Layers of Flavor: Exploring Indonesian & Southeast Asian Spice Pastes
Local cookbook author Patricia Tanumihardja will discuss Southeast
Asian spice pastes (with a focus on Indonesian bumbu), their
ingredients, techniques and history.
Pat will bring fresh and dried herbs and spices for a
"see, smell, and taste" session and also demonstrate
how to make a spice paste with a mortar and pestle.
Using a mortar and pestle, she will demonstrate how
to make a spice paste from her cookbook "Mortar and
Pestle--Classic Indonesian Recipes for the Modern Kitchen."
Related LibGuide: Cultural Heritage of Fairfax County Residents by Fairfax County Public Library (Admin)
- Date:
- Saturday, May 23, 2026
- Time:
- 2:00pm - 3:30pm
- Location:
- Dolley Madison Meeting Room 1, Dolley Madison Meeting Room 2
- Library Branch:
- Dolley Madison Library
- Categories:
- Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Author Event Make/Create > Cooking
- Audience:
Pat Tanumihardja is a cookbook author and storyteller whose work explores diaspora, identity, and belonging through food. Born in Jakarta, raised in Singapore, and now based in the United States, she shares recipes and stories that connect memory, culture, and home. 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, co-written 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: @Pat.Tanumihardja and online: ediblewords.com.
To request reasonable ADA accommodations or alternative format of materials, please call 703-324-8380 or TTY 711.
