier environment for the past few years.
The Art of Escapism Cooking is worth seeking out both for its food and its story - be prepared for sensory overload in the most delicious way.
August 28, 2020
Probably needs a dual star rating: For reading I would give it a 5, as I get her completely, about living with Dick. It sucks. And during this time of COVID, I think many people might get an understanding of some of the sulkiness.
As for cooking, probably 4. The recipes look really beyond me in so many ways, but I appreciate them, and have been thinking about trying about 5 of them (but others are too much for me, ingredient, effort and taste-combo-wise—not quite that adventurous!). I must say, I am not a cookbook buyer, but I am sorely tempted by this one, for personal reasons…
Architectural training tells, with the photography—excellent. And the dogs!
"Freedom of information —to give or to receive—became the other oxygen that I didn't know was vital until I lost it; until I was trapped inside a vacuum along with 1.3 billion others; until I realized I had to lower my voice in public when the conversation steered toward criticism or the government; until I had to watch what I said or did on the Internet because it could lead to serious repercussions regarding personal safety. You are allowed to read. You are allowed to watch. You are allowed to speak. You are allowed to listen. Things I had taken as a birthright all of a sudden needed allowing. The only thing you could do with unchecked freedom was to think, as long as it was done in self-censored privacy, muted, in an ever-expanding loop of fury, shame, and self-loathing." p156
Possible: Laksa-flavored paella
Good Cheese Soup dumplings on a lacy crust
Saliva Chicken meatballs
Wontons with Shrimp and chile coconut oil and herbed yogurt
Opa Rice ball
Black hummus
Chewy Scallion and garlic naan
Smoky Daddy (eggplant)
As for cooking, probably 4. The recipes look really beyond me in so many ways, but I appreciate them, and have been thinking about trying about 5 of them (but others are too much for me, ingredient, effort and taste-combo-wise—not quite that adventurous!). I must say, I am not a cookbook buyer, but I am sorely tempted by this one, for personal reasons…
Architectural training tells, with the photography—excellent. And the dogs!
"Freedom of information —to give or to receive—became the other oxygen that I didn't know was vital until I lost it; until I was trapped inside a vacuum along with 1.3 billion others; until I realized I had to lower my voice in public when the conversation steered toward criticism or the government; until I had to watch what I said or did on the Internet because it could lead to serious repercussions regarding personal safety. You are allowed to read. You are allowed to watch. You are allowed to speak. You are allowed to listen. Things I had taken as a birthright all of a sudden needed allowing. The only thing you could do with unchecked freedom was to think, as long as it was done in self-censored privacy, muted, in an ever-expanding loop of fury, shame, and self-loathing." p156
Possible: Laksa-flavored paella
Good Cheese Soup dumplings on a lacy crust
Saliva Chicken meatballs
Wontons with Shrimp and chile coconut oil and herbed yogurt
Opa Rice ball
Black hummus
Chewy Scallion and garlic naan
Smoky Daddy (eggplant)
March 29, 2023
I have not been so belligerently called out by a book as much as I was by Mandy Lee’s conversatory publication which felt like a good friend ranting out while all you could do is say “Same”. Perhaps I needed a survivalist, Gen Z trauma dumping work in a form of cookbook to realise a few specks of anxieties that had surfaced in during the pandemic like many other. Descriptions of tightening lack of freedom and unbreathable air of Beijing government, I could feel the N95 creep its tightening grip around my neck. What made it bearable than other cookbooks is Mandy was not trying to choke me with unnecessary science or descriptions of nostalgia about their grandmother’s kitchen (which is kind of the norm of all the James Beard Nominees nowadays its seems). She says, this is me, this is what I love to cook, don’t dare to not follow the recipe.
Her recipes that are part Chinese, Thai, and Japanese over items that act like a blank American Canvas. She hands you a colourful pantry in the first pages which can work well on any art project you decide to undertake.
From escapist, obsessively compulsive to, grieving and miserably lazy eating.
Human feeling books are nice, this is a human book.
Her recipes that are part Chinese, Thai, and Japanese over items that act like a blank American Canvas. She hands you a colourful pantry in the first pages which can work well on any art project you decide to undertake.
From escapist, obsessively compulsive to, grieving and miserably lazy eating.
Human feeling books are nice, this is a human book.
March 5, 2022
Does a cookbook count as a book? I haven’t cooked anything from this yet, but I’ve read every page so I’m gonna review it as one.
Lee’s writing is angry and honest and funny in the way that only people who have known the feeling of wanting to die can be. Tucked in between glory shots of succulent meats and soup recipes with 20-odd ingredients, there is the soul of a woman who has stared into the abyss and come out with her hands caked in spicy oil and tapioca flour.
From a culinary standpoint this book is exactly what it proclaims to be — escapism. These are not your healthy meals, your dinner in 30 standbys; these recipes are creative, boundary-defying, bastardizing labors that aim to draw you into their clutches with gut-punching flavor and wild texture. They inspire me, and at the end of the day, that’s what I want most from a cookbook.
Mandy Lee, thank you.
Lee’s writing is angry and honest and funny in the way that only people who have known the feeling of wanting to die can be. Tucked in between glory shots of succulent meats and soup recipes with 20-odd ingredients, there is the soul of a woman who has stared into the abyss and come out with her hands caked in spicy oil and tapioca flour.
From a culinary standpoint this book is exactly what it proclaims to be — escapism. These are not your healthy meals, your dinner in 30 standbys; these recipes are creative, boundary-defying, bastardizing labors that aim to draw you into their clutches with gut-punching flavor and wild texture. They inspire me, and at the end of the day, that’s what I want most from a cookbook.
Mandy Lee, thank you.
April 7, 2023
This is an odd one to review. I went in unfamiliar with the authors blog, so her sarcastic/complaining/slightly-humorous voice was something to get used too. The cuisine is hard to pin down: major influences form a variety of Asian cultures mixed with some home cooking. The best way I can describe this cookbook is that it’s a leveling-up in skill from the fantastic Half Baked Harvest cookbooks (that are some of my favorite and continually in use in my home). Like HBH, a lot of these recipes provide fairly easy one dish or two dish meals for a family. You need a modicum of skill/knowledge around the kitchen and produce markets…but if you’re reading this cookbook, you probably are already good to go. Well worth checking out.
February 18, 2024
If you enjoy entirely immersing yourself in the emotional process of cooking, then this book is for you.
I often laugh when I tell people that the days I make the beautifully creamy white chicken broth that is taught in this book is a “phone off, nobody talk to me” kind of day. It’s a whole THING, and you know, maybe that’s just who I am as a person… and maybe you can create these incredible dishes just like a detached robot human too… but ask yourself: are you really living if you don’t feel your feelings and pour your soul into making the perfect ramen?
I often laugh when I tell people that the days I make the beautifully creamy white chicken broth that is taught in this book is a “phone off, nobody talk to me” kind of day. It’s a whole THING, and you know, maybe that’s just who I am as a person… and maybe you can create these incredible dishes just like a detached robot human too… but ask yourself: are you really living if you don’t feel your feelings and pour your soul into making the perfect ramen?
December 2, 2021
This is quite the cookbook. Not exactly a ton of recipes in to appeal to me--a little too fiddly with some inaccessible one-off ingredients, but I did earmark 4 of them for future cooking endeavors.
This is one of the most entertainingly written cookbooks I've ever read. Mandy Lee has a real mouth on her, but it's wise and quirky and funny. Highly recommend.
This is one of the most entertainingly written cookbooks I've ever read. Mandy Lee has a real mouth on her, but it's wise and quirky and funny. Highly recommend.
August 15, 2020
Amazing, creative fusion recipes sure to leave you in a feverish daze, your arms and legs aching from the efforts required for these recipes but you tongue surely convincing you it was worth it. Your waistline won't thank you.
April 5, 2022
A great book for the author's attitude and writing if nothing else; most recipes sound delicious but too intricate and involved for me. Making the Black Hummus is a possibility, as I have some black tahini on hand, and I might try the Saliva Meatballs, but without grinding my own chicken thighs!
December 20, 2019
The recipes all look absolutely incredible. The writing is not really my style.
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