Sichuan

History

Sichuan pepper is native to the region and was used long before chillies, which reached China from the Americas in the late Ming and became central to Sichuan cooking only from the 18th–19th centuries. Pixian doubanjiang, the fermented broad-bean and chilli paste, is associated with Pixian (now Pidu, Chengdu) from the Qing dynasty. Classic dishes such as mapo tofu and kung pao chicken are attributed to 19th-century Chengdu cooks and officials. Chengdu was named a UNESCO City of Gastronomy in 2009.

Commonly told; not firmly documented

Geography and influences

A fertile, humid, fog-bound basin ringed by mountains, with Chengdu at its centre and the river city of Chongqing to the east. Farmland produces rice, rapeseed oil, pork, broad beans and vegetables, much of which is salted or fermented.

• Migration into Sichuan during the Qing dynasty, which brought cooks from Hubei, Hunan and Guangdong
• Columbian exchange chillies
• Teahouse and street-snack culture of Chengdu
• Chongqing river-port hot pot

Regional variations

Chengdu (Shu)

Considered the refined classical style: balanced compound flavours, snacks and teahouse dishes.

Chongqing (Yu)

Rougher and hotter river-port cooking: hot pot, laziji, shuizhu dishes with lots of dried chilli.

Zigong (Yan bang)

Salt-town cooking with intense heat and fresh chillies, often grouped as a third Sichuan style.

Festive and seasonal food

• Hot pot gatherings in winter
• Cured la rou (bacon) and sausages made in the run-up to Lunar New Year
• Tangyuan at the Lantern Festival

Signature dishes

• Mapo tofu
• Kung pao chicken
• Dan dan noodles
• Twice-cooked pork
• Fish-fragrant aubergine
• Sichuan dry-fried green beans
• Sichuan boiled fish
• Chongqing chilli chicken
• Bang bang chicken
• Home-style tofu
• Sichuan cold noodles
• Smashed cucumber salad
• Hot and sour shredded potatoes

Not on the site yet: Chongqing hot pot, Fuqi feipian (husband-and-wife beef), Zhangcha (tea-smoked) duck, Chuan chuan xiang skewers