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Chinese
regional cuisine
Sichuan
a concise guide
for diners & travelers
Why Sichuan cuisine is special
Although fifty years ago few people outside of China were familiar with
Sichuan's hot and spicy cuisine, today it has devoted fans around the world.
Insights on the
cuisine of Sichuan
 Sichuan's culinary core is an
isolated triangular fertile plain enclosed by three massive mountain ranges. This topography helps produce a
hot and humid climate that is conducive to Sichuan's most characteristic seasoning, tongue scorching
chilies.
Chilies were not introduced into Sichuan
until a few
hundred years ago, when they were brought over from their New World habitat.
The use of
chilies is drastically reduced or
eliminated in the dishes served at banquets. Even on the peasant level, the people prefer the dishes on the table to have
degrees of hotness varying from mild to fiery. This is in contrast to the monotonous
everything-as-hot-as-possible approach favored by many non-Chinese Sichuan restaurant-goers. Making one
Sichuan dish hotter than another is not a measure of a chef's talent. All it takes is the addition of extra
chili, a feat that could be performed by a trained monkey. Epicures judge a Sichuan chef by the subtly
complex overtones of his sauces and whether they complement the other ingredients in his dishes.
Famous specialties of
of Sichuan
Camphor
Wood Smoked Duck - A whole
duck is marinated in a mixture of rice wine, ginger, Sichuan peppercorns and tangerine peel, then smoked over coals
sprinkled with camphor wood shavings and tea leaves.
Hot and Sour Soup - Chicken broth spiced
with vinegar and pepper and stocked with shreds of pork, bean curd, tiger lily buds, and cloud ears (a dried
tree fungus).
Twice-Cooked Pork - The meat is simmered, sliced,
then stir-fried with vegetables and a spicy bean-based condiment.
Learn about these celebrated
regional Chinese cuisines
Click the 5 regional cuisine buttons:
 
 
Also learn
about these
exciting
world cuisines
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