The Food of Taiwan

Recipes from the Beautiful Island

A cookbook from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt coming March 24, 2015

One of the first books published in the US to offer a comprehensive guide on the topic, The Food of Taiwan takes a long look at a fascinating cuisine.

Written by half-Taiwanese food writer Cathy Erway (Not Eating Out In New York), it includes nearly 100 recipes ranging from old-fashioned homestyle dishes to the latest street-food crazes. Easy-to-follow recipes and scenic photography by Pete Lee showcase the delicious flavors of the island, to be savored by home cooks all over.

About the Book

It's not just about bubble tea.

About the Book

It's not just about bubble tea.

For all that’s been said about Chinese food, relatively little has been celebrated of the food of Taiwan in the Western World. At last, a cookbook that highlights the incredible scope of delicacies enjoyed in Taiwan today. Along with authentic recipes, this book explores the unique social and environmental factors that helped inform them, and the proud cultures that have contributed to them.

Taiwan has been recognized as a stronghold of traditional arts and culture from China. But there is much more to Taiwanese cuisine— including its humble peasant foods, plentiful seafood, colorful herbs and spices, and the ways it has incorporated flavors from abroad, making them into something entirely new. As a whole, this cuisine transcends political or ethnic boundaries, and it continues to grow in myriad ways. This book’s humble mission is to inspire more dialogue on the food of Taiwan. Join The Food of Taiwan’s Facebook page, and see upcoming events to get involved.

Cathy Erway

is the author of The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove, which USA Today hailed, “deserves a toast” and was named one of the “Top Favorite Cookbooks” of 2010 by Serious Eats. It was based on her two years of going without restaurant food and her popular blog on that topic, Not Eating Out In New York. In the process of rediscovering the merits of the home-cooked meal, she explored the underbelly of New York City’s food culture, cooking for supper clubs, organizing amateur cook-offs, trash diving with the “freegan” community and foraging for wild edibles in the park.

Cathy has written about food at The Huffington Post, Saveur, PAPER Magazine, Serious Eats, Civil Eats, The L Magazine, Edible Manhattan and Edible Brooklyn. Cathy hosts the weekly talk radio podcast, Eat Your Words, on Heritage Radio Network. Cathy co-founded the half-Asian social group and supper club, The Hapa Kitchen. She has hosted numerous fundraiser events for local food causes. She lives, writes, cooks and grows in Brooklyn.

Pete Lee

is a San Francisco-based filmmaker and photographer. He was raised in Taiwan, and has made it his life’s mission to incorporate the colors, textures, sight, and sound of his experience growing up in all of his work. Many of his projects involve food, musicians, and stunt men. His work has been featured on Vice, The Rolling Stone, MTV, and NPR. Check out his portfolio, Enter the Hero.