Jing Gao to Release First Cookbook
Out on Sept. 26, “The Book of Sichuan Chili Crisp” is published by Ten Speed Press.
Jing Gao is bringing Sichuan soul food to home kitchens with “The Book of Sichuan Chili Crisp: Spicy Recipes and Stories from Fly By Jing's Kitchen,” out Sept. 26.
“It was a personal quest to reconnect with my roots,” Gao said of immersing herself in the cuisine.
The chef and entrepreneur, founder of Fly By Jing, has always wanted to have a cookbook, she said. “I think it was really just about a matter of time.”
Her journey with food came “circuitously,” she went on. “I grew up moving around a lot. I was born in China, in Chengdu, the food capital of China, and then I grew up in Germany, England, Austria, France, Italy, moving around to a different country every year of my life… always the only Asian person in every school, really just stuck out like a sore thumb, which is why I changed my name to Jenny when I was very young, to try to blend in.”
She's reclaimed her birth name, Jing. It was while traveling to China in her 20s that she had a revelation: “I started to realize how disconnected I had become from my heritage and how I actually was quite lost. After doing so much blending in, I didn't know who I was. Food became a vehicle for me to kind of desperately try to grasp it, like some semblance of identity.”
She dove into Chinese culinary culture and started a blog.
“I discovered food as a vehicle just through tasting the amazing flavors of China,” she continued. “And it's such a diverse and complex, 5,000-year culinary heritage….I was astounded by the depth of the cuisine.”
The blog took off. She began making a name for herself in the scene, taking celebrity chefs around China, where she opened a restaurant, and hosting an underground supper club, “Fly By Jing,” in cities around the world.
“What started out as this personal quest to reconnect with my roots quickly turned into a passion to shine light on the cuisine, showing the nuance and diversity of the cuisine and, as a result, the culture and also its people,” she said, now based in Sherman Oaks, Calif. “When you look at a cuisine as this monotone thing and put it in a box, that's what you're doing to the people of that culture as well.”
Today, Fly By Jing has grown into a premium Chinese food company. She's developed a line of mixed spices and sauces — starting out with the Sichuan Chili Crisp, her bestseller. The book is an ode to the ingredient.
“Fly By Jing became the first brand to launch a modern Asian food brand in America, the first Asian food brand to command premium prices,” she said. Sold at $34 for a set of two jars, the Sichuan Chili Crisp (and other products) are found in 5,000 grocery stores including Whole Foods, Target and Costco, as well as Amazon.
“Chinese food has been so misunderstood for so long,” Gao said. “People think that it's low quality, that
it's dirty, that it's cheap. That is not worth paying money for.”
Through the book she wanted to showcase the food in a new light, she said. “Almost like, what if this was a fine arts book?”
Visually striking, “The Book of Sichuan Chili Crisp: Spicy Recipes and Stories From Fly By Jing's Kitchen” ($35) offers Gao's personal story and a range of recipes she's developed through the years.
“Sichuan is known for the most flavorful cuisine within China,” she said. “And when I say flavor, I literally mean there's lots of different flavors available. There's literally 24 different flavor profiles that the chefs in Sichuan can achieve with different combinations of ingredients.”
For those new to the cuisine, she recommends starting with the cold sesame noodles dish. “It's pretty easy and a popular one.”
In the fall she'll bring Sichuan to Los Angeles' Larchmont Village with Sua, a grab-and-go café and retail concept. “Sichuan flavors meets organic California produce,” she said.
“I would love for readers, on a very base level, to gain an understanding of what this incredible condiment called chili crisp is and how to use it,” she added. “And that it's so versatile, that they can incorporate it into their lives very easily. On a deeper level, you know, if someone can get something out of this personal journey and the story of finding identity and self and belonging through my journey of starting this condiment, I think that's another win.”