Mi & Mian Cookbook in Progress

Esther grew up in northwest China, in the province of Qinghai. Qinghai is China’s largest province by land, but has the third smallest population. It’s flanked by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the southwest, Xinjiang on the northwest, and Gansu and Sichuan on the east. With a mix of Tibetan, Uygur, and Han influence, and it’s cold climate, Qinghai has a rich, warm, and spice-forward culinary landscape.

She loved Qinghai’s unique dishes while living there, but it wasn’t until Esther left (at the age of 17), that she realized how much she missed the flavors of home. Since then, she’s tried to recreate the tastes, textures, and smells that hold so much memory for her. After trying to scour the internet for recipes from home, Esther realized there were none... only close approximations. So she decided it was time to write hers down.

Enter: Joel; a friend from home who also spent the past decade wishing the same! When the two reconnected in 2024, they realized they could put their brains together to write a cookbook to introduce Qinghai’s recipes and food culture to the world.