Customer Reviews

Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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 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).

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.

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.

Dunlop's book on Sichuan cooking has a nice mix of recipes, technique explanations, ingredient descriptions, and stories of learning to cook in Sichuan province. Now that Sichuan peppercorns are legal again in the USA, and Toban bean paste can be found at many grocery stores, it really is possible to cook authentic Sichuan at home and this is the best guide I have seen. It is by no means a professional guide or authoritative collection of recipes, but rather a good solid beginners guide and reference to the fundamentals of the cuisine. I have tried at least a dozen of the recipes and have had great results so far. Highly recommended.

Having despaired for years about obtaining in the U.S. food as good as I'd eaten in Chengdu, I was quite pleased to come across this book and attempt several of the recipes. But the results have far surpassed my greatest hopes.

Not only were my "twice-cooked pork" and "mapo doufu" pronounced a marvel by my now awe-struck Chinese wife, but Ms. Dunlop has given me the priceless gift of tasting and thinking about Chinese cuisine in a new and more complex way.

If you love Chinese food you MUST buy and read this book. It's that good.

One reviewer warned that the U.S. Dep't of Agriculture's ban on the importation of Sichuan peppercorns limited the utility of this terrific book. Be advised that in the three years since that review was written, the U.S. has lifted the ban. I know because I bought some today, at a spice store in Chicago.

Fuchia Dunlap's first book on Sichuan cooking is a very strong entry into the world of works on regional cuisines. I heartily agree with blurbs by such notables as John Thorne and Alan Davidson that the work puts Dunlap in the company of Diana Kennedy and Paula Wolfert. One can hope that future works validate this initial judgement. We can use a lot more books like this.

I believe it is common knowledge among foodies that there is a big difference between Sechuan and Cantonese cuisine, and that the former is characterized by very spicy foods. Viewing a few episodes with the Iron Chef Chinese will fill you on this. What this book covers is to characterize with great clarity and thoroughness what Sichuan cooking is all about.

The first impression I get is that Sichuan cooking is very highly codified, almost on the same level as French cuisine. This immediately reveals to the reader that, for example, there are easily a half dozen different types of stir fry cooking within Sichuan cuisine alone. It also means that the Sichuan doctrines on taste match or exceed Western culinary tradition. They have, for example, the concept of `xian' which describes the `indefinable, delicious taste of fresh meat, poultry, and seafood'. This is in addition to the real magic the cuisine does with the more familiar sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. The author effectively captures and communicates the importance of these tastes in Sichuan cuisine to the reader, including experiments so one can experience these tastes first hand.

The second impression I get is that chilis, that is, plants of the genus capsicum from the new world, had as big an impact on Sichuan cuisine as the tomato had on Italian cuisine, at roughly the same time in history. Before new world chilis arrived, the heat in this cuisine came primarily from a local red pepper, a berry similar to our familiar black pepper. In the seventeenth century, the genus capsicum really took over. Yet, the cuisine is not as fiery hot as one may find in Mexico or the Caribbean. The peppers most commonly used are just moderately hot and the author constantly warns against substituting Thai chili peppers for the Sichuan peppers, as the result would be painful.

Following Ms. Wolfert and Ms. Kennedy, the author has successfully translated the Chinese techniques for English speaking readers. However, one would not be able to fully appreciate or execute these recipes without some basic ingredients and equipment. I really believe that one would loose something in these recipes if one did not have a round bottom wok and it's tools. Fortunately, even very good Chinese woks are very inexpensive, especially at restaurant supply stores. For those with electric ranges, a flat bottomed wok may be a reasonable approximation. I would also recommend that one make the effort to get the authentic canned and bottled ingredients. Substitutions, even from other Asian cuisines may give very misleading results. For the non-foodie recipe hunter, I recommend the chicken recipes and the vegetable recipes. The Kung Pao recipe is worth the price of admission and one always needs a way to make veggies more interesting. (I was surprised when the grean bean recipes used the French haricort vert and not the long Asian grean bean.)

If Ms. Dunlap is not presenting authentic recipes, she has done a very good job of fooling me. She has also succeeded in keeping me thoroughly entertained with her headnotes and stories about how she came across the various dishes. The only heads up I would give you, dear reader, about the recipes is that sometimes important information about the recipe is given in the headnote, which people in a hurry may not read. Otherwise, this is a first class job of recipe writing.

The photographs are gathered in color sections and are of reasonable, but not extraordinary quality. The introductory background on Sichuan cuisine and appendices are superb.

I should preface this review by saying that there really is a lot to like about this book. The author has a warm, friendly voice, and the recipes, which are quite varied and span a large range of flavors despite being all primarily Sichuan in origin, have appetite appeal right off the bat. I enjoy Sichuan food, having discovered it through a childhood neighbor from Sichuan province. When I went away to college, she gave me as a parting gift another book on Sichuan food, Mrs. Chiang's Szechwan Cookbook by Ellen Schrecker. This was before Land of Plenty and was probably the only Sichuan cookbook widely in circulation at the time. I've used it successfully for years.

But, when Land of Plenty came out, surrounded by positive buzz, I didn't want to be behind the times. I immediately rushed out to get it and started cooking from it with fervor, trying out Dunlop's versions of the same foods I used to make from Schrecker's. Now, I do want to keep this review as untainted as possible by my love for the other book, but I just couldn't help but compare the two. And, in my opinion, Land of Plenty is clearly the inferior book.

There are a few reasons why I believe this to be so. First of all, Dunlop's recipes are a bit simplified from their original versions. Not westernized, but a few differences here and there which might not matter to non-Chinese cooks but would be noticeable to a Sichuan person. One example would be Dunlop's recipe for Gong Bao Chicken (one of the few recipes that are superior in this book to Mrs. Chiang's version), using roasted peanuts instead of raw peanuts which are deep fried yourself. Does it really matter in the end? Maybe not, but a Sichuan cook is going to deep fry their peanuts.

Another problematic recipe I can think of having tried recently is for hot and sour soup. Dunlop omits some ingredients that should really be there, like wood ear mushrooms, tofu, and golden needles. Also, strangely, I had a bit of trouble with the green onions. The soup would have to be about boiling to cook them to a point where they didn't clash severely with the other flavors of the soup, but that would have killed most of the vinegar, which is instructed to be added before pouring it over the green onions. Just a curiosity. These recipes are for dishes with which most people have some familiarity, which is why I highlight them, but these small kinks are present throughout, and often times I find myself consulting my older Sichuan cookbook for a second opinion. If you are really into Sichuan food, the two books together will give you all the information you need, as one will have things the other doesn't. But I wouldn't exactly recommend using Land of Plenty by itself to a perfectionist of methodology and authenticity. It comes very close to being the complete authority on Sichuan food, but just doesn't quite cross over. I waver between three and four stars, but I'll round up for the helpful Chinese glossary, basic explanation of flavors and methods, and appetizing, inspiring color pictures.