Cookbook & Children's Book Author

Bio

4-year-old Pat
Pat when she was 4-years-old

Decades of cooking and writing have honed Pat’s craft as a longtime food writer and cookbook author. Pat has always wanted to eat good food and write about it. And now, with bylines in the Washington Post, Serious Eats, Bon Appetit, edibleSeattle, and more, she’s living the dream. 

Born in Jakarta and raised in Singapore, Pat’s Chinese Indonesian parents encouraged her appetites for both delicious foods and good books, resulting in a writing career that spans both cookbooks and children’s books. Pat wrote her latest cookbook, “Mortar and Pestle–Classic Indonesian Recipes for the Modern Kitchen,” together with her mother, Julia. Her four other pan-Asian cookbooks include “The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook” and “Instant Pot Asian Pressure Cooker Meals: Fast, Fresh & Affordable.” Her debut picture book “Ramen for Everyone” was a JLG Gold Selection and was awarded the Mockingbird Award. Her fourth picture book, “Monkey’s Sweet Surprise—A Lunar New Year Mix-Up” just launched! 

Pat lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and son. Find her on Instagram: @Pat.Tanumihardja (food stuff) or @ediblewords (kidlit stuff). Don’t be shy to hit her up for some favorite recipes, or share yours!


12 FACTS ABOUT ME THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE TRUE

  1. I can communicate in 5 languages (English, Indonesian, Mandarin, French, and Pig Latin), as in I can order coffee and ask for directions to the ladies room.
  2. Put Hello Kitty on anything and I’ll want it.
  3. My older brother and I are almost Irish twins—we were born only 15 months apart!
  4. My favorite color is orange, tangerine, vermillion…
  5. I’m obsessed with ladybirds.
  6. My favorite ice cream flavor is pistachio. My favorite gelato flavor is banana. Yes, there is a difference!
My siblings Mars, Mo, and I. This photo was taken in Penang c. 1982.
A family photo taken in 1974. Dad Rudy, Mom Julia, big brother Marcel, and Pat (Baby sister Maureen wasn’t born yet!)
  1. Whenever I crave my favorite fruit, durian, my husband makes me eat it outside. It’s that stinky!
  2. I was a chubby kid because I couldn’t stop eating fried foods, especially shrimp chips.
  3. My first kitchen jobs were rolling spring rolls and skewering satay.
  4. I like to sing and dance in public; if only to embarrass my husband
  5. Ideas strike me everywhere and anywhere—in the car, on a walk, while I’m cooking and yes, even in the shower.
  6. I probably have over 100 story ideas jotted down on scrap pieces of paper, in notebooks, on my computer etc., but only 15 to 20 have seen the light of day!