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Fuchsia Dunlop

Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China Paperback – August 24, 2009

by Fuchsia Dunlop (Author)

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Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China
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"Not just a smart memoir about cross-cultural eating but one of the most engaging books of any kind I've read in years." ―Celia Barbour, O, The Oprah Magazine

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).

Print length

329 pages
Language

English
Publisher

W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date

August 24, 2009
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches
ISBN-10

0393332888
ISBN-13

978-0393332889
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"An insightful, entertaining, scrupulously reported exploration of China’s foodways and a swashbuckling memoir…What makes it a distinguished contribution to the literature of gastronomy is its demonstration…that food is not a mere reflection of culture but a potent shaper of cultural identity."
― Dawn Drzal, New York Times

"Destined, I think, to become a classic of travel writing."
― Paul Levy, The Observer

About the Author

Fuchsia Dunlop is the James Beard Award-winning author of several critically-acclaimed books about Chinese food, including her most recent cookbook, The Food of Sichuan. Four of her books have been published in China in Chinese translation. The first westerner to train at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine, she lives in London.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; First edition (August 24, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 329 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393332888
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393332889
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,309,155 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #480 in Chinese Cooking, Food & Wine
- #1,347 in Gastronomy Essays (Books)
- #1,482 in Culinary Biographies & Memoirs

Customer Reviews:
426 ratings

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Fuchsia Dunlop

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Fuchsia Dunlop is a cook and food-writer specialising in Chinese cuisine. She was the first Westerner to train as a chef at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine, and has spent much of the last two decades exploring China and its food. Her first book, 'Land of Plenty' (published in the UK as 'Sichuan Cookery') won the Jeremy Round Award for best first book, and was listed in the top ten of the Observer's '50 Best Cookbooks of All Time'. 'Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province' was shortlisted for two major awards, while 'Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China' won the IACP Jane Grigson Award and the Kate Whiteman Award for writing on food and travel. 'Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking', published in 2012, won the James Beard Foundation International Award and the Kate Whiteman Award for writing on food and travel.

Fuchsia's most recent book, 'Land of Fish and Rice: Recipes from the Culinary Heart of China', an introduction to the food and flavours of Shanghai and the Lower Yangtze or Jiangnan region, won the UK Guild of Food Writers Cookbook of the Year Award and the Andre Simon Food Book Award; it was also shortlisted for the James Beard Foundation International Award and the IACP International Award 2017.

Fuchsia's articles have appeared in many publications, including The Financial Times, The New Yorker, Lucky Peach, Gourmet, Saveur and The Observer. In 2012 she won the James Beard Foundation Award for writing on food culture and travel.

Aside from writing, Fuchsia leads expert culinary tours of China with the travel agency WildChina, which were designated 'Tour of a Lifetime' by National Geographic Magazine.

Fuchsia's favourite Chinese recipe is Fish-Fragrant Eggplants (yu xiang qie zi).

For more information, visit Fuchsia's website, www.fuchsiadunlop.com

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

426 global ratings

5 star		65%
4 star		22%
3 star		9%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Joshua M. Kuo

Beyond just food and cookery

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 24, 2023

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I am a fan of food and history. This book has the perfect blend of both. This is not merely a book about food, cookery, with some light touches of history. It goes so much deeper, into the culture of the Chinese people, the recent global changes, and really reflects on humanity as a whole. Excellent story telling, beautifully told in a way that when I read it, I felt like I was sitting at the same small kitchen with white tiles, slurping noodles, watching out at the countryside. I loved it so much I bought a second copy to give away as gift, and since I could read Chinese, I also bought the Chinese edition to do a comparison.

Helpful

Matthew B. Christensen

Excellent culinary memoir

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 5, 2013

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First off I should say that I love eating in China. In fact, that is what I most look forward to when I am heading to China. The variety and quality of the various cuisines in China is truly extraordinary. I really related to this book, not only for the eating adventures, but also because I also was once a young student in China trying to figure things out around me. Dunlop was a young girl studying Chinese in Chengdu when she became distracted by the heady smells and tastes that surrounded her. She enrolled in the local cooking school and dove headfirst into the wonderful world of Chinese cuisine, specifically 川菜 chuāncài, or Sichuan cooking, in her case.

What makes this book so readable, and persuasive, is Dunlop's ability to engage the reader with personal and intimate stories of regular people and homestyle cooking. As a speaker of Chinese she is able to share experiences with ordinary Chinese that would not be possible without a knowledge of the language. For example, she befriends the cook at the local noodle shop and eventually persuades him to give her the recipe for his famous dandan noodles, which she shares with the reader. I know I have said this before in other book reviews, but knowing Chinese really opens up all kinds of doors and allows one to experience a China that would not be possible if you did not know the language.

She correctly states on page 206, "Food has always been of exceptional importance in Chinese culture. It is not only the currency of medicine, but of religion and sacrifice, love and kinship, business relationships, bribery, and even, on occasion, espionage. `To the people, food is heaven,' goes the oft-repeated saying." Though the book focusses on Sichuan cuisine, she does give insight into China's other culinary traditions as well.

The book is engaging, entertaining, and very informative. It is obvious that she has done her homework and knows her stuff. She gets added credibility because she experiences all this first hand while she lived in China and on subsequent trips back after returning to the UK.

The reader comes away from this book fascinated with Chinese food, and really hungry. The food she describes in the real thing. This is a well written memoir and I highly recommend it.

4 people found this helpful

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Julie

As good as Peter Hessler

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 18, 2014

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For me, this book has a very special place in my heart. I was in Chengdu at the same time, living in the same area and eating in the same restaurants as Ms. Dunlop. I never met her and I don't ever remember seeing someone who looked like her. But her description of Chengdu, of Sichuan cuisine, of being a foreigner in China in the 90s, of decompressing in Hong Kong, and the reverse culture shock when one returns to the West are exactly what I experienced and felt when I lived there. She captures it perfectly, but what she does that I have never been able to do is to verbalize it so precisely and profoundly in writing what all of it means--being someone caught between two cultures and of losing your principles or ideas of what is right or wrong. I think her understanding of China is as accurate and well-articulated as Peter Hessler. I put her on an equal par with him. So if you want to really understand China from an outsiders perspective, add Fuchsia Dunlop's memoir to your list of books to read (along with her cookbooks.) I also think this is a good book for anyone who has lived in China or is going to live there or maybe has lived in any country is eastern Asia.

20 people found this helpful

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Nom de Guerre

An engrossing read that will revolutionize the way you think of Chinese food

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 1, 2009

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I bought this book having already used Ms. Dunlop's phenomenal cookbooks for about a year--to my mind, they are the holy grail of Chinese cookbooks in the English language--so when I found out that she had written her memoirs I was already on-board. That said, Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper went above and beyond my expectations when I read it. Dunlop writes beautifully--engagingly, even engrossingly, and I found myself staying up late just to read more. Moreover, what she has to say is fascinating. She really made clear the philosophy behind a lot of Chinese cooking, and though at times she described menu items that I could not imagine putting in my mouth, I found myself trying the most amazing and unexpected things at Chinese restaurants as a result of her narrative. Something else I appreciated about this book was that it was not unrelentingly positive, and that it did not wax poetic constantly. Dunlop is straightforward and honest, and she challenges the reader to take a fresh look at eating in China--in terms of taste and texture, in terms of cultural setting, in terms of economics and environmental impact. This is a fascinating book, and it will completely change the way you think of Chinese food.

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Dr. L. Gefin

Short of a love letter

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 30, 2017

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Quite honestly, I cannot write a review of any one of Fuchsia Dunlop's books without switching to another genre of writing, i.e., the love-letter. I am no spring chicken, and have been busy as an amateur cook for some 50 years, but to get a shot in the arm like the one I get from reading and cooking from her books is truly extraordinary. She has given me a new zest for cooking, not just Chinese food, but things that I have not made for years. A tiny wish, after the Earl of Rochester: dear Fuchsia, "please continue as thou art."

7 people found this helpful

Iris

Worth reading

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 18, 2020

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The author has really dived into local cuisine and try to explore the culture behind it. The first half of the book was eye opening and her understanding truly amazing. But the author seems have fallen into confirmation bias in the later part of this book and picked holes on niche issue of the culture.

Sarah

High expectations fulfilled!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 9, 2012

Verified Purchase

After being introduced to Fuscia Dunlop by my brother, I was interested to read this book and get more insight into China and its cuisine. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was fascinated to follow her as she recounted her development of tastes for Chinese food and skill in cooking it. As a newcomer to Chinese food, I learned a great deal and found the book quite thought provoking. It is certainly a book that one can enjoy more than once and I liked the inclusion of some recipes. I would definitely recommend it.

3 people found this helpful

Percy

... (in the sense that a cook isn't necessarily a good writer) - but it really is

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 1, 2018

Verified Purchase

I know (of) Ms Dunlop from her cookery books so I wasn't expecting this to be quite so well written (in the sense that a cook isn't necessarily a good writer) - but it really is. Fascinating, illuminating, entertaining. Magic. I'll read this again.

2 people found this helpful

andrew cavalleri

Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 30, 2020

Verified Purchase

Lovely book and a great read

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Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China Paperback – August 24, 2009

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