We’ve been big fans of Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid since reading Hot Sour Salty Sweet: A Culinary Journey Through Southeast Asia (James Beard Foundation’s Cookbook of the Year for 2000). This coffee table-worthy book completely captured us with great recipes, gorgeous photos, and even its glossary. We immediately dug deep into their earlier work, including the aptly named Seductions of Rice, which is also as much travelogue as it is cookbook.

There have been a couple of books since, and now Alford and Duguid are back with Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Stories from the Other China. Packed again with recipes and photographs, this beautiful book explores the culture and food of some of the lesser-known parts of China. This ain’t General Tsao’s chicken; you’ll be able to almost smell and taste delights like Central Asian cumin-scented kebabs, Tibetan stews and Mongolian hot pots.

We’ve long lamented that Seattle is just ma ma hu hu when it comes to Chinese food. The Szechuan scene is pretty good, but oh what we’d give for some good xiao long bao. And while we’ve got an underappreciated regional restaurant in Shi’An, most of what’s here is Americanized glop. Let’s not even get started on the sorry state of dim sum.

Maybe Alford and Duguid can kick-start some interest—or at least inspire more people to prepare good stuff at home. As part of its Visiting Chefs Series, Cooks & Books is bringing the authors to Culinary Communion to host a “Culinary Tour of China.” Typical of these events, you’ll get to mingle with the authors and munch on some delicious food—this time Chinese street food concocted by chefs Mei-Lin Kong and Zachary Millican. There will be a slide show of the authors’ fabulous photos, and everyone attending takes home a signed copy of Beyond the Great Wall. Read up. We’ll be waiting for your version of xiao long bao, or something similar.

May 22, 6:30-8:30 p.m. // Culinary Communion // $85, call 632-2419