As a young country boy, I moved to the big town in 1980 — Denver — and it was Madame S.T. Ting Wong who taught me to cook via her famous cookbook. Madame Wong saved me gastronomically. Without her encouragement, I might have wound up dining on frozen dinners and carry out. Her writing encouraged me to go to Asian grocery stores with a purpose. Madame Wong moved my gastronomic horizon eastward.

By the way, she was 72 when she wrote the cookbook. And, I learned from the LA Times just now that she went on to teach some big names in Hollywood to cook… “Wong’s former students include Barbra Streisand, Michael Caine, Dinah Shore, Linda Evans, Debbie Reynolds and Wolfgang Puck.” She also taught extension courses at UCLA.

Madame Wong’s recipes are delightful, achievable, and bring a measure of authenticity into the hands of a novice cook. I just found and purchased an old copy of her book on e-Bay. And, I am very much looking forward to reconnecting.

The LA Times celebrated Madame Wong’s life with a special article in 1994. According to Madame Wong, as quoted in the LA Times, “ ‘In life, as in food, there are four kinds of taste,’ she says. ‘Sweet, sour, bitter and spicy. What has happened in your life happens in your food. You must go through these four tastes. If you lose them, that is the end of your life.'” I guess that I had better get cooking, urgently!

Here is a link to the LA Times article (3 November 1994) .. https://www.latimes.com/…/la-xpm-1994-11-03-fo-58025…