Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper (English)

Whether describing hungrily crunching into deep-fried rabbit heads after a night of excess or the sublimely delicate flavors of pillow-soft tofu, food writer and journalist Fuchsia Dunlop's memoir will leave readers both longing for authentic Chinese cuisine and impressed by her adventurous spirit. A meditation on the author's intriguing transition from a foreign student on the wrong career path into a Sichuanese culinary zealot, this well-written story follows Dunlop as she converts to a centuries-old way of eating. The first Westerner to attend the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine, she goes on to explore all the textures, flavors, and variety offered in China, from the mundane (twice-cooked pork) to the exotic (civet cat) on her impressive journey. Dunlop discusses her willingness to eat anything, as well as her concerns over China's environment and corrupt politics, with equal gusto, eventually finding a carefully mediated peace. Fuchsia Dunlop is the author of LAND OF PLENTY and REVOLUTIONARY CHINESE COOKBOOK. minimize