Ian

gus_tatory, Simply load some rice and water into a rice cooker and drop a couple of sausages on top. When the rice is ready, the sausages should be too. Gorgeous! All the best,

tommy, That doesn't make sense. If she had no trouble obtaining them in New York, how would she come to the conclusion that they're difficult to come by. What actually seems more difficult to come by is official confirmation that this ban exists. I just think you're failing to give her a fair hearing on account of the fact that you failed to find them yourself. As I mentioned, whilst I haven't bought them myself recently, I've been told by people I trust that sichuan peppercorns can be found in NYC if you know what to look for. All the best,

eatingwitheddie, Just to clarify, I said "I wonder where in the USA it started", "it" being the dish's tour round the USA. :-) Thanks for your account of the dish. I will enjoy attempting to make it! Does anyone else remember eating it in the USA before 1973? Also, was the dish given the name "General Tso's Chicken" upon arrival in the USA? Any idea? All the best,

Wow! You really do have an axe to grind. Why? If you've read the piece you'll know she cooked recipes from Fuchsia Dunlop's book. In order to do so she will have needed sichuan pepper. Now, either she already had some or she was able to buy some. If we assume the latter, what other research would have been necessary? All the best,

Reading the piece, I wonder if she was treated that way because she was one of the "fifteen". All the best, -- Ian

Perhaps Florance Fabricant didn't have any problem obtaining some. All the best,

One of the things I find interesting is that General Tso's Chicken is practically unheard of in the UK - I wonder where in the USA it started... All the best,

Tommy, You're just not looking hard enough! Has anyone actually managed to obtain anything official on this ban? Everything I've seen so far has been third party. All the best,

Tommy, My point is that it was an article for the New York Times. In that area, sichuan pepper can be found. If it was a national newspaper, you would have a point. SethG, I haven't been to NYC for a while but friends tell me they're available. One time I bought them in NYC I had to ask six different people in one store before they understood what I was looking for! They simply know them by the Cantonese or Mandarin name, not sichuan pepper, bunge prickly ash, etc. All the best,

Tommy, that may be true but it's an article in the New York Times. All the best,

Scott, I'm surprised it has been discussed this much. All the best,

No mistake. Sichuan pepper can still be found in NYC chinatown. All the best, -- Ian

I honestly don't understand what the issue is here. As I understand it, you agreed to the cancellation fee when you made the booking. As you didn't cancel in time, the restaurant advised you that you would be charged. If you're not happy with that then you shouldn't really have agreed to it in the first place. Sorry. :-( Yes, they could have let you off with customer/public relations in mind but that would surely send out the wrong message? Everyone you’ve told this story to will now be aware that they have to honour a reservation or cancel in time with this restaurant. One assumes they have enough business not to worry about people put off. As for the general question of cancellation fees, restaurateurs have the right to run their business as they see fit within the law. Again, if you don’t like it, eat somewhere else and enjoy it! And if you're asked for your credit card when booking and you don't like it then refuse, cancel the booking and complain in writing. All the best,

I seem to recall the original question was: > Am I being unreasonable? Yes. All the best,

That's great news! I spoke to the University some months ago and as a result of my approach they said they would look into re-publishing it. Hurrah! All the best,

Where? Or can you travel anywhere in the UK?! All the best,

Hello, Given the knowledgeable people in here I thought I'd ask about Wenzhou cuisine. The long and short of it is that there's a nice little restaurant in Paris, France called "Salon de Thé Wenzhou" which offers dumplings, noodles and the like. Since my visit there I've been trying to find out more about Wenzhou. All I've discovered is that it's a harbour town in Zhejiang Province. Consequently seafood figures heavily. However, "Salon de Thé Wenzhou" seems more interested in the use of Pork and Chinese black vinegar! Can you give me any other ideas of specialities in this area of China? Many thanks,

Well, it looks as though I'm among friends! I have quite a large library of Chinese cookbooks but by the time I read this far I realised that you had all picked the best of the bunch! This begs the question what you feel is missing from the books you've read. Have any of the books fallen short in some way? What was missing? All the best,