China in Seven Banquets: A Flavourful History

(Hardback)

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Description

China in Seven Banquets ranges through 5,000 years of China's food history in seven iconic meals, from the opulent Eight Treasures fete to the 'Tail-Burning' banquet of the Tang Dynasty and the Qing court's extravagant 'complete Manchu-Han feast'. We also experience lavish repasts from literature and film, a New Year's buffet from 1920s Shanghai and a delivery menu from the hyper-global twenty-first century, and even peek at the tables of the not-so-distant future. Drawing upon decades of experience eating his way around China, Beijing-based historian Thomas David DuBois explains why culinary fashions come and go, as well as recreates dozens of historical recipes in a modern kitchen. From fermented elk to absinthe cocktails, this is Chinese food as you've never seen it before.

Reviews

"China in Seven Banquets is a wonderfully pleasurable insight into the long history of Chinese food. DuBois's delightful prose is quite a banquet to feast on. This book will take pride of place in my library of cookery books, as it will in yours!"--Ken Hom OBE, author, chef, and TV presenter

Author Bio

Thomas David DuBois is professor in the Folk Culture Research Center of Beijing Normal University. He is the author of numerous books on China's history and religion.