A Tiger in the Kitchen-Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan

A Tiger in the Kitchen

This is my presentation of Chinese American Literature, when Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, the author of A Tiger in the Kitchen, came to our school yesterday(May 11th 2018), I was really appreciate that I had the chance to share some of my thoughts about this book(mainly from chapter 10 to chapter 14). I 'd like to share my presentation here at JianShu, and also hope to remember this wonderful experience by recording it.(You can go through it as a book review~) By the way, I highly recommend this book for you.

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Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan

        Actually, it wasn’t until I read this book, that I really understand the saying “Bread is the staff of life”. Food is the first priority, that’s true, not only because we need food to satisfy our hunger, but also because food contains wonderful wisdom and philosophy of life, what’s more, establishes and strengthens the bonds between people. 

        For example, I was really impressed by a sentence in p.104, which evoked the memory of my own mother. The sentence is “Suddenly, motherhood seemed like a very noble calling, one far nobler than anything I’d ever endeavored.” This sentence comes from the story that the author and Auntie Khar Imm cooked salted vegetable and duck soup together for a weekday family dinner. When I pictured a woman who repeats the cooking routine or babysits those naughty children day after day in my mind, it suddenly reminded me of my mother, who took care of me when I was in high school. She was used to getting up at half-past five o’clock early in the morning to prepare the breakfast, usually the noodle, which has crimson chili oil and fried mushrooms in it. I was totally obsessed with that. Then she cooked the lunch at as early as ten o’clock, and the dinner at five o’clock. What’s more, she had to spend the rest of time on other housework. Day in and day out, she kept doing those work without a complaint. But what the support of her and other housewives? Is that just because of motherhood, or she is the hostess of this family? I have never thought about this question before. The moment I ran into this sentence, I understand. Motherhood is not just related to responsibility or devotion. It’s tangible instead of abstract. It can be seen in every steaming delicacy and every corner of the house. And I couldn’t agree that “motherhood is the noblest calling” more.

Suddenly, motherhood seemed like a very noble calling, one far nobler than anything I’d ever endeavored.

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        And the second part I want to share is chapter 10, which told a story of the author’s maternal grandmother. She was married for fear of those Japanese soldiers during World War II. However, it got to be unexpected that her husband had already married in China. The life was hard for grandmother after another wife and their children were received to Singapore, and it was much harder after grandfather passed away. In p.147, Auntie Alice said that “People need to have ups and downs” “It’s only if you have downs that you’ll get to have the ups.” That’s quite true, and I think that may be exactly what the author’s maternal grandmother thought. I think the real reason why grandmother finally made it through is not the words of grandfather’s soul, which predicted that Ah-Ma’s life ahead “will only become better and better”, it’s Ah-Ma’s noble character that made her a great tough woman. When she told the author and Auntie Alice her stories and came across some unpleasant experiences, as the author said, she tended to be a “liar” instead of complaining. I think this kind of quality is really admirable.

People need to have ups and downs. It’s only if you have downs that you’ll get to have the ups.

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        It seems that an excellent cook at the same time is also a great philosopher. The cooks really understand that the flavor of sour, sweet, bitter and spicy serve to support each other and make each other brilliant. Just like life. Only if you have downs that you’ll get ups, only if you see ugliness that you’ll see beauties. We need contrast to find the bright side of life. So just be easy,everything will be fine if you try to sort it out with attempt and patience. And I was really touched by some impressive sentences, for instance, in p.149, “sometimes it’s important to nail the basic as well as the fancy-a lesson whose importance extends far beyond any kitchen”. And in p.164, “The fact that something is easy to make doesn’t mean it isn’t good.” And there are still many sentences that really make sense.

Sometimes it’s important to nail the basic as well as the fancy-a lesson whose importance extends far beyond any kitchen.

The fact that something is easy to make doesn’t mean it isn’t good.

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        Then how does food establish and strengthen the bonds between people? We can see it from those heart-warming stories in this book. For example, Tanglin ah-ma once had taken in an ailing Indonesian cook generously, and she got the recipe of mee siam and otahin return; the author’s mother taught her to make the sweet green bean soup; and Aisah, who said that she never knew some of her mother’s kitchen tales, got to know her mother better because of a chance to cook together...

        This book does teach me a lesson that foodies so wondrous and marvelous that contains wisdom and philosophy of life and establishes and strengthens the bonds between people. I have learned to make dumplings from my grandmother during the last winter vacation, and I will learn more wonderful recipes from her. It’s my desire, and also my responsibility.