The name Fu Pei-mei has become synonymous with Chinese cuisine all over the world. She owes her preeminence to her intelligence, talent, a gourmet's taste and her perseverance in learning the culinary arts over the past 20 years.
Chinese students extending their education overseas, newly-weds, and epicures alike have helped to make her cookbook an international bestseller. Television stations and women's clubs in the United States, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Singapore and Hong Kong have all invited her to give demonstrations of Chinese cooking.
In the Republic of China, Fu Pei-mei has had a weekly program on the Taiwan Television Company station for the past 17 years. Although this program has appeared more than a thousand times, no dish has ever been repeated, with the exception of those for special festivals. It is only natural that people should wonder whether Fu was born with the talent to dream up new dishes, or simply has a source of secret recipes.
As Fu describes it, however, she only became interested in Chinese cooking after she was married and had to prepare food for her husband's dinner parties. Born into a rich family in Shantung province, Fu learned many of her dishes from her father, who was a gourmet himself, and brought back recipes from his business trips abroad. Before she was married, she led a roving student's life, and had no opportunity to advance her interests in the field. Today, she has two daughters and a son, all married. She said that her husband's continuous support and understanding of her work have been invaluable.
She first started her Chinese cookery classes by placing a table and coal burner in a small tent set up in a courtyard, in response to requests from her husband's friends' wives. The classes were enlarged when her students recommended her culinary techniques to their friends, and in 1962, she officially opened a Chinese cooking institute in Taipei.
During the 18 years Fu Pei-mei has been running her Chinese cooking class, she has encountered many difficulties and hardships. She recalls that she had to pay a high price for top-grade Chinese chefs of Chekiang, Kiangsu, Szechuan, Hunan and Kwangtung origin to teach her at home, because in former times, there were no Chinese cookbooks available. The only way to learn the art was to observe the chef's demonstrations, since no instructions or explanations were given. Since the inception of Fu's cooking class, however, thousands of people have studied under her guidance. At Christmas time, cards from all over the world are piled high on her desk. She is particularly encouraged by the warm reception accorded to her efforts.
In order to allow her student to achieve the best possible results with the least possible effort, Fu Pei-mei uses systematic theories and methods, and measures the exact times and quantities required for the preparation of each dish. Anyone who wants to learn Chinese cooking today can easily understand the secrets and short cuts by reading Fu's book.
Since she accepted the offer from TTV to give her weekly demonstrations, Fu has been able to teach Chinese cooking to people in the comfort of their homes. To come as close to perfection as possible, she always uses fresh and tender vegetables and meat. Food must be washed and sorted carefully before it is sliced, chopped, diced, minced or mashed according to the recipe. In addition to these basic techniques, other factors which help to ensure good results are seasoning, time taken for cooking, and even the final arrangement on the platter. Principal preparation methods used by Fu are cold mix, barbecue, deepfry, saute, roast, simmer, braise, steam and stir-fry. Timing is as important as the selection of the best materials, proper heating facilities, and blending, in order to achieve a harmony of color, taste and aroma.
In the past 18 years, viewers of Fu's television programs have been most impressed by the speed with which she works and speaks. After each program, she usually receives dozens of letters from viewers, asking questions on subjects ranging from the best way to arrange menus to recommending a place to buy oyster oil. If Fu gives, for instance, a recipe on making braised fish tail with brown sauce, there is certain to be a run on the necessary ingredients in the market the next day.
Fu has rejected numerous offers to be a master chef or adviser in some of Taipei's top restaurants, because she prefers to devote her life to promoting the Chinese culinary art through teaching.
In order to add nutritional value to Chinese food, she studied food science in Japan in 1970. After her return, she was invited to deliver many lectures. As well as Mandarin Chinese and her native Shangtung dialect, Fu can speak fluent Japanese, English, and the Szechuan, Kwantung and Fukien dialects.
Each year, she is invited by the Taiwan Tourist Bureau to introduce its guides to the specialties of all the provinces in China. During her instruction periods, she also tells the guides where to take tourists to savor the best and most representative food in Taipei. She has twice been invited to teach her cooking techniques to overseas Chinese in the Philippines, and attended the annual meeting of the Chefs de Cuisine Association of America to deliver lectures in English. In 1973, she was invited by China Airlines to act as a special adviser to improve the food service on its international flights. Her most recent project was to start a program on Chinese cooking with a Japanese television station.
Miss Fu has received an honorary award from the Ministry of Education and the Department of Education of the Taipei City Government in recognition of her contribution to social education and promoting Chinese culture through international exchanges.
[Picture Caption]
Opposite left: Fu Pei-mei opened her program on TTV 18 years ago to demonstrate the Chinese culinary arts, establishing a record in television history in the Republic of China. Opposite right: Wearing a Chinese chi pao (classical garment) to promote Chinese fashions, Fu demonstrates Chinese cooking for a Japanese TV program. Above: With members of four generations living at her home, Fu has been successful in pursuing both career and a happy family life.
Fu Pei-mei has frequently been invited to deliver speeches on "Chinese cuisine." Pictures 1 and 2 show her speaking at the Tourism Bureau, and at a Chefs de Cuisine Association of America meeting in the United States. 3. Posing for a picture after eating man han chuan hsi, a Ching and Han dynasty feast, in Hong Kong. 4. Fu was awarded a certificate of appreciation by overseas Chinese in the Philippines in recognition of her instruction on the art of Chinese cooking.
Above left: Fu Pei-mei not only demonstrates dishes from established menus, but also creates her own recipes by using ideas from western cuisine and by adding nutrition to traditional Chinese food. She is also very careful in choosing the plate, which she said, adds color to a meal. Picture shows a dish known as "mother and baby shrimp," Fu's own creation. Below left: While devoting her life to the culinary arts for the past 20 years, Fu has also developed such hobbies as collecting pinafores, among which, the one made by her mother for her first appearance on TV is the most valued. The pinafore displayed in this picture is hand-made by the handicraft center of the Combined Service Forces. Opposite: Fu's quick cutting technique has been cultivated over long years of practice.
Opposite left: Fu Pei-mei opened her program on TTV 18 years ago to demonstrate the Chinese culinary arts, establishing a record in television history in the Republic of China. Opposite right: Wearing a Chinese chi pao （classical garment） to promote Chinese fashions, Fu demonstrates Chinese cooking for a Japanese TV program. Above: With members of four generations living at her home, Fu has been successful in pursuing both career and a happy family life.
Opposite left: Fu Pei-mei opened her program on TTV 18 years ago to demonstrate the Chinese culinary arts, establishing a record in television history in the Republic of China. Opposite right: Wearing a Chinese chi pao （classical garment） to promote Chinese fashions, Fu demonstrates Chinese cooking for a Japanese TV program. Above: With members of four generations living at her home, Fu has been successful in pursuing both career and a happy family life.
Fu Pei-mei has frequently been invited to deliver speeches on "Chinese cuisine." Pictures 1 and 2 show her speaking at the Tourism Bureau, and at a Chefs de Cuisine Association of America meeting in the United States.
Fu Pei-mei has frequently been invited to deliver speeches on "Chinese cuisine." Pictures 1 and 2 show her speaking at the Tourism Bureau, and at a Chefs de Cuisine Association of America meeting in the United States.
Posing for a picture after eating man han chuan hsi, a Ching and Han dynasty feast, in Hong Kong.
Fu was awarded a certificate of appreciation by overseas Chinese in the Philippines in recognition of her instruction on the art of Chinese cooking.
Fu Pei-mei not only demonstrates dishes from established menus, but also creates her own recipes by using ideas from western cuisine and by adding nutrition to traditional Chinese food. She is also very careful in choosing the plate, which she said, adds color to a meal. Picture shows a dish known as "mother and baby shrimp," Fu's own creation.
While devoting her life to the culinary arts for the past 20 years, Fu has also developed such hobbies as collecting pinafores, among which, the one made by her mother for her first appearance on TV is the most valued
The pinafore displayed in this picture is hand-made by the handicraft center of the Combined Service Forces. Opposite: Fu's quick cutting technique has been cultivated over long years of practice.
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