/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>11025067
>be really inspired after watching Fuchsia Dunlop, an expert on Chinese cooking, talk about Chinese regional cuisines
>get her book from the library and make Gong Bao Ji Ding, the recipe she recommends for complete noobs
>tastes kinda off
>wonder if my Sichuan peppercorn is stronger than the ones she used because that's the dominant taste
>sauce too starchy and gooey
>have never tasted authentic preparation of the dish, so I have no reference point to know whether or not I made it properly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onWbXaRFge0

I gave up and moved on to other cookbooks because it's too frustrating trying to divine taste from written words and pictures alone when you never the food you're making and don't have access to restaurants that serve something that is at least in the neighborhood of what you're trying to make.