Sushi shuolüe 素食說略

Sushi shuolüe 素食說略 is a book on vegetarian dishes written during the late Qing period 清 (1644-1911) by Xue Baochen 薛寶辰 (1850-1926), courtesy name Shouxian 壽憲, from Xi'an 西安, Shaanxi. He was academician reader-in-waiting (shidu xueshi 侍讀學士) in the Hanlin Academy 翰林院, director-general (zongcai 總裁) of the Palace of Overall Peace (Xian'angong 咸安宮), and subeditor (jiaoli 校理) of the Hall of Literary Profundity (Wenyuange 文淵閣).

The book of 4 juan length introduces cooking and processing methods of more than 170 kinds of dishes of vegetables, fruits, bean products and some staple foods that were popular at the turn of the century. Although the author says in the preface that the recipes in the book were traditional dishes used in Xi'an (Jingshi 京師) and Shaanxi since ages, a comparison with old books like Qimin yaoshu 齊民要術 (ch. Sushi 素食) or Benxinzhai shushi pu 本心齋疏食譜 shows that the dishes of the Sushiu shuolüe are more diverse, and preparation methods more simple. However, the dishes selected by Xue Baochen are representative and constitute a document for the study of the development of vegetarianism in China and are thus an important source of learning for modern chefs.

The book was finished in the early Republican period and printed in 1926 by the Yixing Press 義興印刷館 in Xi'an.