Sichuan cuisine
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It is said that ‘China is the place for food, but Sichuan is the place for flavour’. Food from the region is famously spicy, and girls from the capital Chengdu are reputed to be the most beautiful in the country as the chillies purge their skin of impurities.
Sichuan is as large as France with a population that is almost twice the size of Britain’s. Bordered by the snow-capped Himalayas, the inaccessible region has developed a unique culture and distinct cooking style. Most local people ascribe the spiciness of Sichuan cooking to the muggy climate. The best way to drive out the cold and moisture is with a kick of chilli heat.
Try some recipes
• Twice-cooked pork
• Pockmarked grandmother’s beancurd (mapo tofu)
• Aubergine with chilli sauce
Staple ingredients
The region is very fertile, yielding tropical fruits, tea and herbal medicines. Rivers criss-cross Sichuan so fresh water fish are a common part of the diet, while chicken and pork are ubiquitous. As well as chillies and Sichuan pepper, a secret to the cuisine is the purity of the salt mined in Zigong.
Cooking style
Despite the emphasis of chillies, spice isn’t all the region has to offer. The Sichuanese claim that the chilli heat stimulates the palate to appreciate the careful balance of sweet, sour, bitter, salty and fragrant flavours. The cuisine is renowned for its unusual and sophisticated range of tastes, and the chefs for their knife skills.
Hot hot hot
Chillies come in many different varieties and forms: fresh, dried, pickled in salt, steeped in oil or in chilli bean paste. They tend to find their way into every meal; breakfast, lunch and dinner. The most famous regional spice, the Sichuan peppercorn, has an aromatic lemony heat, and is eaten for its mouth-numbing effect that allows people to consume even more chillies.
Folk cooking
The hearty economical cooking of homes and small restaurants is where you’ll find the soul of Sichuanese cuisine. The flavours are robust and the ingredients seasonal and local. Old classics include Twice-cooked pork and pock-marked grandmother’s bean curd.
Regional dishes
The most famous Sichuan dish is kung pao chicken – chicken cooked with peanuts and chilli oil. Other classics are hotpot and aromatic tea-smoked duck. Fish-fragrant dishes are a specialty, where sweet, sour and spicy flavours are infused with garlic, ginger and spring onions.Try some recipes
• Twice-cooked pork
• Pockmarked grandmother’s beancurd (mapo tofu)
• Aubergine with chilli sauce
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