Area(s) of Expertise:
Running a Chinese Cuisine Cooking School, Instructing on Classic and Contemporary Sushi, Author of the Cookbook, "The Art of The Chinese Cookery", Multilingual (Chinese, Japanese, English, and Taiwanese)

News Brief:
Joan Shih
Shih maintained her connection to her homeland by cooking the dishes that reminded her of her family and heritage.

Washington Post
By Candy Sagon
Thursday, November 22, 2007; Page W34

MORE THAN 50 YEARS AFTER LEAVING TAIWAN, IT'S THE CHOPPING SHIH REMEMBERS. The many cleavers, rat-a-tatting on the cutting blocks, as meat and vegetables were being prepared for the huge Chinese New Year's banquet her family was planning. The noise, Shih says, would keep the children awake at night.

Shih was raised in Rukuan, the ancient capital of Taiwan during the Ch'ing Dynasty, where her parents had an imposing home, including a large gourmet kitchen with a custom-built brick oven and four huge woks. For the all-important New Year's celebration, her family would hire a chef and a team of helpers to prepare the food. Shih, fascinated, would watch as they carved vegetables and fruits into elaborate flowers and animals. "The chef's team would call me 'little doll' and give me samples to taste," she remembers.