Good Food of Szechwan

This book is dedicated to Szechwan cooking. The recipes are great and detailed. However there are no pictures, colored or otherwise, for the reader to follow. I use pictures in a book as my check along the way. To me going through the book and recipes without pictures is boring.

This text by Robert Delfs was originally published in 1974, with newer printings at least in the 80's (I have the 10th printing from 1983) wiith some color photographs. This speaks quite well for the demand and authenticity of this text. I am not Chinese, and can appreciate that the author learned Chinese and has lived and cooked in Taipei, China and later around Asia for some 30+ years, codifying the different variations of a dish into a one representative set of ingredients, with precise instructions on the techniques of cooking. He instructs how to properly chop up a chicken to maximize it's taste in a recipe, and gives numerous helpful pointers througout the book. Which cooking oil is the best (and the worst), hints on cooking certain peppers, how much water to add to make rice- it really depends on the length of the grains-all pointers that many native Chinese cooks know, but are rarely put into English language cookbooks. This has been the classic text for many years, before Fuchsia Dunlop published her "Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking". Her much newer book has some colorful photos and more recipes. While Dunlop's may be better suited for a beginner to Szechuan cooking, expecially since hers is readily available at bookstores, I would have both books, and do have both upon my shelf, to appreciate the finer points of each scholar-cook's viewpoint.

I'm sorry to see this book out of print. It is my "bible", and I have given it for many gifts. The most straightforward and understandable Chinese cookbook I have ever used. The dishes are definitely NOT run-of-the-mill in results, but the preparation is simple and quick. Everyone who wants to make truly authentic Szechuan food must have it.