Yi’s drawings are the basis of Panda Cub Diner, her online cooking club, focusing on Sichuan dishes. Photos: NYT
From a young age, Linda Yi was drawn to the kitchen and loved watching her parents make Sichuan dishes inspired by their native Chengdu in China. But when she’d ask them to go over a step or recipe she’d watched them make dozens of times, they’d reply the same way: “You still don’t remember?”
When, in her mid-20s, she became one of the 4.4% of adults ages 18 to 44 diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, her relationship to cooking changed for the better. She said the diagnosis helped her “see the areas of my brain that need support”, and to adapt, as many cooks with the disorder have.
