A taste for China

"You find everything from street food and farmhouse cooking to the most elaborate banquets in the country," she says. "It's also the home of some of China's most esteemed ingredients: Jinhua ham, Shaoxing wine, hairy crabs ... . But Sichuanese is the cuisine I started with."

While the 368-page book is lovingly written and rich with photos, it is clearly meant for the kitchen and not the coffee table. Besides the detailed recipes, there are tips on planning a menu, finding ingredients, buying equipment and cooking techniques.

"It's for people interested in food culture and people who like to cook," she says. "I wanted a good mix, easy-to-do dishes as well as more elaborate ones."

Dunlop sees the current battle over pork－fatty pork－in China as misplaced, though she appreciates concerns about obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

"Pork is not the problem," she insists. "If you eat meat in the normal Chinese way, it's very healthy. Chinese people eat small amounts of meat with a lot of vegetables. You can use meat as a flavoring to make vegetables taste delicious."

Dunlop laughs when I ask why she thinks many Westerners shy away from tofu.

"Tofu is seen as a substitute for things you'd prefer to be eating, like meat," she says.

"Put a plate of mapo tofu in front of somebody, and they are converted."

Contact the writer at michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn