First Generation | Cookbook Club

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We are in a bit of a golden age for English-language Taiwanese cookbooks, and I am loving it. After collecting quite a few of these cookbooks, I decided to start the  Taiwanese American Cookbook Club as an interactive way of celebrating and exploring all of these wonderful books and their recipes. It’s a special potluck series wherein all attendees make and bring a dish from the featured cookbook. 

July’s cookbook club featured First Generation: Recipes from My Taiwanese-American Home by Frankie Gaw. Fitting for our Palo Alto setting for this gathering, Frankie used to work at a big tech company here as a product designer, before he pivoted into recipe writing and internet stardom via his love of food. His cookbook features personal stories and takes on Taiwanese American recipes, and Frankie continues to provide very funny and unique takes on Asian American mashups in food  as @littlefatboyfrankie on TikTok and instagram.

Frankie grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, as did I. So I felt like I should choose his Cincinnati Chili with Flour Noodles for my cookbook club recipe.

Cincinnati style chili is rather polarizing, as unlike most styles of American chili it’s more sauce-y than chunky. It’s typically served over spaghetti or a hot dog (a coney). Frankie’s take serves it over Taiwanese-style flat noodles but still includes special ingredient: unsweetened chocolate. I also went ahead and added edamame too. 

Alex made the Coca-Cola and Soy-Glazed Baby Back Ribs. Pretty straightforward, and tasty too, if a bit on the sweet side.

Huge thank you to Olivia for hosting us in her beautiful back yard for this gathering! She had the perfect space for al fresco dining on this beautiful day. Here’s the full spread!

Olivia also provided a full boba station, featuring her brand Twrl Milk Tea. You can find their cans of plant-based milk tea and their new popping boba packs in various grocery stores nationwide!

I made the Cincinnati Chili with Flour Noodles; Alex made Coca-Cola and Soy-Glazed Baby Back Ribs; Amy made Roasted Salmon with Soy Orange Glaze.

Olivia made Chicken with Scallion and Soy Sauce; Leslie made Roasted Carrots with Rosemary, Garlic, and Black Vinegar; and she made Braised Peanuts.

David made Lu Rou Fan; Patricia made Cold Ramen Noodle Salad with Ginger and Garlic Peanut Sauce; and Alex W made Pork Bone Broth.

John made Fried Rice with Spam; Raya made Stir Fried Rice Cakes; Caroline and Saimon made Chicken, Fennel, and Apple Guo-Tie.

Jayne made Milk Tea Rice Crispy Treats; Cassindy made Shaved Strawberry Ice with various toppings (more on that soon); and finally, a variety platter of everything above!

We also got to dial in Frankie via Facetime, as he was in Seattle, attending a cookbook event with his friends for someone else’s cookbook, haha.

Thanks for stopping by virtually, Frankie!

Then towards the end, Cassindy showed up with beautiful jade lilies / yulanhua. Such a distinctive fragrance that instantly transports us to Taiwan! She also brought her industrial-sized shaved ice machine and treated us all to dessert, including shaving frozen strawberries direclty into the ice, a la Frankie.

Very very lovely. Thank you to Olivia for hosting, Frankie for your very fun cookbook, and the whole group for your delicious food and wonderful company! Let’s do it again soon.

Message me directly if you’re interested in joining a future  Taiwanese American Cookbook Club.

Anna Wu is a wedding and portrait photographer based in San Francisco. She compulsively documents and blogs all of her daily adventures. Follow her on instagram and view more of her professional work at annawu.com.


Taiwanese American Cookbook Club

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