MOCA COOKS with Clarissa Wei
Made in Taiwan: Recipes and Stories from the Island Nation
March 20, 2024, 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Honoring Women’s History Month, the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) cordially invites you to a virtual discussion with Clarissa Wei, an acclaimed Taipei-based food journalist and author of Made in Taiwan: Recipes and Stories from the Island Nation. This event will illustrate the rich tapestry of Taiwanese cuisine and bring Taiwan’s distinct culinary identity to the forefront.
Participants will embark on a journey through Taiwan’s diverse food scene, exploring classics like Peddler Noodles and Braised Minced Pork Belly, and learning about the art of making stinky tofu and the secrets behind award-winning beef noodle soup. Through over 100 meticulously crafted recipes and insightful essays, Wei’s narrative weaves together personal stories and professional expertise, offering a comprehensive look at modern Taiwanese cuisine through the lens of those who know it best—the people of Taiwan.
The conversation will be moderated by Kian Lam Kho, author of the award-winning cookbook Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees: Essential Techniques of Authentic Chinese Cooking. During the program, Wei and Kho will also showcase a cooking demonstration of Garlic Sliced Pork (Suan Ni Bai Rou). We look forward to sharing this evening with you, filled with engaging stories, culinary inspiration, and a deeper appreciation for the unique flavors of Taiwan.
About Clarissa Wei
My debut cookbook, Made In Taiwan, is a celebration of the island nation that I call home.
My writing has been published in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Los Angeles Times, Foreign Policy, National Geographic, among others. I have field-produced videos for VICE News Tonight, 60 Minutes, Vox, and SBS Dateline. I’ve voiced and produced audio segments for Monocle and Proof by America’s Test Kitchen.
From 2018 to 2020, I was an award-winning senior reporter at Goldthread, a video-centric travel and culture imprint of the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. My work has taken me through 23 provinces in China. Before that, I worked a short stint as a volcano hiking guide in Central America. In 2015, my VICE piece on working conditions in a rum factory led to an industry-wide boycott of the company, which sparked major systematic changes to the sugarcane industry in Nicaragua.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, I now reside in Taipei with my family.
About Made In Taiwan
Taipei-based food journalist Clarissa Wei presents Made in Taiwan, a cookbook that celebrates the island nation’s unique culinary identity—despite a refusal by the Chinese government to recognize its sovereignty. The expansive book contains deeply researched essays and more than 100 recipes inspired by the people who live in Taiwan today.
For generations, Taiwanese cuisine has been miscategorized under the broad umbrella term of Chinese food. Backed with historical evidence and interviews, Wei makes a case for why Taiwanese food should get its own spotlight. Made in Taiwan includes classics like Peddler Noodles, Braised Minced Pork Belly, and Three-Cup Chicken, and features authentic, never-before-seen recipes and techniques like how to make stinky tofu from scratch and broth tips from an award-winning beef noodle soup master.
Made in Taiwan is an earnest reflection of what the food is like in modern-day Taiwan from the perspective of the people who have lived there for generations. It is the story of a proud nation—a self-sufficient collective of people who continue to forge on despite unprecedented ambiguity.