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

Dunlop, Fuschia

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393066576 ISBN 13: 9780393066579

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co., 2013

Synopsis

A new memoir by the most talented and respected British food writer of her generation. Award-winning food writer Fuchsia Dunlop went to live in China as a student in 1994, and from the very beginning she vowed to eat everything she was offered, no matter how alien and bizarre it seemed. In this extraordinary memoir, Fuchsia recalls her evolving relationship with China and its food, from her first rapturous encounter with the delicious cuisine of Sichuan Province to brushes with corruption, environmental degradation, and greed. In the course of her fascinating journey, Fuchsia undergoes an apprenticeship at China's premier Sichuan cooking school, where she is the only foreign student in a class of nearly fifty young Chinese men; attempts, hilariously, to persuade Chinese people that "Western food" is neither "simple" nor "bland"; and samples a multitude of exotic ingredients, including sea cucumber, civet cat, scorpion, rabbit-heads, and the ovarian fat of the snow frog. But is it possible for a Westerner to become a true convert to the Chinese way of eating? In an encounter with a caterpillar in an Oxford kitchen, Fuchsia is forced to put this to the test.

From the vibrant markets of Sichuan to the bleached landscape of northern Gansu Province, from the desert oases of Xinjiang to the enchanting old city of Yangzhou, this unique and evocative account of Chinese culinary culture is set to become the most talked-about travel narrative of the year.

About this title

Review:

"Britain's most informed Sichuan food expert" (Terry Durack Independent)

"The best writer in the West - and perhaps in the world - on Chinese food" (Bee Wilson Sunday Telegraph)

"I, for one, am grateful to be living in an era when I can read Fuchsia Dunlop's erudite writing. Her latest, Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper is filled with personal and humorous observations that make for fascinating reading. It is not only a memoir about food but also of culture from one of the world's oldest civilisations." (Ken Hom)

"Fuchsia Dunlop is not just one of the world's experts on Chinese regional food, but a beautiful writer too. You can almost smell the Sichuan pepper and fish fragrant aubergines wafting off every page. She captures Sichuan life with a keen eye and elegant pen, at a time where China was on the cusp of opening up to the West. It's as evocative and eloquent picture of Chinese food and culture as you'll ever read, quietly erudite yet utterly addictive." (Tom Parker Bowles)

"Fuchsia has a rare ability to convey an encyclopaedic knowledge of Chinese cuisine in a compelling and totally delicious way; this is a great book" (Heston Blumenthal)

Book Description:

Literary, entertaining and almost anthropological.

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co.
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0393066576
• ISBN 13: 9780393066579
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352