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

  • Fish-fragrant aubergines

    Fish-fragrant aubergines

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

    • Categories: Side dish; Chinese
    • Ingredients: Chinese chile bean paste; light soy sauce; potato flour; sesame oil; fish stock; aubergines; Chinkiang vinegar; spring onions
    show

  • Show all Recipes...

Notes about this book

This book does not currently have any notes.

Notes about Recipes in this book

  • Xie Laoban's dan dan noodles

    • Stephenn31 on August 18, 2024

      Perfect, just as I remembered it from Chengdu (I added a tiny bit of garlic to the sauce)

  • Twice-cooked pork

    • JimCampbell on April 17, 2026

      A 3.0 out of 5. A tasty dish. Requires some advance planning to simmer the pork, cool, and refrigerate for slicing. The dish comes together quickly after the prep work is done. Used large spring onions since baby leeks are hard to find. Could not find the Sichuan Wheaten paste and used regular bean sauce. Would likely use light soy instead of dark soy to lighten the dish a bit. Also, the piece of pork belly we had was very lean and could have used more simmering time. Next time well go with a fattier piece of pork belly so the meat is not so dry at the end. Definitely on the list.

You must Create an Account or Sign In to add a note to this book.

Reviews about this book

This book does not currently have any reviews.

  • ISBN 10 0393248984
  • ISBN 13 9780393248982
  • Published Aug 24 2009
  • Format eBook
  • Page Count 336
  • Language English
  • Countries United States
  • Publisher W. W. Norton & Company
  • Imprint W. W. Norton & Company

Publishers Text

This is the story of an English girl who went to China to learn the language, but whose love of food led her down a very different path...

Award-winning food writer Fuchsia Dunlop went to live in China in 1994, and from the very beginning vowed to eat everything she was offered, no matter how bizarre it seemed to her as a Westerner. 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 as a Sichuanese chef; attempts, hilariously, to persuade Chinese people that 'Western food' is neither 'simple' nor 'bland'; and samples a multitude of exotic ingredients, including dog meat, civet cats, scorpions, 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 Oxfordshire 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 is an unforgettable account of the world's most amazing culinary culture.

Other cookbooks by this author