Beyond Boba: Taiwan’s Culinary Culture In A Global Context

We are what we eat, and the cuisines that define us reflect rich and complex histories, identities, and narratives. Taiwan is no different, and its unique culinary identity encompasses decades of cultural and social influences from Indigenous groups, China, Japan, the United States, Southeast Asia, and much more.

Join us for a lively book talk and guided food tasting with author and reporter Clarissa Wei, influential food writer Tzu-i Chuang Mullinax, and cultural scholar Eileen Chengyin Chow, that explore Taiwan’s culinary transformation and how it reflects broader themes of resilience, adaptation, and cultural blending. Central to the conversation will be Clarissa Wei’s recently published book, , which was a 2024 James Beard Award Nominee for Best International Cookbook, winner of the 2024 IACP Julia Child First Book Award, and named a Best Cookbook of 2023 by The New York Times, among numerous other outlets. This cookbook goes beyond recipes, offering a deep dive into the historical and cultural evolution of Taiwanese cuisine. Drawing on historical research and personal stories, Made in Taiwan reflects on how food serves as a dynamic expression of identity in Taiwan’s complex history. Following the book discussion, we will host an informal food tasting of a handful of classic Taiwanese foods and snacks in partnership with local Taiwanese eateries and food venues.

Whether you're passionate about food, history, or Taiwan studies, this talk will be a delicious and scholarly look at the flavors that define Taiwan.

About the Speakers

Tzu-i Chuang Mullinax is a Taiwanese American chef and food writer currently based in Washington DC. Having spent the past two decades living across various locations in the US, Taiwan, China, and Indonesia, she is driven to explore similarities and differences across culinary cultures and build bridges to understanding between the English and Chinese-speaking food worlds. She is the author of Anthropologist in the Kitchen (廚房裡的人類學家), a genre-defining food memoir, and several best-selling cookbooks. Her YouTube channel features videos of Western-style cooking presented in Chinese, and Chinese-style cooking presented in English. She is also the host of the award-winning documentary mini-series: The Melting Wok - Chinese Foods American Dream.

Eileen Chengyin Chow is Associate Professor of the Practice in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Director of Graduate Studies in EAS, and also currently Acting Director of the Asian/Pacific Studies Institute at Duke University. Additionally at Duke, Eileen is a founding/core faculty member in the Asian American Diaspora Studies Program, the first such program in the U.S. South; and is the founding director of Duke Story Lab, a humanities lab dedicated to the study of stories and the communities that coalesce around them. Elsewhere, she is Director of the Shewo Institute of Chinese Journalism at Shih Hsin University in Taipei, Taiwan, and serves on the editorial boards of Biographical Literature, the LA Review of Books, Asia Society’s China Books Review, and Third State Books; and with Carlos Rojas, is co-editor of the Sinotheory book series for Duke UP. Eileen’s teaching and research interests include literature, film and visual studies, popular culture (anime/manga, fandoms, media technologies), diaspora studies, and the histories of Chinatowns around the world.

Clarissa Wei is a journalist and cookbook author. Her debut cookbook, Made In Taiwan, is a celebration of the island nation she calls home. It was a finalist for the 2024 James Beard Award for Best International Cookbook and the IACP Julia Child First Book Award. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the New Yorker, and Foreign Policy, among other places. Previously, she was an award-winning senior reporter at Goldthread, a video-centric imprint of the South China Morning Post. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she currently lives in the hills of Taipei with her husband and toddler. Her second cookbook, Sitting The Month, is about postpartum recovery and will be published by Norton in 2026.

Host or Publisher George Washington University's Taiwan Education and Research Program