A Tiger in the Kitchen

I have never heard of the book, A Tiger in the Kitchen, before and when someone like the ex-editor of POSKOD recommended that I read the book, I know I just had to get it and quickly devour the pages. I have yet to devour it till the last page, I am only halfway through. Reading the book is a torture however. On my stomach, that is. The way the author, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, describes the dishes both her grandmothers and aunties cooked, makes my tummy rumble each time I flip the pages. I can almost smell and taste the food she writes about. A memoir of her quest on learning to cook the food she grew up with and reconnecting with her Singapore heritage, it is a story every homesick Singaporean should read. The quote in the book by Calvin Trillin on Singaporeans cannot be truer: 'Culinarily, they are among the most homesick people I have ever met.' Even Cheryl herself admits, 'When it comes to Singapore, I miss the food first, and then my family.' That just about hits the nail on the head and partly the reason why I wrote I am what I cook.

Now, some might think I got my inspiration for the article from this book. I wish I could say I did because the article would be far more polished than the current one, given that the book is written by an established writer. The accusation, if any, is not unwelcome though, flattering even. For I can see the similarities: the unwillingness to enter the kitchen at a young age, the rebellious streak, living overseas and suffering from homesickness while developing a yearning to define who we are by learning to cook our childhood food and the cuisine from the country where we are based now.

At the same time, I am thankful that I didn't know about the book earlier. Her story and her words would have impressed and influenced me far too much that I wouldn't be able to find my own voice in my own article. With the book as a source of reference, the article might eventually become an art form of plagiarism, not unlike The Assassin of the Secrets.

Shouldn't I be glad that I am not voracious reader? :)