Siǔ-Moi weaves the life story of a Hakka woman of the same name around twenty-one meaningful dishes. While the narrative centers on the toil and struggles experienced by many women in traditional Taiwan society, its underlying message celebrates the kitchen, the traditional “realm” of women in the household, as a vital source of self-discovery and renewal. Aphorisms such as meals being “a fixture of everyday life” and full stomachs being essential to happiness, provide context for both the plight and redemption of characters in this story. Interestingly, one of the twenty-one dishes at the center of this tale isn’t a “dish” at all, but an ingenious twist readers must discover for themselves.