Just add Rice is a celebration of the rich culinary heritage of Taiwanese culture from a South African voice. It will inspire you to try Taiwanese, Chinese and uniquely South African versions of these recipes at home, using local produce and a wide variety of East Asian ingredients that are available here.

About The Author

Ming-Cheau Lin was born in Tainan, Taiwan, and moved to South Africa in 1991 when she was 3. The opening pages of the book give beautiful insight into her early childhood. It tells a tale of a hardworking middle-class family doing their best to provide, as well as the struggles facing a young immigrant child making their place in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

Praise for Just Add Rice

Just Add Rice showcases Taiwanese cuisine, which seeks balance and harmony in taste and texture, while highlighting the original flavours of ingredients and their nutritional value. But it’s also about home cooking, about familiarity and comfort and celebrating culture – recipes that connect the author to her parents when they lived in another city and in a distant country.

This book speaks of the cultural development of a Taiwanese immigrant who was raised in South Africa. She shares stories of her childhood, her beginnings of assimilation and her desire for unlearning – not wanting to lose herself in a society and industry that doesn’t often reflect her norms. She uncovers her road to understanding and embracing her third-culture identity.

Beyond the stories

Learn about the ingredients in her pantry and how to use them, her cultural norms of dining and food etiquette, traditional Taiwanese and Chinese dishes, her favourite street foods, budget-friendly recipes and creative hybrids that embrace being both Taiwanese and South African.

Just Add Rice offers a diverse variety dishes, from meaty dumplings and a vegetarian meal spread to deep-fried snacks and gluten-free norms.

Recipe Extracts from Just Add Rice By Ming-Cheau Lin

luóbo gāo – Daikon cakes

Growing up, we always had these savoury snacks around the house. My mama would fry them and we’d wait eagerly in the kitchen for the first hot ones to hit the plate and squabble over the first piece. It’s relatively simple to make – it just takes some time to steam and rest the cake.

Time: 1 hr 20 mins
Serving: 10–12 cakes

250g daikon, peeled and grated
¼ cup rice wine
8 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
cooking oil
1 spring onion, sliced
1 tbsp light sesame oil
2 cups rice flour
salt
white pepper
1 tbsp brown sugar

Dipping sauce

sticky sweet soy sauce
1 garlic clove, bruised
handful sliced spring onion
chopped coriander

Cook the grated daikon in 3/4 cup water and rice wine for about 5 minutes, until it’s mush. Set aside to cool. Fry the mushrooms in oil, then add the spring onion and sesame oil. Add this mixture to the cooked daikon and leave to cool.

Separately, mix the rice flour, salt and pepper (to taste) and sugar in a large bowl until evenly combined. Add the cooled daikon mixture and stir. You’ll end up with a cake batter.

Line a loaf tin with plastic wrap and brush with oil so that the cake doesn’t stick to it. Spoon the batter into the tin. Prepare a steamer and let the cake steam, lid on, for 50 minutes. Leave it to cool down a bit – this makes it easier to slice.

Cut 2cm-thick slices and fry in a little oil until golden-brown.

Mix the dipping sauce ingredients together and serve with daikon cakes.

tiě bǎn niúròu – Teppan beef

Serves: 4
Time: 35 minutes

3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
400g beef strips
2 onions
2 tbsp butter
4 tbsp cooking oil
1 tsp ground black pepper
eggs, for serving

Mix the soy sauce, sugar, 2 tbsp water and cornflour to make a marinade. Add the beef strips, work the marinade into the meat and leave it in the fridge for at least half an hour.

Slice the onions into chunks. Melt the butter in a wok (or frying pan) on a low heat, and cook the onions until slightly translucent. Add the oil to the marinated beef and mix it in.

Turn the heat up in the wok and stir-fry the meat, adding pepper and more soy sauce to taste.

Serve with rice and a fried egg.

Tip: This works just as well with chicken, lamb, seafood or silken tofu as alternative proteins. You can also add green or red peppers, and serve with stir-fried egg noodles instead.

Recommended Retail Price: R375 |  ISBN 978-1-928429-02-9

quivertree.com | butterfingers.co.za

Need help with some of these ingredients, see our guide to stocking your Asian Pantry.

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