Book Talk: The Buried Archive of Cantonese American Cooking
Winner of the Non-Fiction category at the First Hong Kong Independent Bookstore Recommendation Awards
Limited Seating | Limited Books Available for Purchase
Event Language: English
Book Language: Traditional Chinese
Author: Kristie Chow
Moderator: James Sun
About the Book
The Buried Archive of Cantonese American Cooking is a groundbreaking two-volume publication consisting of a main book and a companion volume, Zhao Zaohua's Cantonese Recipes.
The project originates from a collection of handwritten Cantonese recipes discovered in New York. Through literary reportage, the main volume traces an investigation that reconstructs the life of Cantonese immigrant chef Zhao Zaohua, mapping Chinese restaurant lineages, Chinese American community life, and the 150-year evolution of Chinese American cuisine.
The companion volume reproduces Zhao's handwritten recipes in facsimile, allowing readers to encounter the archive page by page.
About the Author
Kristie Chow (徐子君) is a creative producer and public historian exploring Chinese food in America as a lens into migration, memory, and identity. She is the author of 《沉埋的粵菜檔案》(The Buried Archive of Cantonese American Cooking) and the creator of The American Chinese Food Show on YouTube. She is currently developing a documentary series on historic Chinese restaurants in California. Her most recent short film, Chicago Cafe, has been selected by several film festivals.
About the Moderator
James Sun is a Ph.D. student in Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley, where they primarily research rice: how Asian rice came to the U.S. and the communities that formed around growing and eating rice. James also researches Asian Americans in the Federal Writers' Project and was invited to present on the topic by the Library of Congress and many conferences after publishing two book chapters.
After graduating from Yale University with dual degrees in Statistics and Global Affairs, James taught on a Fulbright Fellowship in South Korea and worked at an environmental nonprofit before their Ph.D. They are excited to combine their environmental work and statistical analysis skills with their interest in Asian American and Asian history.