The Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook

Chinese cookbook author Fuschia Dunlop’s award-winning book on the food of Hunan, the birthplace of revolutionary leader Mao Zidong.

Considered by many people to be Fuschia Dunlop’s best book on Chinese cooking, The Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook offers not just recipes, but a historical glimpse into the personalities that created contemporary China. Hunan is adjacent to Sichuan, and its most famous son, Mao Zidong, led China into a revolution and was its first Communist chairman. Hunan cuisine is arguably punchier and spicier than its Sichuan neighbor. Included in this book is the General Tso’s Chicken, created by a Hunan chef who fled to Taiwan after the revolution of 1949. Also look out for Mao’s red-cooked pork belly, purportedly the Chairman’s favorite dish.