[2] While Dunlop was in China, a friend from Denmark told her that she should author a book after seeing her copy down recipes.
Dunlop decided to pursue this goal since she perceived the Western market for Chinese cookbooks to lack any "researched on the ground" type works.
[2] Susan Jung of the South China Morning Post wrote that the original 2001 book "established Fuchsia Dunlop as the English-writing authority on Sichuanese cuisine.
"[3] Publishers Weekly gave the 2003 American edition a starred review and stated that "the book is a pleasure—both to cook from and to read.
"[4] Jay Rayner of The Guardian described the 2019 edition as "a detailed, sometimes nerdy, often romantic guide-cum-travelogue through" Sichuan cuisine.