Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking

by Fuchsia Dunlop

Book Overview

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...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393051773
• ISBN13: 9780393051773
• Release Date: June 2003
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 2.31 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 7.8" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Great Sichuan Cookbook

Before buying this book, I have cooked many of the recipes using the Internet as my source so I was very familiar with content of the book. Over the years, I have acquired most of the Chinese ingredients that the book mentions and I have made many of the sauces listed in the book. In my opinion, this is one of the best Sichuan cookbooks that you can find. Since I have prepared many of the recipes mentioned in the book, I have adjusted the level of spiciness to suit my family desires. At some time in the past, the book was residing at Cambridge Public Library. Other than a stamp of the library on the inside cover, the book is in very impeccable condition. They also added another thick plastic jacket over the cover. Overall I am very pleased to own a copy of this book.

An excellent book on cooking and culture.

This is an extremely well written book, with careful instructions for making classic Sichuan dishes. Much restaurant and cookbook Chinese cookery of Britain and the USA is Cantonese, with some Peking style and Shanghai variations. The "Szechuan" or "Sichuan" style in most restaurants, without an authentic Sichuanese trained chef, is "watered down" Sichuan or a "hot" Cantonese variant, turning people off to a cuisine they have truly never tried. My Chinese chef-friend from Chengdu, Capital of Sichuan Province, has looked this book over, cooked several dishes from it for us, and proclaimed it "very very good". I've eaten in Chengdu, and also greatly appreciate the taste of native Sichuan cookery. For example, "Pork slices with black cloud fungus", a fairly quick and simple stir fry, was the real thing, just as my friend had back in Chengdu. Rehydrate the dried fungus to be moist and still be a touch crunchy, and do not overcook it, or it loses this necessary mild crunchy texture. Feeling a little peckish? Try also Sweet and sour pork, Boiled beef slices in a fiery sauce, Pock marked(Old woman's) Mother Chen's beancurd, hotpot broth (for dipping varied foods), and spicy braised fish with whole garlic. Yum! Need to learn what true cooking should taste like before cooking on your own? Compare your cookery with kitchens such as Bar Shu, the Sichuan restaurant in London under Miss Dunlop's supervision; some other Sichuan places in England are London's Sichuan Restaurant, and Red Chilli in Manchester. My friend and my only small complaint/suggestion is that as good as the color photos are, there is a great need to have photos of much more of the dishes in a next edition. (Photos of eight or more dishes can fit on one side of a page, to save costs, and increase variety.) Note, pictures of some dishes can sometimes be found by Googling. Sichuan peppercorn has been available again in the USA since 2005 at several internet pepper suppliers... it's a truly necessary ingredient for the "numbing" spice's contibution to quite a few authentic dishes. They are dark red, with the inner gritty black seeds removed. Chew one, if it doesn't have a tingling and somewhat numbing sensation on your tongue and lips within a minute, then get a fresher batch elsewhere! Supplies for the other staples can be found at Chinese/Asian suppply stores in larger cities, or from internet suppliers. Note: Fuchsia Dunlop's cookbook, "Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province", is also a very good book; I tend to prefer this one.

Made back the cost of the book in Kung Pao Chicken dinners

There are no steamed dishes but mostly require wok frying so the recipes aren't the healthiest but they are not that oily either (two teaspoons of oil in the wok and one teaspoon of sesame oil in the sauce for the Kung POW!) The layout of the book is encouraging and I had no problem reaching for it when I am at a loss over what to cook for dinner. Luckily I have chili peppers and sichuan peppercorn in my larder now so I am well-prepared to tackle these recipes which call for simple ingredients but the resulting flavors are complex and addictive. Once that ginger meets the sichuan pepper infused oil, one can taste the deliciousness of the dish by fragrance alone. I also understand what Chinese takeout food is all about now. These flavors are crowd pleasers and an unskilled cook like myself enjoys a 100% pass rating from picky eaters when these dishes are served. This is a perfect book and I laugh at Fuschia Dunlop's photo because I think her smile is like my inner smile when I see or think of something good to eat. My only regret with the layout is that the order of the ingredients for the marinade and the sauce are not in the same order so that if I need cornstarch in both liquids, I can use one measuring spoon for two ramekins. Because of this book, I purchased sichuan peppercorns, my first ever pricey knife, a Krups coffee grinder, more sesame oil, two bottles of Jonesy port and more cutting boards. The lip smacking flavors of Sichuanese cuisine are that motivating.

The best Sichuan cookbook I've come across

I was very surprised when I found this book in this library, because authentic Chinese cookbooks are difficult enough to find, and anything regional and non-Cantonese even rarer. I myself had never been to Sichuan, though my family did often dined at excellent Sichuan restaurants in Taiwan. Before I proceed to the recipes, let me state that having read the book several times already (!), this is by far the best regional cookbook on Chinese cooking I've read in English. The author has a talent for combining the precise instruction needed for writing a cookbook and a poetic flair for capturing the local attitude to food. Knowing that most of her audience would likely be unfamiliar with daily life in Sichuan, often a mystery even to outside Chinese, she details the street life there. One of my favorite part is that consequently, her cooking is mostly based on home style and street food rather than haute banquet cuisine (though there are a few recipes of those too). I find this a prudent choice, as banquet food are almost always too elaborate for home cooks, and few things reflect regional cuisine as well as street food. Most of the recipes are pretty straight forward, and addictively delicious. I've made some from the noodles section are my favorite, as I'm a big fan of snack food. Most of these food do not require more than a good cleaver, wok, and standard kitchen equipment to make. However, the Sichuan peppercorn is an absolute essential. Regarding to another review's warning, I believe the ban on fagara has been lifted, given that the pepper be subjected to high heat before import. Simple googling will turn up the sources. Another caveat, though it's not the really the author's fault, is that there were surprisingly few vegetable dishes, and even fewer vegetarian. This may be surprisingly given that most of China subside on primarily vegetable-based diets. However, there are actually not that many famous Sichuan vegetarian dishes, probably because they are seen as peasant affair. For vegetarians, I'd recommend borrowing this from the library or friend and copying down the dozen or so relevant recipes (after reading the entire book of course). Lastly, there are very few sweet dishes. This may bother some people, but sweets really are not part of daily traditional meals anyways, save for the complicated holiday specialities, so in a way I'm glad she left them out. I really am glad this book come to being. I don't have much actual complaints except that I wish there were more pictures. There are some here but not many, and given the unfamiliarity of most people to these cuisine I think photos would help. But otherwise, a new favorite and a real standout.

Astoundingly good cookbook

The mark of a good cookbook is that it get used a lot, and in just a few months my copy of Land of Plenty has acquired a variety of drips, splotches, and stains from its very frequent trips into my kitchen. I was fortunate enough to spend several weeks in Chengdu and Chongqing a few years ago, and the recipes in this book do a fantastic job of recreating the smells and flavors I remember from my trip. Literally every single recipe I've tried from this book has been a winner, and the Gong Bao Ji Ding (Kung Pao Chicken) has become a weekly standard around our place. My girlfriend, a native Chinese, has repeatedly commented that the flavors of these recipes taste authentic to her memories of eating at Sichuanese restaurants in China. As previous reviewers noted, Sichuan peppercorns, which are a key flavoring ingredient in some of these dishes, are indeed slowly making a comeback in the US. However, they still seem to be very hard to find outside of major Chinatowns like NYC and San Francisco. I eventually found a few Internet sources, such as the CMC Company, and was able to purchase them that way (and it was well worth it).

Great memories of Chengdu

I have prepared many of the dishes found in this book and have been amazed at how close the flavors were to what I've experienced while living in Chengdu and other places throughout Sichuan province. The introduction discusses the development of Sichuan cuisine, also its traditions and flavors. Notes on cooking methods, equipment, and an extensive section on ingredients found in a Sichuanese pantry help to highlight the uniqueness of the gastronomical delights found in this region of China. The recipes are divided into the following sections: -Appetizers -Meat Dishes -Poultry -Fish -Vegetables and Bean Curd -Stocks and Soups -Sweet Dishes -Hotpot The book is complimented by the translation into Chinese (both characters and pinyin) of every dish's name and major ingredient found within.