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Literary Bites & Insights: Patricia Tanumihardja
Local cookbook author and Asian food expert Pat Tanumihardja will be in conversation with librarian Irene Girgente about her fifth cookbook “Mortar and Pestle—Classic Indonesian Recipes for the Modern Kitchen.” Pat will share behind-the-scenes stories of publishing her book with her mother, Julia, and discuss this lesser-known (in the U.S.) Southeast Asian cuisine. Pat will also demonstrate how to make “Gado Gado,” a simple Indonesian vegetable dish with peanut sauce, using her mortar and pestle. Bring questions. Pat will answer them as best as she can!
About the book:
Mother/daughter team, Juliana and Pat, indulge readers with their vibrant collection of 80 delicious recipes and their intimate knowledge of Indonesian cuisine. The accessible recipes in the Mortar and Pestle encompass popular dishes that appeal to both native Indonesians and those new to the cuisine, all of which can be easily replicated by home cooks using easily accessed ingredients available. Old family photographs and cozy, family narratives bring the reader into the authors' home and allow them to travel vicariously through food. Written with the distinct sensibility of an Indonesian who was born and grew up in Indonesia (Julia) and her daughter who was raised in the culture and taught to cook from a young age (Pat), this comprehensive cookbook is lighthearted and punctuated with practical, how-to instruction. Mortar and Pestle proves Indonesian food can be prepared in any kitchen, anywhere in the world.
About Pat:
Decades of cooking and writing have honed Patricia (Pat) Tanumihardja’s craft as a longtime food writer and cookbook author. Pat has always wanted to eat good food and write about it. And now, with bylines in the Washington Post, Serious Eats, Bon Appetit, edibleSeattle, and more, she’s living the dream. In addition to her latest “Mortar and Pestle--Classic Indonesian Recipes for the Modern Kitchen,” written together with her mother, Julia, Pat has four other pan-Asian cookbooks including The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook and Instant Pot Asian Pressure Cooker Meals: Fast, Fresh & Affordable. A third-culture kid, Pat was born in Jakarta to Chinese Indonesian parents and raised in Singapore. Today, she lives in Springfield, VA with her husband and son. Find her on Instagram: @Pickles.and.Tea and online: ediblewords.com.
- Date:
- Saturday, March 15, 2025
- Time:
- 2:00pm - 3:30pm
- Location:
- Dolley Madison Meeting Room 1, Dolley Madison Meeting Room 2
- Library Branch:
- Dolley Madison Library
- Categories:
- Author Event Book Discussion Make/Create > Cooking Women's History
- Audience:
- Adults Older Adults