THE FOOD PROGRAMME'S BEST BOOKS OF 2023 - RADIO 4 CHOSEN BY POPPY O'TOOLE
Sumptuous Asian cooking has never been simpler
Join Verna Gao of @vernahungrybanana as she shares more than 70 of her all-time favourite Asian-inspired recipes. Whether you're craving 10-minute creamy peanut noodles that bring simplicity and peace, soothing congee for comfort or exquisitely plump dumplings perfect for joyful potluck parties, discover dishes to satisfy every mood and occasion.
More than just a compendium of recipes, this is a personal journey back in time, through words, memories, and photographs, to the people and places that inspired these dishes - from memories of a Shanghai childhood spent with mum and grandma in the kitchen, to impromptu "real Chinese" cooking lessons with university friends, and backpacking round the street food hotspots of East Asia.
Super fresh, vegan-adaptable, and full of punchy flavours, Verna's unfussy recipes are all easy to make and delectable to eat.
Have You Eaten? by Verna Gao (Hardback)
Verna Gao was born in Shanghai in the 1990s and moved to London in 2003 to live with her dad and stepmom after her parents’ divorce. Emotionally vulnerable and speaking very little English, Verna used cooking as a means of staying connected to her Chinese heritage and bonding with her father, who became the increasingly enthusiastic recipient of her culinary creativity. After leading an impromptu crash course in college to teach 14 friends how to cook “real Chinese food” and a stint traveling all over East Asia collecting recipes and expanding her foodie horizons, lockdown gave Verna the opportunity to share her cooking with the world. In two years, @vernahungrybanana has become the UK’s go-to platform for Asian food inspiration, with 209k Instagram and 216.6k TikTok followers.