Have You Eaten?

A beautifully personal cookbook of more than 70 easy and inspiring Chinese and East Asian recipes for every occasion.

Verna Gao is throwing a Chinese dumpling party and everyone is invited—so roll out the dough and learn to pleat like a Hangzhou grandma!

The Hungry Banana Cookbook brings together more than 70 of Verna’s all-time favorite Asian-inspired recipes. Each dish is simple to make and sumptuous to eat, with something for every mood or occasion—whether you want to be slurping spring onion noodles in a matter of minutes, sinking into a comforting bowl of congee, or sharing a round of vegan baos with friends.  

More than just a compendium of recipes, this is a personal journey back in time, through words, memories, and photographs, to the people and places that inspired these dishes—from memories of a Shanghai childhood spent with mom and grandma in the kitchen, to impromptu “real Chinese” cooking lessons with college friends and backpacking around the street food hotspots of East Asia.

Super fresh, vegan adaptable, and full of punchy flavors, Verna’s unfussy recipes make Chinese home cooking accessible to everyone.

About the Author

Verna Gao was born in Shanghai in the 1990s and moved to London in 2003 to live with her dad and stepmom after her parents’ divorce. Emotionally vulnerable and speaking very little English, Verna used cooking as a means of staying connected to her Chinese heritage and bonding with her father, who became the increasingly enthusiastic recipient of her culinary creativity. After leading an impromptu crash course in college to teach 14 friends how to cook “real Chinese food” and a stint traveling all over East Asia collecting recipes and expanding her foodie horizons, lockdown gave Verna the opportunity to share her cooking with the world. In two years, @vernahungrybanana has become the UK’s go-to platform for Asian food inspiration, with 209k Instagram and 216.6k TikTok followers.

Author Residence: London, UK

Author Hometown: Shanghai, China