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

I discovered this book from an excerpt in The Best Food Writing 2008. I was impressed by the writing and thought the concept of going to a university in China was pretty bold for an English girl. But that what was thought I learned from the excerpt. But when I actually got the whole book, it was an even better story!

Fuchsia Dunlop went to China to study Chinese policy on ethnic minorities, on a British Council grant in 1994. She was working at the BBC. She ended up at Sichuan University in the foreign students wing. She wasn't quite sure what she was doing there. Her Chinese was too poor to do scholarly work, and the topic she had chosen was a "subject fraught with political sensitivities." She ended up writing down her impressions of the food. She had thought about being a professional cook, but that is not where her path lead her. But here, she finds herself curious about Chengdu and the region's food, it's cooks and their kitchens and she tours around asking questions, making friends and writing down recipes. And because China was just beginning to open itself up the world, Fuchsia and her fellow students are a curiosity to the locals too.

Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China is more than just a book about food. It is a story of finding one's place in the world - even if that happens to be China, and creating a life. It is a traveler's journey and Dunlop writes with insight and humor about a time and place that has changed irrevocably since she has been there. And then there is the food. She writes with such knowledge and discription you will be craving Chinese food there after. Makes you wish you went with her. And after reading the book, I guess I did. A very good read.

Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China

Jen Lin-Liu is an American journalist and food writer living in Beijing, China. She decides to hone up on her cooking skills by taking Chinese cooking classes in a state run cooking school. Her adventures have lead to the book, Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China.

So is this book about Chinese cooking? Yes - but it is so much more. It is also a study of China today and where it is headed. It is about the ambition of it's people and where they have been. Who knew that one of the most important people that she meets is the secretary and caretaker of the school? This "non" teacher becomes Jen's guide to the China of yesteryear as well as her traditionalist cooking advisor and friend. As Jen discovers and learns about different regional cuisines, she travels and cooks in different areas and restaurants. Everything from your local small lunchtime noodle shop to the high class international restaurants of Shanghai.

A good book for Chinese food fans, history fans, and those who are trying to get a grasp on the Chinese culture today. After reading this, one has a better understanding of how the latest food scares out of China can happen and why they will probably continue. An excellent read.

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World Of Chinese Food

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World Of Chinese Food by Jennifer 8. Lee is a whirlwind trip into Chinese American cuisine. The fortune cookie is an American made phenomena, but does it have an ancestry in the food culture it helped popularize? That is the start of Lee's quest and she takes the reader all over the world in search of answers.

As an American -born Chinese, she takes us in the history of the Chinese food in America and elsewhere. Chinese food is served in all seven continents - including Antarctica. (And she takes us to some of the most well known of the overseas restaurants. The irony is that most of them have"American style" food!) It is a story of Chinese immigration and adaptation.

Just who first made chop seuy anyway - and just who is this General Tso and his chicken? (This dish really sounds like just a variation of sesame chicken to me!) And what happens when hundreds of people use the same numbers from their fortune cookie to play the lottery? Read and find out.

Lee's book is well written and thoughtful. She provides us with a glimpse of the Chinese American experience. I'm just glad she let us all come along for the ride. A must read for anyone who loves their local Chinese takeout. Well written and a lot of fun. And yes, it will make you hungry.

A Year Without "Made in China"

A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy by Sara Bongiorni is the story of how a simple concept that started as a New Year's resolution grew into a family journey and book. The author, an avid label reader, was struck by the amount of items under the Christmas tree that were made in China. As a journalist, she had read some of the upcoming articles of China's economic machine, but it had never struck so close to home. She decided with her husband (who she starts out calling "the weakest link"), to try a family resolution of not purchasing anything new that was "made in China."

Their decision brings up all sorts of issues. What if they get a gift that is Chinese made? Are there items the Chinese have a monopoly on? (Apparently seasonal decorations, cheap sunglasses and reasonably priced children's shoes and toys.) Would they be able to replace their coffee maker at all? What about the components that are made in China? Does that count? Bongiorni finds that it is a struggle and can be - depending on the item you're searching for - take a lot of time and energy.

She does a great job of telling of the little struggles that her family has. What to do about birthday gifts for small children? (Some Legos) And what about her kids? Are they suffering with the loss of these goods? (No) She finds out that it probably is easier to do this now when her kids are small, and to her surprise, that her husband offers her some good support, and that they are saving some money from not buying or replacing their doodads and junk.

This is a fun and easily accessible book about one's consumer dollar. Bongiorni makes it an entertaining family story and allows the armchair reader to wonder "what if..." A great fast read.