Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking

I am a native of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province where Fuchsia Dunlop received the culinary training that inspired this cookbook. The dishes in this book are familiar classic examples of the cuisine I grew up with.My family immigrated to the United States when I was young, but my parents, both having lived in Chengdu their whole lives until immigrating, were nostalgic for our native cuisine. My family used to drive many hours to buy ingredients or to try new Sichuan restaurants (which are few and far between in the Midwest), and my mother cooked traditional Sichuan dinners every night. She eventually opened her own restaurant, and she and my father are currently owners of another popular Sichuan restaurant. The food is unlike the Cantonese-inspired dishes served in your run of the mill American-Chinese restaurant.That being said, I know my Sichuan food. Having never learned to cook while growing up, when I left home and moved many hours away, I was constantly nostalgic for the dishes I grew up on. I purchased this book almost 7 years ago, and it was my first step in learning to cook properly. Since I am unable to read Chinese, this book is the closest thing I've found to an authentic Sichuan cookbook.The recipes are fairly accurate, and the book includes sections describing the more exotic ingredients, as well as suggestions for easier-to-find substitutes. Additionally, the recipes are formatted well and logically grouped into sections. The writing is enjoyable to read, peppered with bits of trivia about the dishes and anecdotal accounts from the authors time in Chengdu. The binding and the thick glossy paper are of high quality, with richly saturated images. It has held up very well over time.I cannot recommend this book enough. This was one of the few things I brought with me when I moved across the country 5 years ago, and it still sits on my shelf today. While I don't use it often (I've since become very adept at cooking Sichuan food intuitively without recipes, since I cook these things every day), I do sometimes reference it when looking for ingredient substitutions. Most of the Sichuan dishes I know how to make have evolved from the recipes in this book.Another note: authentic versions of classic Sichuan recipes are difficult to find on the internet. More often than not, googling a well-know Sichuan dish turns up some Americanized, Taiwanese, or other interpretation of these famous dishes, and they *do not* taste like the real thing. The versions in this book are pretty much spot on for what I've eaten growing up and on visits to Chengdu.

I absolutely love this cookbook! When my boyfriend requested I expand my love of cooking to include, specifically, Sichuan cuisine I was a bit nervous.After researching A LOT of books I stumbled upon, and decided to purchase, Land of Plenty. Fuchsia Dunlop does a terrific job of describing the area from where the recipes originate. She also provides detailed lists of all items necessary to fully utilize this cookbook.In an effort to impress that cute boy of mine I went all in. I spent over an hour in a large Asian market searching for all of the items mentioned in the book. This is where I completely agree with another review which stated having the Chinese names would be very helpful.The main reason I am raving about this book is the fact you can follow a recipe exactly and the dish is amazing! My plan is to always follow a recipe the first time I make it then adjust if I chose after that. I so appreciate the work which went into these recipes to ensure the original recipe is worth making over and over again.I've had the book for a few months now and made, at least, 10+ recipes.Suggestions:1) Commit to getting all ingredients necessary for these recipes. It is virtually impossible to made this food delicious without the proper ingredients.2) Be willing to try new things. There will certainly be ingredients in this book many Americans have not tried. Ms. Dunlop does a fantastic job of walking you through exactly what you need to do to make everything work. Be adventurous!

This is my absolute favorite Chinese cookbook, and I have now owned it for about 5 years.I was born in China, grew up eating delicious home cooked dishes my mom made, who learned her cooking skills from my grandma. However, I was never very good about learning from my mom how to cook, and it wasn't until we are living far apart when I got sick of the same old things I made and decided to venture further. And that's when Land of Plenty and Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook came in.Firstly, I no longer remember how to read Chinese, so Fuschia Dunlop's version is fantastic. Secondly, she provides easy substitute suggestions for those of us living in the western world. Because despite my easy access to abundant Chinese grocery stores, there are some things that hard to find. And last but not least, the dishes made from this book are simple and authentic. I've made dishes from this book for exchange students from Chengdu who remarked that they feel like they are back home with the meal. And whether bad or good, I've become pickier about what we eat in Chinese restaurants BECAUSE I know I can make so many of the dishes, and do it well. Still, it's a testament to how good this book is.The book itself is sturdy and now has much crinkles and some splatter, marks of a well-used book. The one con about this book would be the lack of pictures. For me at least, I love using the pictures as a guide of what I want to make, and sometimes as a guide of what my food should look like at the end. And sometimes, recipes get looked over because there is no picture. Still, this should not be a deterrent from getting the book because there are just SO much wonderful recipes here.Happy cooking and eating!

If you're looking for a cookbook with lots of pretty pictures, move right along. This book is, instead, very seriously sourced, and full of advice. Almost more advice than recipes! A seasoned cook who wants to learn Sichuan cooking can seriously dive into this [as I have]. This is not a book for a novice or a casual browser.

Detailiertes Kompendium inkl. einer Übersicht der traditionellen Zubereitungsarten.

The kind of author, once you read one of her books, that's it, you are hooked. I have high respect for her books and I'm a dedicated to her. I love this indepth, thourough, super detailed mind and madly researched book. Here is more about reading, getting lost through the pages, reading a story, not so much about photography. Her efforts to create something unique in her books is always felt when you read through the pages. I would have loved it even more if it had more photography in it so that I could learn more in depth about such good writing in this book for a specific cuisine, for a speficic area. This is like an intimate private diary of a passionate author who is willing to put all her heart into it and share it with the world.

Authentic recipes and sichuan taste. Very detailed explaination of methods and how to. Nice introduction to every recipe. Simply the excellence, made some chinese friends taste recipes in there and they were suprised and pleased. 5/5, no regrets, would buy it again.

Book is great. Did arrive five weeks after ordering, but not too far beyond what was expected.