Il cibo in Cina può avere molti significati. Può essere un sacrificio solenne agli dèi e agli antenati, l'offerta che ci collega al mondo degli spiriti. Ma anche un simbolo di rango e autorità politica, una metafora per l'arte del governo. Il cibo è la medicina che nutre il corpo e la mente, che cura le malattie. È l'espressione del territorio e della stagione, dell'incessante movimento di yin e yang, del nostro legame con il cosmo.» Sospesa fra tecnica e magia, conoscenza degli ingredienti e sperimentazione, la cucina cinese ha una storia millenaria e ramificata, che Fuchsia Dunlop esplora come si fa con un continente: a piccole tappe, partendo dai fondamentali. Dal fuoco e dal riso, fino ai più ricercati metodi di cottura e al cerimoniale della tavola. Bocconcini di pollo con peperoncini alla maniera di Chongqing, spaghetti tagliati al coltello, mapo tofu, ravioli ripieni di brodo, ricette vegetariane della tradizione buddhista: ognuno di questi ventotto capitoli illustra un piatto o una tecnica culinaria, oltre a presentarci i professionisti del settore, i cuochi dilettanti, i gourmet, in un racconto che intreccia storia culturale e inguaribile passione per il cibo.

The lower Yangtze region, or Jiangnan, with its modern capital Shanghai, has been known since ancient times as a “land of fish and rice.” For centuries, local cooks have harvested the bounty of its lakes, rivers, fields, and mountains to create a cuisine renowned for its delicacy and beauty. In Land of Fish and Rice, Fuchsia Dunlop draws on years of study and exploration to present the recipes, techniques, and ingredients of the Jiangnan kitchen. You will be inspired to try classic dishes such as Beggar’s Chicken and sumptuous Dongpo Pork, as well as fresh, simple recipes such as Clear-Steamed Sea Bass and Fresh Soybeans with Pickled Greens. Evocatively written and featuring stunning recipe photography, this is an important new work celebrating one of China’s most fascinating culinary regions.

Fuchsia Dunlop trained as a chef in China’s leading Sichuan cooking school and possesses the rare ability to write recipes for authentic Chinese food that you can make at home. Following her two seminal volumes on Sichuan and Hunan cooking, Every Grain of Rice is inspired by the vibrant everyday cooking of southern China, in which vegetables play the starring role, with small portions of meat and fish.

Try your hand at stir-fried potato slivers with chili pepper, vegetarian “Gong Bao Chicken,” sour-and-hot mushroom soup, or, if you’re ever in need of a quick fix, Fuchsia’s emergency late-night noodles. Many of the recipes require few ingredients and are ridiculously easy to make. Fuchsia also includes a comprehensive introduction to the key seasonings and techniques of the Chinese kitchen. With stunning photography and clear instructions, this is an essential cookbook for everyone, beginner and connoisseur alike, eager to introduce Chinese dishes into their daily cooking repertoire.

After fifteen years spent exploring China and its food, Fuchsia Dunlop finds herself in an English kitchen, deciding whether to eat a caterpillar she has accidentally cooked in some home-grown vegetables. How can something she has eaten readily in China seem grotesque in England? The question lingers over this “autobiographical food-and-travel classic” (Publishers Weekly).

Fuchsia Dunlop is the author of the much-loved and critically acclaimed Sichuanese cookbook Land of Plenty, which won the British Guild of Food Writers' Jeremy Round Award for best first book and which critic John Thorne called “a seminal exploration of one of China's great regional cuisines.” Now, with Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook, she introduces us to the delicious tastes of Hunan, Chairman Mao's home province.

Hunan is renowned for the fiery spirit of its people, its beautiful scenery, and its hearty peasant cooking. In a selection of classic recipes interwoven with a wealth of history, legend, and anecdote, Dunlop brings to life this vibrant culinary region. Look for late imperial recipes like Numbing-and-Hot Chicken, Chairman Mao's favorite Red-Braised Pork, soothing stews, and a myriad of colorful vegetable stir-fries.

Subtitled, }Recipes From Hunan Province{. Brings you the astonishing flavours, history and tastes of the ancient Hunan region.

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. And it's not just about the kick of fiery red chiles and numbing Sichuan pepper: local chefs use unparallelled flavoring techniques to create at least twenty-three distinct flavor combinations, from sour-sweet, melting 'lychee flavor' to punchy, seductive 'fish-fragrant flavor.'

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. 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 fluency in the Chinese language gave her unprecedented access to China's most vibrant culinary region.

Now for the first time in the English language, 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. Written with the support of leading Sichuanese chefs and scholars, and researched entirely from local sources, Land of Plenty offers a clear and fascinating introduction to the real Sichuanese cuisine.

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. Cook up a genuine Pock-marked Mother Chen's bean curd or a Twice-cooked pork, make the fiery Dan Dan noodles which are traditionally sold by Sichuanese street vendors. Try out delicious and easy-to-make recipes for appetizers like Sweet-and-Sour Red Peppers and stir-fries or take on the challenge of the famous tea-smoked duck. And if you like to read cookbooks at night, just curl up in bed and savour the stories and adventures that will transport you to another world.

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.