Audra Ang: A Food Journey through Modern China

Singapore-born Audra Ang spent seven years as a Beijing-based Associated Press correspondent, where she covered a rapidly changing China.

In her new book, “To The People Food Is Heaven: Stories of Food and Life in a Changing China,” Ang describes meals she ate with monks, activists, and village residents, and how she came to understand the people and soul of a country through its food.

She talks to Lisa Mullins about her book, her love of jasmine tea, and her fondness for comfort foods, especially after covering particularly tense stories.

In 2002, an early summer monsoon brought heavy rains to Hunan province. Rivers overflowed and flooded the countryside destroying crops, homes and lives.

One of Ang’s first assignments was to cover the floods.

It was during this catastrophe she experienced her most memorable meal during her time in China. A farmer who lost a year worth of crops served Ang a large meal of Chinese delicacies, including his last chicken.