Chongqing hotpot (重庆火锅) is the fiery soul of Sichuan-Chongqing cuisine — a bubbling cauldron of dark-red, oil-rich broth so numbing and spicy that it defines the city that invented it. Around the table, diners cook paper-thin slices of beef tripe, tender beef, and vegetables in the roiling pot, then dipContinue Reading
Hong You Chao Shou (红油抄手) is Chengdu’s answer to the wonton — delicate pork wontons boiled until silky, then drowned in a glossy, fiery red dressing of chili oil, black vinegar, garlic, and a whisper of sugar. Each spoonful is a study in Sichuan balance: numbing heat, sour tang, savoryContinue Reading
Bo Bo Chicken (钵钵鸡) is the street-food soul of Leshan, the small Sichuan city that also gave the world Qiao Qiao Beef and sweet water noodles. Bite-size pieces of poached chicken and vegetables are skewered on bamboo sticks, then soaked in a chilled, heady broth of chili oil, Sichuan peppercorn,Continue Reading
Zhang Cha Duck (樟茶鸭) is Sichuan’s most elegant banquet dish — a whole duck that is first marinated, then steamed, then smoke-kissed over green tea leaves and camphor wood, and finally deep-fried until the skin turns burnished amber. The result is a crisp, lacquered bird with impossibly tender meat andContinue Reading
Mao Xue Wang (毛血旺) is the fiery soul of Chongqing hotpot culture — silky duck blood curd, tender beef tripe, and savory luncheon meat swimming in a crimson broth of fermented chili bean paste and chili oil, crowned with a cloud of numbing Sichuan peppercorn. It is the dish youContinue Reading
Mouthwatering Chicken (口水鸡), known as Kou Shui Ji, is one of Sichuan’s most beloved cold dishes — poached chicken with glossy, gelatinous skin, chopped and drenched in a fiery, numbing chili-oil sauce with peanuts and scallions. The name says it all: just looking at it makes your mouth water. HereContinue Reading
Mala Xiang Guo (麻辣香锅), or “spicy numbing fragrant pot,” is one of Sichuan’s most addictive dishes — a wok-fried medley of meats, vegetables, and tofu tossed in a fiery, fragrant sauce of dried chilies, Sichuan peppercorns, and doubanjiang. Every ingredient is custom-picked, like hotpot, but the result is a dry,Continue Reading
Shui Zhu Yu (水煮鱼), or Boiled Fish in Chili Oil, is one of Sichuan’s most spectacular dishes — silky fish fillets poached in a fiery broth, then crowned with a sizzling pour of chili oil that makes the whole table crackle. Despite the name, the fish is not boiled hardContinue Reading
Garlic White Pork (蒜泥白肉) is a beloved Sichuan cold dish — paper-thin slices of tender pork belly served with a bold, garlicky red chili sauce. The pork is boiled whole, chilled, and sliced so thin you can almost see through it, then draped with a sauce of minced garlic, chiliContinue Reading
Fu Qi Fei Pian (夫妻肺片), or Couple’s Delight, is one of Sichuan’s most famous cold dishes — paper-thin slices of beef, beef tongue, and tripe tossed in a fiery chili-oil dressing with toasted peanuts and sesame. Despite the name (which translates literally as “couple’s lung slices”), no lungs are involved.Continue Reading