Cookbook: The Food of Sichuan by Fuschia Dunlop

Whether you're new to Sichuan cooking or have been at it for years, this is the one cookbook you cannot do without. Newbies will find a thorough introduction to ingredients and dozens of classic Sichuan recipes, while experienced cooks will be thrilled to discover recipes that delve deep and wide into all corners of the province and the history of the cuisine.

Even if you have the first edition of this book, entitled The Land of Plenty and published in the U.S. in 2001, you'll want to add this one, as it has been thoroughly updated and expanded. Fuchsia Dunlop, the British chef and author of The Food of Sichuan, is universally acclaimed as the foremost writer on Mainland Chinese cuisine in the English language, and this is the book that started it all. She wrote it in the late 1990s, after being the first foreigner to study at the Sichuan Higher Institute of Cuisine, which trains many of the country's top chefs. 

Since then, China has changed at breakneck speed, as has its food, and this edition reflects that evolution as well as Dunlop's own growing expertise. All the original recipes have been retested and tweaked and there are more than 70 new recipes. Perhaps our favorite new addition is the two pages toward the back devoted to Sauces and Dips. For those who already cook Sichuan food, this is a great shortcut and handy guide to flavoring cold dishes and small plates with Sichuan's iconic flavor combinations.