"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