Food is bound to come across your feed no matter what part of the internet you live in. Whether it’s a picture, YouTube video, TikTok, or Reel, food content is one of the few things we try out in real life. But why not take a step further into a different medium?
As a novice home-cook, I ended up needing something more tangible than just my phone balancing between my toaster and the cutting board. And so, answering that aforementioned question above opened up a whole world of works and pieces that married my love for reading and cooking but beyond what the recipe calls for. In honor of Women’s History Month, here’s my current recommendation list that expanded my soul as well as my pantry.
Crying in H-Mart by Michelle Zauner
Musician and author Michelle Zauner illustrates the trials and tribulations of a Korean American following the death of her mother. Her emotional and touching recounts are centered around growing up in a predominantly white neighborhood, fond memories spent with her mom in Seoul, and the treasured moments Zauner and her mom spent eating plates of traditional Korean food. Her bond with food drastically changed after her mom’s passing and each chapter is a snippet of her journey to reclaim it with vivid descriptions like crispy samgyupsal, spicy jjamppong noodles, and chewy yet soft tteokbokki. Her story shows how food is a language of love that prevails in us and others through every stage of life. It’s an emotional read, but very, very much needed on your bookshelf.
Mango and Peppercorns: A Memoir of Food, an Unlikely Family, and the American Dream by Tung Nguyen, Lyn Nguyen, Katherine Manning, Elisa Ung
Following the 1975 Fall of Saigon, pregnant refugee and talented cook Tung Nguyen ends up in Miami and crosses paths with Kathy Manning, a graduate student and waitress housing Vietnamese refugees in her home. This is the story behind the world-acclaimed and award-winning Hy-Vong Vietnamese restaurant in Miami. The strangers-to-family relationship between Nguyen and Manning is symbolized through the restaurant's signature mango and peppercorn sauce. Their unlikely friendship and partnership are a testament to intergenerational solidarity and how women draw strength from one another hold through hardship, motherhood, and success. Nguyen and Manning’s story is an inventive memoir and cookbook, featuring 20 complementary recipes like Pumpkin Soup (Bí Đo) with Fried Shallots or Steamed Flan with Ginger.
For the Culture: Phenomenal Black Women and Femmes in Food by Klancy Miller
Chef and writer Klancy Miller shares a riveting anthology of stories from Black women and femmes making strides in today’s food and hospitality field. Their impressive and personal collective profiles are an homage to the valuable insights, motivations, and wisdom they impart to the next generation of chefs, restauranteurs, food stylists, mixologists, influencers, historians, and more. Miller uses their stories to document multiple history-makers and to provide additional context in how their stories affected her culinary journey. Exploring behind the scenes of our modern-day culinary, agricultural, and entrepreneurial systems couldn’t be more intriguing and engaging with her use of recipes, original illustrated portraits, and stylistic food photography that uniquely speaks to the multitudes of their life’s work.
Fatty Fatty Boom Boom: A Memoir of Food, Fat, and Family by Rabia Chaudry
In this warm and intimate memoir about Rabia Chaudry’s upbringing as a Pakistani immigrant in America, Fatty, Fatty, Boom, Boom explores the intersections of food, family, and body image. Her story follows how her love for food evolved even as the cruel and incessant comments on her body by uncles, aunts, cousins, and others played in the background. Even more so, Chaudry dissects the specific pivot that made her appreciate traditional Pakistani dishes as a whole and dive into the colorful and rich tastings of fresh roti, chaat, chicken biryani, ghee, shorba, and much more. The creative and vivid imagery of her Muslim family life and food provides an innovative commentary on the politics of women’s bodies and relates to the struggles of combating ridiculous standards. Another favorite of mine as she relates to home-cook connecting with her roots existing in all of us.
Longthroat Memoirs: Soups, Sex, and Nigerian Taste Buds by Yemisi Aribisala
This memoir is a love letter to the undiscovered stories behind Nigerian food. In this collection of descriptive and thought-provoking essays, Yemisi Aribsala ventures into the multitudes of Nigerian cuisine. Stories range from the cuisine’s historical origins of classic folktales, soup, and eating dog food to personal anecdotes that feature flavorful dishes like jollof rice, akara fritters, and peppered puff-puff. Her ode to Nigerian food examines how peculiar yet exciting feats like how soup can be sensual or how each dish must be meticulously layered with different textures to achieve the perfect bite. Her prose and storytelling are memorable and read almost like poetry from the introduction down to when you should boil your king prawns.