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Jen Lin-Liu 林留清怡

@jenlinliu

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Author, cook, mom | off-the-beaten path adventures in food & travel | Chinese 🇺🇸 in 🇨🇳 | New 📕 April 2027: The Formidable Mrs. Chao @buweiyangchao

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Welcome to Wonky China. We are a group of professionals with an interest in China who meet every month at Chang Chang restaurant in Washington DC for dynamic conversation and themed cocktails. We welcome all nationalities and all levels of China experience. Come to mentor or be mentored!

Join our mailing list in the bio link.

#China #WashingtonDC #ForeignPolicy #USChinaRelations #DCEvents

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Our latest happy hour at Chang Chang Restaurant in DC: yesterday, April 15, with Joseph Torigian, author of The Party’s Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping.

Xi Jinping’s father was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution and struggled to balance his own feelings with the party’s demands as he served the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for more than seven decades. And now his son governs over China.

In his book, Torigian reveals the extraordinary organizational, ideological, and coercive power of the CCP through the father of China’s current leader.

Joseph is senior fellow for Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and associate professor at American University’s School of International Service.

Our next happy hour will be Tuesday, May 19 at Chang Chang with Wendy Cutler, Vice President of the Asia Society Policy Institute. RSVPs required by joining our mailing list. (See link in bio.)

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We're spotlighting some incredible, history-making chefs to celebrate Women's History Month! Chef Buwein Yang Chao (1889 –1981) is celebrated for bringing Chinese food as we know it to the West. Her groundbreaking cookbook “How to Cook and Eat in Chinese" brought Chinese cuisine to English speakers without Westerninzing Chinese cooking. She's famous for coining terms like "stir-fry" and "potstickers", techniques and dishes we still love today.⁠
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Photo courtesy of Chao Family Archives.⁠
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#chefsroll #rollwithus #womenshistorymonth @jenlinliu @buweiyangchao

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“Stir-Fried Chicken with Mushrooms”

This was likely the first mention and use of the word “stir-fry” ever in a newspaper. It appeared in a 1945 edition of the Boston Globe, in a piece that highlighted the publication of my cookbook, How to Cook and Eat in Chinese, published that same year.

Together with my husband, the linguist Yuenren Chao, I invented the word “stir-fry.”

In my cookbook, I explained the term “stir-fry” as one of the essential methods of Chinese cooking. Americans were not familiar with this method until after I introduced it. Until then, American food was baked, boiled, poached, sautéed, among other styles, but not “stir-fried.”

Today, “stir-fry” is synonymous with Chinese cooking and also a part of the American cooking tradition. #chinesecooking #stirfry #buweiyangchao #howtocookandeatinchinese #chickenandmushroom

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I am Buwei Yang Chao. It’s quite possible you’ve never heard of me. Many decades ago, though, plenty of Americans, knew about me.

Now @jenlinliu is writing a biography about me so perhaps the world will rediscover me, the inventor of the word “stir-fry” and the author of the first authentic Chinese cookbook in America.

As I wrote in How to Cook and Eat in Chinese:

“You tell the waiter to tell the cook not to use so much grease and the cook tells the waiter to tell the customer, Who are you to tell me how to cook? And I had dared to say I am Mrs. Chao, he probably would have said, Who is Mrs. Chao?”

My cookbook, How to Cook and Eat in Chinese, sold more than 100,000 copies. It went through eight editions and twenty-two printings. My last editor, Jason Epstein at Random House, called the book “one of the oddest yet most delightful” books he published in his long career. (And he published books by famous people like @alicelouisewaters @wolfgangpuck Philip Roth, and Vladimir Nabokov.)

How to Cook and Eat in Chinese is still one of the best selling Chinese cookbooks of all time. My cookbook also coined “pot-sticker.”

Families all over the United States — and the United Kingdom — first learned how to cook and eat authentic Chinese food from me, the author known as Buwei Yang Chao.

#buweiyangchao #cookbookauthor #stirfry #potsticker #chineseamerican #aapihistory #chinesecooking #howtocookandeatinchinese #chefsofig #potstickers

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Following one long noodle strand of a story.
Current book club read!

#books #bookstagram #bookclub #currentlyreading #bookclubofinstagram #booklover #foodbook #travel #noodles #onthenoodleroad #jenlinliu

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Summer Nostalgia Bake Sale is going on right now!!! JUST 2 WEEKS LEFT TO ORDER YOUR BOX!!! We are very proud to partner with @sashabruceyouth to raise $10,000 for their missions to end youth homelessness. All proceeds support young people in crisis through housing, education, and wraparound care.

🍪 less than 70 boxes left
📍 Pickup July 27th 12-2pm @thehamiltondc
🎯 Goal: To raise over $10,000 to support vulnerable youth

Order now @ www.cookiekindnessproject.org/purchase (link in bio)

Because every cookie is a catalyst for change!

#cookiekindnessproject #endyouthhomelessness #supportyouth #socialimpact #fundraiser #sashabruceyouthwork

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Which is your go-to comfort food?

For me - it’s noodles!!🍜

Give me that bowl of slippery, slurpy, sizzling strands dipped in a creamy broth any day 😋

But do you know where they originated and how they became so popular?

Who invented the first instant noodle dish?

And why do we love noodles so much?

All of that on our latest episode of #thefoodchain #bbcworldservice

With the fantastic team of @beatricepickup and @isobelgreenfield

Contributors
Varun Oberoi , VP-Nissin India @jenlinliu, author, Frank @5amramen , Japan chef @giannigiap, India chef Nauang Dorjee who prepared a delicious dish of Thentuk for me in Delhi!

All here 🩷#foodchain

Link in Bio 🤩

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Throwback to when Portia was joined by @jenlinliu, a food writer, journalist, and restaurateur, for a fascinating conversation about the deeper meaning of food—beyond what’s on our plates.

Jen shares how cuisine is more than just nourishment; it’s a reflection of history, culture, and identity. Through her experiences as both a writer and entrepreneur, she explores the power of storytelling in the food industry and how women have long played a crucial yet often overlooked role in shaping culinary traditions. We also dive into how food connects people across borders and generations, serving as both a unifier and a means of cultural exploration.

Whether you’re passionate about food, curious about the intersection of cuisine and social change, or simply love a good story, this episode is one you won’t want to miss!

Tune in now and discover the stories behind the meals we share. 🎧✨ Comment LISTEN and we’ll DM you the 🔗

#cuisines #writergram #journalist #podcastclip #podcasts

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An incredible achievement for our holiday sale to sell out in a week and EXCEED our fundraising goal!!! So happy to support @awidercircle this year and the incredible work they do to support local families.

Shout out to @nevinmartell and @shakinbaker219 for hosting @lacollina_dc we couldn’t have done this without you.

Thank you to all the bakers who made extra delicious treats for this exclusive cookie selection!

Definitely a great big thank you to all those who purchased boxes in support, we hope you enjoy your cookies and we will see you next year!

📸 @pastrychefdru

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It’s the cookiest day of the year!

Yesterday was the seventh annual cookie exchange for pastry chefs, bakers, food writers, influencers, and other assorted sweet souls, which I co-organized with the ever-amazing @shakinbaker219 @lacollina_dc. Truly one of my favorite days of the year. Great people, great cookies, great vibes.

Simultaneously, we hosted a cookie box fundraiser through @cookiekindnessproject, which raised money for @awidercircle. Thanks to everyone who donated cookies and to everyone who bought a box.

Note: I ran out of tags, so I’m sorry I couldn’t acknowledge everyone who participated.

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I look forward to this event every year, not just for the delicious cookies but to see all the amazing talented bakers who come out to support each other, catch up, and bake cookies for great causes with @cookiekindnessproject Thank you to everyone who made this such a special day! Happy Holidays!!

Shoutout to @lacollina_dc for allowing us to use the space. To Jasmine for volunteering at the event. And to Colleen from @awidercircle for sharing with us about their cause and helping to facilitate the cookie sale!

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