Book excerpt: 'Fuchsia Dunlop, our great writer and expert on Chinese gastronomy, has fallen in love with this region and its cuisine – and her book makes us fall in love too' Claudia Roden 'Fuchsia Dunlop's erudite writing infuses each page and her delicious recipes will inspire any serious cook to take up their wok' Ken Hom The Lower Yangtze region or Jiangnan, with its modern capital Shanghai, has been known since ancient times as a 'Land of Fish and Rice'. For centuries, local cooks have been using the plentiful produce of its lakes, rivers, fields and mountains, combined with delicious seasonings and flavours such as rice vinegar, rich soy sauce, spring onion and ginger, to create a cuisine that is renowned in China for its delicacy and beauty. Drawing on years of study and exploration, Fuchsia Dunlop explains basic cooking techniques, typical cooking methods and the principal ingredients of the Jiangnan larder. Her recipes are a mixture of simple rustic cooking and rich delicacies – some are famous, some unsung. You'll be inspired to try classic dishes such as Beggar's chicken and sumptuous Dongpo pork. Most of the recipes contain readily available ingredients and with Fuchsia's clear guidance, you will soon see how simple it is to create some of the most beautiful and delicious dishes you'll ever taste. With evocative writing and mouth-watering photography, this is an important new work about one of China's most fascinating culinary regions.