A-Gong's Table: Vegan Recipes from a Taiwanese Home is a tender and powerful cookbook that explores Taiwanese foodways through plant-based recipes, personal essays, and evocative photography by Laurent Hsia. Written by George Lee (Chez Jorge) in memory of his grandfather, whose round wooden table—and the meals that happened there—anchored George's childhood.

The author is in Taiwan and is not available to attend any book events until later this year. In lieu of hosting him at our brick and mortar shop, we've worked with Ten Speed Press to get a limited quantity of signed copies. Available exclusively at Yun Hai.

George's personal reflections on family—and how their culinary practices changed after A-Gong passed—accompany insights into plant-based gastronomy in Taiwan, which is historically rooted in Buddhist values. The book contains over ninety vegan recipes and many insights into plant-based eating in Taiwan, from the proper way to prepare dried Lion's Mane Mushrooms to a description of the Tatung Electric Steamer as a kitchen fundamental.

Cookbook Pantry Bundle

To help you cook through this book, we're offering a discounted bundle featuring two pantry items George mentions in the text.

Bundle contents:

• A-Gong's Table by George Lee
• Dried Lion's Mane Mushrooms, commonly used in Taiwanese Buddhist cooking and featured in many of George's recipes
• Wu Yin Taiwanese Black Vinegar, made from sprouted wheatgrass, glutinous rice, plum, pomelo, and lemon. George lists Wu Yin in the book as a preferred brand

What's Inside the Book

This book contains over 90 vegan recipes, from the simple han-tsî-bê (Sweet Potato Congee) to the complex jūn-piánn (Popiah Rolls). The selection reflects not only the homestyle flavors of George's family, but also the greater migration patterns, colonial histories, and generational traditions that have shaped contemporary Taiwan.

George also highlights fundamental ingredients, techniques, and cultural practices, such as the importance of MSG to Taiwanese Buddhist cooking, the energy principles of Chinese medicinal cooking, and the rules surrounding the preparation of New Year rice cake. At the same time, the recipes are approachable, practicable, and easy-to-follow.

Across the pages, Laurent's film photography visually bridges written memory and historical account with the rhythms of everyday Taiwanese life. All food photography was shot at a traditional three-sided courtyard house, leant to George by our friends 雙口呂 Siang kháu Lū.

From the Publisher

George Lee grew up with his A-Gong (grandfather) in the quiet refuge of Tamsui, Taiwan. He took part in the myriad Taiwanese food traditions his A-Gong nurtured, until he was seventeen, when his A-Gong passed. In observation of the death, he and his family undertook a set of Buddhist funeral customs and abstained from eating meat. For a hundred days, they ate at the monastery and the nuns there taught him to cook.

Years later, he revisited the lessons and pieced them into the story of his family’s cooking. Some recipes he shares here are directly from childhood: Han-tsî-bê, an everyday breakfast congee floating with fist-size chunks of golden sweet potatoes, and the quintessential preserve Tshài-póo, crunchy strips of sun-dried daikon radish that salt in the air for a few days in January. Others tread the boundaries between old and new, such as Sòo-lóo-pn̄g, a meatless rendition of the hand-cut pork bits his mom braised in soy sauce and ladled over rice.

While writing this book, George wandered all over Taiwan with his friend Laurent Hsia, who took photos along the way. Together, they sought out the foods and places tied to their memories growing up. Like the grandpa who slung a bag of apples along the zebra crossing to exit the morning market, or the old couple on the bus in black and white, sitting side by side and peering forward, the two found themselves . . . always afoot, traveling. A-Gong’s Table follows the rhythm of their footsteps: a pulse that takes you quietly through the book and through Taiwan, from morning to night.

About the Author

George Lee is a cook and writer based in Taipei and raised in Tamsui, Taiwan. He shares his food and stories on his blog Chez Jorge.

About the Publisher

Known for creating illustrated books with beautiful, innovative design and award-winning content, Ten Speed Press actively seeks out new and established authors who are authorities and tastemakers in the world of food, drink, design, reference, and humor.

Specifications and Dimensions

ISBN: 9781984861276
Publish Date: April 30, 2024
Publisher: Ten Speed Press

272 pages, Softcover
by George Lee

Dimensions: 10” L x 7.5” W x 0.7” H
Weight: 2 lbs