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Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking
"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
395 pages, Hardcover
First published June 28, 2001
About the author
Fuchsia Dunlop
11 books356 followersFuchsia Dunlop is a cook and food-writer specialising in Chinese cuisine. She is the author of Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China, an account of her adventures in exploring Chinese food culture, and two critically-acclaimed Chinese cookery books, Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook, and Sichuan Cookery (published in the US as Land of Plenty).
Fuchsia writes for publications including Gourmet, Saveur, and The Financial Times. She is a regular guest on radio and television, and has appeared on shows including Gordon Ramsay’s The F-Word, NPR’s All Things Considered and The Food Programme on BBC Radio 4. She was named ‘Food Journalist of the Year’ by the British Guild of Food Writers in 2006, and has been shortlisted for three James Beard Awards. Her first book, Sichuan Cookery, won the Jeremy Round Award for best first book.
Fuchsia writes for publications including Gourmet, Saveur, and The Financial Times. She is a regular guest on radio and television, and has appeared on shows including Gordon Ramsay’s The F-Word, NPR’s All Things Considered and The Food Programme on BBC Radio 4. She was named ‘Food Journalist of the Year’ by the British Guild of Food Writers in 2006, and has been shortlisted for three James Beard Awards. Her first book, Sichuan Cookery, won the Jeremy Round Award for best first book.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
Shelved as 'skimmed'
January 11, 2018Fuchsia Dunlop may be an original. Certainly she has dedication to subject, in this case, Chinese food.
The recipes in this book I can tell are wonderful reproductions of Sichuan classics. Probably the way we can tell authenticity is the simplicity of the recipes. A famous cooking show in China gives contestants oil, soy sauce, and rice wine & determines how many different kinds of dishes each can make. It all has to do with quantities, heat, ratios rather than a wide variety of ingredients. How else could everyone have managed for so long?
Anyway, this seems just fine, if beyond my reach. Love that she made a career from this particular fascination of hers.
The recipes in this book I can tell are wonderful reproductions of Sichuan classics. Probably the way we can tell authenticity is the simplicity of the recipes. A famous cooking show in China gives contestants oil, soy sauce, and rice wine & determines how many different kinds of dishes each can make. It all has to do with quantities, heat, ratios rather than a wide variety of ingredients. How else could everyone have managed for so long?
Anyway, this seems just fine, if beyond my reach. Love that she made a career from this particular fascination of hers.
December 20, 2012
Amazing follow-up to Shark's Fin And Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China, with even more stories and food history of the Sichuan province. This is far more of a cookbook than the memoir she wrote before this.
Unfortunately for me, most Sichuan dishes involve pork. I don't eat pork. I have a few marked to try - dan dan noodles, fish-fragrant eggplant, and fish-fragrant bean curd. I will need to go to a well-stocked Chinese/Asian market first.
I'd recommend this book to any adventurous carnivorous cook who wants to cook super authentic Sichuan food. She knows what she is talking about and it translates well to the Western kitchen (except perhaps directions to deep fry a fish in a wok, not sure how many people will do that.)
Unfortunately for me, most Sichuan dishes involve pork. I don't eat pork. I have a few marked to try - dan dan noodles, fish-fragrant eggplant, and fish-fragrant bean curd. I will need to go to a well-stocked Chinese/Asian market first.
I'd recommend this book to any adventurous carnivorous cook who wants to cook super authentic Sichuan food. She knows what she is talking about and it translates well to the Western kitchen (except perhaps directions to deep fry a fish in a wok, not sure how many people will do that.)
February 9, 2016
First of all, for me the intention behind reading a cookbook is to learn how to cook.
Land of plenty does NOT teach you that. I've expected that because it is often empathised that Mrs. Dunlop as first westerner made a training as a cook.
Good for her. What she does is giving you recipes and the story how she learned them.
In this respect this book (and the one about Hunan kitchen) is good. If you are lloking for recipes there are other books with authentic recipes, too. If you are looking for methods you are better of with Barbara Tropps "The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking: Techniques and Recipes". Although this book also is not perfect.
The part about the methods of chinese cooking is short compared to the classic of Barbara Tropp.
The recipes are good. The most "Sichuan Classics" are part of the book.
Since I know a very good website by a woman from Sichuan that gives very good recipes most of the stuff was known to me.
But I believe at the time this book was published it was a real revalation.
The recipes come in a very detailed manner. I was a little bored because at the point you've understood chinese cooking there is a lot of information that you already know.
On the other hand if you are not shure about what you are doing this might comes handy.
There are pictures of the dishes. They are of that kind that there are some pages with a collection of dishes. The pictures are memorable but ok. Although I would like to mention that in her latest book "Every grain of rice" you'll get a picture for allmost every recepie on the oposite page. I liked that a little more.
With every recipe comes a story who told her about it and how delicios it tastes. If you liked the "Shark Fin and Sichuan Pepper" you may like that. The storys are sometimes as long as the recipes.
Land of plenty does NOT teach you that. I've expected that because it is often empathised that Mrs. Dunlop as first westerner made a training as a cook.
Good for her. What she does is giving you recipes and the story how she learned them.
In this respect this book (and the one about Hunan kitchen) is good. If you are lloking for recipes there are other books with authentic recipes, too. If you are looking for methods you are better of with Barbara Tropps "The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking: Techniques and Recipes". Although this book also is not perfect.
The part about the methods of chinese cooking is short compared to the classic of Barbara Tropp.
The recipes are good. The most "Sichuan Classics" are part of the book.
Since I know a very good website by a woman from Sichuan that gives very good recipes most of the stuff was known to me.
But I believe at the time this book was published it was a real revalation.
The recipes come in a very detailed manner. I was a little bored because at the point you've understood chinese cooking there is a lot of information that you already know.
On the other hand if you are not shure about what you are doing this might comes handy.
There are pictures of the dishes. They are of that kind that there are some pages with a collection of dishes. The pictures are memorable but ok. Although I would like to mention that in her latest book "Every grain of rice" you'll get a picture for allmost every recepie on the oposite page. I liked that a little more.
With every recipe comes a story who told her about it and how delicios it tastes. If you liked the "Shark Fin and Sichuan Pepper" you may like that. The storys are sometimes as long as the recipes.
March 12, 2016
These recipes are not the last word in cooking Sichuan dishes here in the USA... but they are a pretty good intro to such.
I love Dunlop's writing, and have read all her books. Occasionally, this helps inform the way I interpret her recipes.
My husband and I love Sichuan dishes, and are currently on a Quest to make our ultimate hot and sour soup. Dunlop's recipe is not our ultimate as written, but it does include several elements that the master recipe will need to incorporate!
Also, I am very intrigued by the steamed buns, and the salted duck eggs.
It is bridging a gap, and has both the virtues and the problems associated with that.
Nonetheless, just reading it makes me excited to try new things!
I love Dunlop's writing, and have read all her books. Occasionally, this helps inform the way I interpret her recipes.
My husband and I love Sichuan dishes, and are currently on a Quest to make our ultimate hot and sour soup. Dunlop's recipe is not our ultimate as written, but it does include several elements that the master recipe will need to incorporate!
Also, I am very intrigued by the steamed buns, and the salted duck eggs.
It is bridging a gap, and has both the virtues and the problems associated with that.
Nonetheless, just reading it makes me excited to try new things!
August 23, 2022
4,5 stars - English Ebook
A feest on the table with al the taste and colors.
A feest on the table with al the taste and colors.
January 3, 2008
I've been attempting to self-teach myself to cook Chinese cuisine at home over the past couple of years. I have fumbled my way through an endless variety of stir fries, recipe'd or improvised. In the process, I've picked up some passable wok skills and basic knowledge of the components that make Chinese food work.
This book is impressively and lyrically written by a British white woman who lived and studied in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan. She accompanies her recipes with historical or personal anecdotes that help establish context for the cuisine.
But what really makes this book work for me (3 of the 4 recipes I have cooked thus far have come out most deliciously) is her approach. Beyond the contextual information, Dunlop happens to be awfully good at presenting the process, using consistent terminology, describing the ingredients clearly and with enough information to enable a non-Asian Asian grocery store shopper to find the right goods, and laying down recipes in a clear, orderly step-by-step manner. Describing a recipe in an articulate and useful fashion is a damn hard thing to do (I can say that because most people seem to get it wrong) but I have had an easy time making these dishes proper-like. I wish there were more pictures, but that's about as much of a complaint as I have so far.
Authenticity is important in cookbooks but doesn't necessarily trump all other values. This book presents its cuisine with respect and care, but isn't afraid to balance that with a respect for its audience. I am very much enjoying my exploration of this book and look forward to picking up her subsequent book on the cooking of Hunanese food, which I expect might be even more to my liking than the interesting and complex tastes of Sichuan.
This book is impressively and lyrically written by a British white woman who lived and studied in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan. She accompanies her recipes with historical or personal anecdotes that help establish context for the cuisine.
But what really makes this book work for me (3 of the 4 recipes I have cooked thus far have come out most deliciously) is her approach. Beyond the contextual information, Dunlop happens to be awfully good at presenting the process, using consistent terminology, describing the ingredients clearly and with enough information to enable a non-Asian Asian grocery store shopper to find the right goods, and laying down recipes in a clear, orderly step-by-step manner. Describing a recipe in an articulate and useful fashion is a damn hard thing to do (I can say that because most people seem to get it wrong) but I have had an easy time making these dishes proper-like. I wish there were more pictures, but that's about as much of a complaint as I have so far.
Authenticity is important in cookbooks but doesn't necessarily trump all other values. This book presents its cuisine with respect and care, but isn't afraid to balance that with a respect for its audience. I am very much enjoying my exploration of this book and look forward to picking up her subsequent book on the cooking of Hunanese food, which I expect might be even more to my liking than the interesting and complex tastes of Sichuan.
May 20, 2008
I pretty much want to marry Fuschia Dunlop. She's fluent in Mandarin (plus regional dialects!), writes fantastically appetizing, clear recipes (complete with buckets of cultural context), and even includes Chinese characters and Pinyin for each recipe's name (and each ingredient, each cooking method, &c.). Vegetarian recipes, while still a minority, are plentiful and don't seem like the weakling little brothers of the meat recipes, as so often is the case in cookbooks written by omnivores.
There's an entire chapter on xiao chi, the Sichuan equivalent of dim sum. Street food is well-represented, too -- this book isn't comprised solely of stuffy banquet food, but instead gives you a good idea of everyday dishes.
This book is a glorious introduction to real live Chinese cooking, a big, delicious step away from the Chinese-American fare you find in the fast majority of restaurants in the States. It will show you how to enjoy eating your vegetables (or, if you already do, enjoy them even more).
There's an entire chapter on xiao chi, the Sichuan equivalent of dim sum. Street food is well-represented, too -- this book isn't comprised solely of stuffy banquet food, but instead gives you a good idea of everyday dishes.
This book is a glorious introduction to real live Chinese cooking, a big, delicious step away from the Chinese-American fare you find in the fast majority of restaurants in the States. It will show you how to enjoy eating your vegetables (or, if you already do, enjoy them even more).
June 14, 2007
Best Chinese/Sichuan cookbook eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeever!
Easy to read, lots of interesting facts/stories, and everything's delicious. She even has an amazing glossary, the different tastes of Sichuan explained, and lots of Chinese to learn.
This is a MUST buy and it's cheap. I can't wait to buy her new one.
Easy to read, lots of interesting facts/stories, and everything's delicious. She even has an amazing glossary, the different tastes of Sichuan explained, and lots of Chinese to learn.
This is a MUST buy and it's cheap. I can't wait to buy her new one.
June 4, 2012
This is a great cookbook. The recipes are authentic and turn out just like they should...as long as you have the right ingredients.
After spending time in China and loving the food, it is great to have this book to rely on when my cravings for China come and they do come often.
After spending time in China and loving the food, it is great to have this book to rely on when my cravings for China come and they do come often.
November 16, 2020
I liked this one (4 stars), and I liked the much more recent update/follow up of this book (The Food of Sichuan), but for whatever reasons, I liked this one better. I don't know if it comes down to something as nebulous as "mood" or what have you, but I liked this one better.
I think most readers will like the newer one; there are far more/better photos, and some of the recipes have been updated/improved.
Most of the ingredients here should be easy for motivated readers to find assuming they live in a moderately-large city or have access to the internet. The instructions are pretty clear, and the techniques aren't especially hard to master.
I think most readers will like the newer one; there are far more/better photos, and some of the recipes have been updated/improved.
Most of the ingredients here should be easy for motivated readers to find assuming they live in a moderately-large city or have access to the internet. The instructions are pretty clear, and the techniques aren't especially hard to master.
February 24, 2021
A great introduction to Sichuan cooking. Captures the flavors that are characteristic of food in the province. I wish there were more vegetable dishes and cold noodle dishes in this book, as those were the dishes I loved most in Sichuan and wish I could reproduce at home.
July 29, 2007
This is an old book. It was written in 2001 but it is such a treasure on Sichuan culinary art.
The book starts with a hefty discussion on Sichuan culture and its kitchen: from the basic cutting skills to cooking methods. Then comes the recipes divided into types of food. It closes with appendices on the main flavours from Sichuan, 23 basic flavours of Sichuan, and 56 methods of cooking Sichuan dishes.
The section on 23 flavours of Sichuan is interesting. When we hear 'Sichuan food', we think of fiery flavours. Apparently, it is not so simple. There are 23 complex flavours such as hot and numbing flavours which is associated with hearty peasant cooking and use of a lot of chilies and Sichuan pepper for that distinctive taste. Fish fragrant flavour is dominated by salty, sweet, sour and spicy with heavy fragrances from garlic, ginger and spring onion. Pepper and salt? Oh, the heavenly simple dip of ground Sichuan pepper and salt for deep-fried food.
The recipes are quite detailed with a lot of notes on techniques. I like the fact that for each Chinese word, be it for the name of the dish to the method of cutting, there's an accompanying Chinese characters in traditional writings (or Fan Ti Zi). It helps in clarifying matter for those who understand Chinese. These recipes were also tried and tested in her apartment in London. That conveys two important messages: one, it is not complicated and can be safely reproduced in a basic kitchen; two, ingredients are not as exotic as they can be obtained in London (OK, London is great compared to my town).
All the above are reassuring proof of how knowledgeable the writer is and how thorough she is in her research. I think she does well by focusing her book on just one of the many aspects of Chinese cooking. She doesn't try to tackle a whole lot of cuisines from North to South, each of which has its own distinct character. She focuses on what she knows best, Sichuan cuisines. After all, during her two years in Chengdu for British Council Scholarship, she learned the art in Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine in Chengdu.
I initially penalized this book for the lack of pictures accompanying each dish which is an important criterion in selecting cookbooks for me. However, the writing is so detailed, and despite its sheer size of information, this book is a fascinating read. Each page is tantalizing and motivating. She patiently ensures that an English equivalent or a description of an item is correctly done. Take this for example: "Cui... refers to a certain quality of crispness, a texture that offers resistance to the teeth, but finally yields, cleanly, with a pleasant snappy feeling. This is a quality of kidneys, cut finely, cooked swiftly over a fierce flame; of goose intestines, scalded briefly in a Sichuan hotpot; of fresh celery and raw mangetout."
Isn't it delicious?
http://bookshop.multiply.com/reviews/...
The book starts with a hefty discussion on Sichuan culture and its kitchen: from the basic cutting skills to cooking methods. Then comes the recipes divided into types of food. It closes with appendices on the main flavours from Sichuan, 23 basic flavours of Sichuan, and 56 methods of cooking Sichuan dishes.
The section on 23 flavours of Sichuan is interesting. When we hear 'Sichuan food', we think of fiery flavours. Apparently, it is not so simple. There are 23 complex flavours such as hot and numbing flavours which is associated with hearty peasant cooking and use of a lot of chilies and Sichuan pepper for that distinctive taste. Fish fragrant flavour is dominated by salty, sweet, sour and spicy with heavy fragrances from garlic, ginger and spring onion. Pepper and salt? Oh, the heavenly simple dip of ground Sichuan pepper and salt for deep-fried food.
The recipes are quite detailed with a lot of notes on techniques. I like the fact that for each Chinese word, be it for the name of the dish to the method of cutting, there's an accompanying Chinese characters in traditional writings (or Fan Ti Zi). It helps in clarifying matter for those who understand Chinese. These recipes were also tried and tested in her apartment in London. That conveys two important messages: one, it is not complicated and can be safely reproduced in a basic kitchen; two, ingredients are not as exotic as they can be obtained in London (OK, London is great compared to my town).
All the above are reassuring proof of how knowledgeable the writer is and how thorough she is in her research. I think she does well by focusing her book on just one of the many aspects of Chinese cooking. She doesn't try to tackle a whole lot of cuisines from North to South, each of which has its own distinct character. She focuses on what she knows best, Sichuan cuisines. After all, during her two years in Chengdu for British Council Scholarship, she learned the art in Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine in Chengdu.
I initially penalized this book for the lack of pictures accompanying each dish which is an important criterion in selecting cookbooks for me. However, the writing is so detailed, and despite its sheer size of information, this book is a fascinating read. Each page is tantalizing and motivating. She patiently ensures that an English equivalent or a description of an item is correctly done. Take this for example: "Cui... refers to a certain quality of crispness, a texture that offers resistance to the teeth, but finally yields, cleanly, with a pleasant snappy feeling. This is a quality of kidneys, cut finely, cooked swiftly over a fierce flame; of goose intestines, scalded briefly in a Sichuan hotpot; of fresh celery and raw mangetout."
Isn't it delicious?
http://bookshop.multiply.com/reviews/...
November 7, 2008
Emphasis on the "authentic", which can be used with certainty since Ms Dunlop trained in Szechuan Province in China. What the average New Yorker might know as west-side-szechuan takeout manages to be fairly different in its Original form.
Hot, salty, sweet, deep, smoky, multi-layered -- all factors in the palette presented here, and treated in a practical, informative way. Good discussion of tools, prep, ingredients and their properties, and how to cope with cooking Szechuan in a western context. All the classics like kung-pao, mapo-dofu, tea-smoked-duck, orange beef, and hot & sour soup.
This is modern, healthy Chinese, which skips the Msg and avoids (or at least presents alternates to) the unnecessary cholesterol scenarios.
Currently probably the best comprehensive real Szechuan how-to available, and, as it happens, I have seen nearly everything currently available. Recommended.
Hot, salty, sweet, deep, smoky, multi-layered -- all factors in the palette presented here, and treated in a practical, informative way. Good discussion of tools, prep, ingredients and their properties, and how to cope with cooking Szechuan in a western context. All the classics like kung-pao, mapo-dofu, tea-smoked-duck, orange beef, and hot & sour soup.
This is modern, healthy Chinese, which skips the Msg and avoids (or at least presents alternates to) the unnecessary cholesterol scenarios.
Currently probably the best comprehensive real Szechuan how-to available, and, as it happens, I have seen nearly everything currently available. Recommended.
March 7, 2011
As a big fan of food from Sichuan, I looked for a while for a decent book that would show me how to actually cook some of the food. For the most part, I kept on running into problems with authenticity/credibility. The recipes that I would see just didn't look right. I mean, they'd have carrots and celery in them, which seems just plain wrong.
This book is totally legit. I realize the author is British, but she apparently spent years in Sichuan learning how to cook. And everything comes out just about right. So long as you can find the ingredients (not super hard these days), most of this stuff is pretty easy. It does come out a bit on the greasy/salty side, but part of that is just the food. Any time I need to cook something vaguely Chinese, this is the book I turn to.
This book is totally legit. I realize the author is British, but she apparently spent years in Sichuan learning how to cook. And everything comes out just about right. So long as you can find the ingredients (not super hard these days), most of this stuff is pretty easy. It does come out a bit on the greasy/salty side, but part of that is just the food. Any time I need to cook something vaguely Chinese, this is the book I turn to.
April 3, 2008
A friend who taught English with me in China recommended this gem to me. Since I taught English and lived in Sichuan Province for a year, I'm so grateful to have this guide to how to reproduce the amazing food in my kitchen here in the U.S. Dunlop gives some of my favorite recipes (try the Pockmarked Mother Chen's Tofu, the Twice-Cooked Pork, and the Dry-Fried Green Beans) and makes allowances for Western kitchens. It even includes several hotpot recipes, which I'm looking forward to trying out with friends. A great book!
May 14, 2010
A fantastic English-language book for Sichuanese dishes. It covers many of the major Sichuanese dishes in an authentic way (she went to culinary school in Chengdu). In addition, it makes recommendations for adaptations to recipes based on what you'd find in Asian grocery stores in the West.
It translates Sichuanese cooking not only into English but into Western cooking terminology, complete with a description of ingredients in the front. It even tells you how to make your own Sichuanese stock.
Simply the best book if you want to cook Sichuanese.
It translates Sichuanese cooking not only into English but into Western cooking terminology, complete with a description of ingredients in the front. It even tells you how to make your own Sichuanese stock.
Simply the best book if you want to cook Sichuanese.
January 26, 2012
Everything I have made from this book is delicious and seems so authentic based on the foods I tasted (and now miss) during my 4 months living in China. The recipes are super easy to make, and all of the ethnic ingredients can be found at Ranch 99. There is also a very interesting history of Sichuan cooking included, and each recipe includes some historical tidbits. Easily the best cookbook I have ever used.
March 23, 2014
Rather lean on photographs, but a good sampling of Chinese restaurant favorites (most Chinese food in America is heavily Sichuan) with relatively clear instructions. Warning that it does call for many key ingredients that will be hard for Americans to find in conventional grocery stores, but if you have access to a good Chinese grocer and are looking to buy some of those exciting mystery ingredients, you will like this.
May 5, 2016
There's some duplication between this and Every Grain Of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking as well as far fewer photos, a serious lack are pictures of the chopping process. I also have a new pet peeve, recipes not included in the table of contents which makes them difficult to find and making it hard to compare to her other books.
October 1, 2008
I have tried MANY MANY cookbooks but they all failed to teach me how to make anything that tastes remotely similar to authentic Chinese food.
With the help of this book (and the Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook), I have finally learned how to cook food that even scored compliments from my Chinese father-in-law. I loved this cookbook!
With the help of this book (and the Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook), I have finally learned how to cook food that even scored compliments from my Chinese father-in-law. I loved this cookbook!
July 5, 2016
Love this book! Favorite since Irene Kuo's "Key to Chinese Cooking". Only downfall would be the fact that not every recipe has pictures but after cooking her twice cooked pork and homestyle tofu recipes, I have to say its content more than makes up for this.
The descriptions of the different flavor profiles is also very helpful.
The descriptions of the different flavor profiles is also very helpful.
December 6, 2008
This cookbook is incredible! It teaches how to cook authentic, amazing food and it teaches you a lot about Chinese culture as well. Fuchsia Dunlop is a tremendous writer -- meticulous, thorough, and engaging.
March 13, 2009
Has got to be one of the most useful cookbooks!
Click here for one recipe I tried :)
Click here for one recipe I tried :)
April 1, 2010
This is only purely Chinese cookbook I've had any success with, and so far every recipe we've tried has been excellent. Betweeen LOP and some bits and pieces from other sources, I'm confident that I can produce better Chinese food than 85% of restaurants in the US. Seriously!
March 6, 2013
Interesting, well-thought cookbook with a good bit of background and personal interest bits. Most of the recipes so far have yielded excellent food. I have never been to China but am relying on the more authentic Sichuan food I've sampled around the world.
January 19, 2016
This is the most authentic recipe book for the CA westerner that I have run across. It contains far more than I can handle, but allows focus as desired by the reader. I am going to experiment with lotus root.
February 11, 2018
I haven't cooked anything from this yet, but the explanations of techniques, customs, and unusual ingredients are great. And the recipes are definitely NOT westernized for comfort. I look forward to many good meals from this book.
July 4, 2018
Makes Sichuan cooking seem accessible. Enjoyed that the recipes included many basic home dishes. Appreciated that vegetarian versions of some dishes were included, although would have loved to see even more veg-friendly options.
September 8, 2007
Comprehensive and absolutely accurate.
December 31, 2007
This is the only Chinese cookbook that I have found that helps me make food that tastes like things I ate in China.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews