A most unlikely cook

Tzu-i Chuang's book of recipes Simple, Sumptuous, Sublime, showcases 84 dishes from different cuisines. [Photo provided to China Daily]

In her books, Chuang supports organic farming, eating local seasonal food and reducing waste.

"It is not very good that young people do not know how to cook at home," she says. "We need to go back to the kitchen."

Chuang has been posting videos on how to cook on YouTube since 2013. And her videos have received tens of thousands of views, besides gaining her nearly 60,000 followers.

As for fans, a young reader says at the event: "I learned to cook a lot of dishes by watching your videos.

"I hope to see more videos from you because they are a really convenient way to learn cooking."

Chuang, who has spent the past few years in Boston, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Washington and Jakarta with her husband Jim Mullinax, a US diplomat, says that through cooking people can forge closer bonds with family and friends.

"Everywhere I went, even if we were just spending a year or two there, I decorated our house to make it homely. And made a lot of friends."

Chuang says that when inviting friends home to eat, it is better to increase the quantity of each dish than to cook many dishes.

"So you can have the time to dress yourself, put on make-up and chat with friends. This is a more elegant way to live."

Chuang left Jakarta in June and is set to move to Chengdu, in Sichuan province, in August, where she hopes to discover new things about food.

Contact the writer at xingyi@chinadaily.com.cn

Zhou Yifan contributed to the story.