I enjoy this author’s writing on Chinese food – she has really managed to work her way into the culinary world of China, and her books on her background and experiences there are full of great stories and delicious food.
This book was a bit different than her others that I’ve read. Here she explores some fundamental questions – what is Chinese food, what are the different varieties and subgroups, and how has it evolved over history. All of this is from the “western perspective”, so she guides us through the introduction with a story about her first experience with British Chinese food.
The book is deep and wide, and the subject is much larger than most people would expect. The whole point of the book is to introduce a culinary world that was most likely previously unknown. She spends time in various parts of this culinary world – sometimes I was a little confused with the order of how she presents things – but in every chapter I found myself getting hungry.
For Americans like me China is fairly inaccessible. Even though it is right outside my doorstep (plenty of direct flights there every day!) the political and visa situation preclude any sort of impromptu visit. But this book takes you throughout China, on sort of a VIP tour of culinary hotspots and the chance to see what is being eaten now (and through history).
If I had any complaint I’d say that this book felt almost more like a reference book than one you’d read for entertainment. There is a lot of history and Chinese language, even poetry. This is natural and helps to understand the backdrop to each culinary tradition – but sometimes it was a bit dry to get through.
Thanks to this book I’ll start searching out restaurants around my area that may serve up some of these dishes for ethnic Chinese people living in Japan. The hunt is on now!
Next I am reading Vengeance is Mine by Marie NDiaye.
