Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking

Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking

Fuchsia Dunlop
$30.00
Publication Date: June 17th, 2003
Publisher:
W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN:
9780393051773
Pages:
400

Description

"It is a very long time since I saw a book which is so patently an absolute 'must.'"—Alan Davidson, author of The Oxford Companion to Food

The food of the Sichuan region in southwest China is one of the world's great culinary secrets. Many of us know it for its "hot and spicy" reputation or a few of its most famous dishes, most notably Kung Pao chicken, but that is only the beginning. Sichuanese cuisine is legendary in China for its sophistication and astounding diversity: local gourmets claim the region boasts 5000 different dishes.

Fuchsia Dunlop fell in love with Sichuanese food on her first visit to the province ten years ago. The following year she went to live in the Sichuanese capital Chengdu, where she became the first foreigner to study full-time at the province's famous cooking school, the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine. Now she has given us a cookbook gathered on the spot from the kitchens of Sichuan, filled with stories and colorful descriptions of the region itself. Useful for the enthusiastic beginner as well as the experienced cook, Land of Plenty teaches you not only how to prepare the Sichuan recipes but also the art of chopping and to appreciate the textures of dishes.

Among this book's unique features: a full glossary of Chinese terms; Chinese characters useful for shopping; a practical introduction to the art of cutting; detailed lists of the 23 recognized flavor combinations and 56 cooking methods used in Sichuanese cuisine; 16 color pictures of the ingredients and finished dishes; double-page maps of the region; and Chinese characters for every recipe

About the Author

Fuchsia Dunlop was the first Westerner to train as a chef at the Sichuan Higher Institute of Cuisine, and has been traveling around China, researching and cooking Chinese food, for thirty years. Her James Beard Award–winning and best-selling books include The Food of Sichuan, Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper, Every Grain of Rice, and Land of Fish and Rice, several of which are now published in translation in China. Based in London, she speaks, reads, and writes Chinese.

Praise for Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking

With the official publication of her first book [Land of Plenty], Fuchsia Dunlop joins the ranks of literary food writers such as Elizabeth David and Claudia Roden.


— The Independent

You may not think you need a book on the cooking of the Sichuan province in Southwest China but this small, perfect book is illuminating and appealing.
— The Times [London]

Already one of the essential texts written in the English language.
— Time Out