Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic
Sichuan
Cooking by Fuchsia
Dunlop (W.W. Norton) The Chinese call the
province
of
Sichuan
in southwest
China
"the land of plenty"
and "the place for flavor." Although it is mostly known in the West for its
hot-and-spicy dishes like Hot and Sour Soup and especially for its Kung Pao
Chicken, the Chinese love Sichuan food for its inventive use of seasonings and
its many styles of preparation, from sour-sweet, melting “lychee flavor” to
punchy, seductive “fish-fragrant flavor.”
Fuchsia Dunlop immersed herself in Sichuanese cooking and culture for two years,
gathering from regional chefs and home cooks a full range of recipes from soups
to desserts. She became the first foreigner to study full-time at the Sichuan
Institute of Higher Cuisine in
Chengdu
,
China
. She spent her spare
time studying in the kitchens of some of the region’s most famous restaurants,
exploring street markets and food stalls, and cooking and eating with her
Sichuanese friends in their homes. Her passionate enthusiasm for the food and
her fluency in the Chinese language gave her unprecedented access to
China
’s most vibrant
culinary region. Dunlop has given us a cookbook gathered on the spot from the
kitchens of
Sichuan
. Useful for the
enthusiastic beginner as well as the experienced cook,
Land of Plenty
teaches not only how to prepare the
Sichuan
recipes but also how
to appreciate the textures of dishes.
Some examples of recipes include
-
Strange-Flavor Chicken (aka Bang Bang Chicken)
-
Zucchini Slivers with Garlic
-
Spicy Cucumber Salad
-
Twice-Cooked Pork
-
Dan Dan Noodles
-
Sweet-and-Sour Red Peppers
-
Beef Slivers with Sesame Seeds
-
Tea-Smoked Duck
Dunlop provides glossaries of
Sichuan
's ingredients and
cooking methods, and Chinese characters for and definitions of the twenty-three
flavors at the heart of the Sichuanese culinary canon. Equally valuable for
novices and experts,
Land of Plenty
offers a unique user-friendly introduction to one of
China
's richest cuisines,
and it is sure to take its place among the classics
of Chinese cuisine.
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