Sichuan Food in China

Peppery Delights

Articles and Photos Victor Paul Borg

Sichuan fresh food market. ©Victor Borg

Streetside Sichuan Night Grill. ©Victor Borg

To understand the lavishness of Sichuan food, you first have to understand Sichuan’s geography. About three-fourths of the province is mountains, and the mountains that divide the lower elevations to the east and the Tibetan plateau to the west hold the richest temperate ecological habitats on earth. It is that abundance of species that has bequeathed Sichuan’s food with copious variety. After one year living in Sichuan, I reckon that Sichuan’s cuisine makes use of more ingredients than any other cuisine in the world; I also think that the profusion of tastes and textures is the most extensive in the world. 

Sichuan dish in a spicy sauce. ©Victor Borg

Generally speaking, Sichuan dishes are also oily and spicy. Sometimes sauces are submerged in oil and this is due to a history of poverty. According to local wisdom, the deprived locals couldn’t afford meats and as a result oil became a substitute for meats—that way, the oil gave vegetable dishes a rich texture and consistency, making up for absence of meat. This then led to another development: the imbibing of tea. Many locals carry a tea thermos everywhere they go, taking gulps every few minutes, apparently out of necessity—the tea is supposed to neutralize the oily density of the food. (Now people can afford meats, and this, coupled with increasing health consciousness, is leading people to use less oil—although this is relative, as people who tell you they have used little oil in a dish would still have used half a cup.)  

Sichuan teas to counter the oils in the rich foods. ©Victor Borg

Yet the first thing that strikes foreigners is the chili. Many dishes comes heaped with dried chili pods and a handful of Sichuan peppercorns (the pepper is actually the dried flower of an endemic tree, and it has a peppery, dry, numbing piquancy). Foreigners are bewildered, fumble, and bluster at the prospect of a burning mouth, but the panic is needless: the chili and pepper is only added to impart flavor and it is not supposed to be eaten.

Sichuan beef dish with characteristic spices. ©Victor Borg

Hotpots

Sichuan Hotpot. ©Victor Borg

Hotpots are a craze in Sichuan; when people eat out, most times they feast on a hotpot. The classical hotpot has an oily broth: the stock is made from water, oil from beef fat, dried chili, Sichuan peppers, fennel seeds, lotus seeds, stare anise, and other herbs that are endemic to Sichuan. Vegetables and meats are then cooked in the bubbling pot to one’s liking, then dipped in a bowl of sesame oil, chopped shallots, and chopped garlic before being transferred to mouth.  

Sichuan Hotpot in action. ©Victor Borg

There are other hotpot incarnations such as the duck hotpot. It’s the same principle, except that the stock is flavored by duck; then, the pot with the stock and a juvenile duck for each diner arrives at the table, and the diners order side-dishes of vegetables to cook in the soup to their liking. The difference with this hotpot is that the soup is slurped in. Other variations to this hotpot make use of black chicken —literally, the chicken’s skin is black.

Yet my favorite is the mushroom hotpot. Sichuan’s mushrooms are the best in the world, and more than a dozen endemic mushrooms are used in the cooking. In the mushroom hotpot, the broth is made from chicken stock and lots of mushrooms—the taste is distinctive, earthy, and astringent—and the other vegetables or meats that diners then cook in the hotpot adds more nuances to the taste.  

Sichuan Hotpot restaurant. ©Victor Borg

Sauces

Sauces—mostly stir-fried meats or vegetables or mushrooms, or different combinations of things—are flavored with the distinctive ingredients of Sichuan: peppercorns, dried chili pods, chili oil, garlic, ginger, and a variety of bean pastes as well as chili pastes. These sauces are endlessly inventive; the ones I like best feature mushrooms and bamboo shoots (the mountains are also renowned for their variety of bamboo species, and the bamboo is among the tastiest in the world). Even basic ingredients like cucumber are cooked in several different ways.  

Salted vegetables also feature ubiquitously in the cuisine. All types of vegetables—as well as eggs, particularly duck eggs—are pickled in salted water and then put into various dishes.  

Then there are the specialty traditional dishes. These include mapo doufu—made by stir-frying cubes of tofu, pork mince, garlic, ginger, black bean paste, chili flakes, chicken stock, corn flour, and then ground Sichuan pepper sprinkled on top. Another is called fen zhen roe; this is crushed rice mixed with shards of beef and garlic and spices, then shaped in a heap and steamed. The meaning of oiliness can be explored in several dishes, including the traditional fish dish: delicate freshwater fish is cooked in a broth of oil, Sichuan pepper and dried peppercorns (you only eat the fish meat).  

Sichuan spicy sauces. ©Victor Borg

Cold Dishes and Meats

Pre-prepared chili oil goes into many cold dishes. Classical chili oil is made by heating oil until it smokes, and then pouring it over dried crushed chili and sesame seeds. It is then used in cold meat dishes, using beef or chicken or duck: the meat is boiled, shredded, and then tossed in chili oil and a drizzle of soy sauce and served cold. The same dish can be made from cucumber, or other variations—restaurants are always playing with different combinations. Another form of cold dish is the spicy salad: the meat—sometimes rabbit meat—is boiled, then shredded and tossed in chopped garlic, fresh chili, fennel leaves, coriander leaves, roasted peanuts, and chili oil. This salad is sometimes made with chunky rectangles of flabby substance made from rice.   

Smoked, half-dried meats are also popular, especially tea-smoked duck or half-dried beef or yak. These are sometimes eaten by themselves, or served alongside a bowl of dried crushed chili and a sprinkle of ground Sichuan pepper. Pickled meats, such as sausages and strips of pork meat, are made in winters: the meats are infused with salt, anise, fennel, cinnamon, pepper, and other herbs, then hung outdoors in the dry and cold climate. These are then used throughout the year in many different dishes; chunks of sausage are even sometimes cooked with steam rice, thus giving the rice the flavor of the sausage.  

Soups and Noodles

Soup stock is mostly flavored by pork bones and spices, and then an endless combination of fresh ingredients added to make different soups. Another form is the noodle soup—Sichuan people rarely eat dry, or fried, noodles—and noodle soups also feature a variety of ingredients. Among the common ingredients are salted vegetables, shards of meat and chili oil. Yet noodle soups are also made from leftover sauces: noodles are cooked in water plus the sauce leftover after dinner, which would be concentrated and tangy. The noodles themselves come in many shapes, ranging from string-thin rice noodles to thick noodles made from the tuber of the lotus plant.  

Sichuan cold noodle salad. ©Victor Borg

Beer Food

When people meet socially late in the evenings, they sometimes go to drink beer and eat beer food. The food is served in large platters for the group to pick out from, and the sauce is always made in the same way more or less; it’s only the main ingredients that vary. One of the most popular dishes is tudou men paigu: it has spare ribs and potatoes that are then cooked with skinned garlic, dried chili pods, Sichuan peppercorns, chopped green peppers, and chopped shallots in water and chili oil. In other variations, the spare ribs and potatoes can be substituted by duck, chicken, goose, snails, rabbit, baby eels, freshwater crabs, and even vegetables such as cucumber or the stalk and root of local lettuce.

Sichuan pork and potatoes. ©Victor Borg

Delicacy Foodstuffs

People in Sichuan consider lean meat to be bland, and it’s the other parts of the animal that they consider to be more delectable. These include pig ears, brains, hooves, hearts, gizzards, intestines, livers, fish heads, pork fat, chicken or duck feet— these are among the foodstuffs that are considered delicacies. It’s hard for foreigners to overcome an initial aversion and take to these foods. But some of these foods are excellent: duck tongues are soft and delicate, and duck brains that are smoked and salted are as textured and delicious as the French foie gras. These delicacies, above all, extend the textures of tastes of Sichuan food— they give the cuisine another dimension that’s not found in many cuisines.  

Sichuan fish head in broth. ©Victor Borg

Where to Eat in Chengdu The best Sichuan restaurants are found in Chengdu, offering a wide range of culinary experiences ranging from traditional dishes to creative fusion, including hybrids of Sichuan and Cantonese dishes. But the problem for foreigners is that very few restaurants have English menus, and the ones that do are mostly the upscale restaurants where you get modern décor, good food, excellent service, and relatively high prices (although still affordable by Western standards). In the list of restaurants below, I mention restaurants that either have an English menu or at least pictures on their menu that allow non-Chinese speakers to decipher what’s in the dish and order by pointing at the pictures.  Shi Mo Dou Hua restaurant. ©Victor Borg Shi Mo Dou Hua Although relatively small and unassuming in its décor, this place is unforgettable where it matters: its array of Sichuan dishes is outstandingly exquisite. These range from the traditional dou hua (light-consistency tofu steamed in a wooden bucket and served with a fiery sauce) to more creative concoctions such as small fishes cooked with lotus-tuber noodles, green peppers, mushrooms, chili and Sichuan pepper (9 Remnin Nan Lu; 028–85599288; around $10 per person including beer).   Wenshu Yuan Shu Chanting The city’s best vegetarian restaurant is suitably set in Wenshu Temple, Chengdu’s largest Buddhist temple. The concept is something of a pun: the popular meat dishes that feature on the menu are cooked using only vegetables to mimic the look and texture of the meat it substitutes. This is accomplished by ingredients such as potatoes, mushrooms, and tofu, and the techniques work—tastes are textured and intense (15 Wenshu Yuan Lu; 028–8693218; around $8 per person—no alcohol is served).   Da Rong He Something of an institution, with another two sister operations, this place has a huge menu. Food is served in a plush space dominated by massive chandeliers, and dishes include classics from Guangdong and Hunan. But it is Sichuan food that they do best, whether that’s fish cooked in oil with chili and pepper, or various tangy mushroom dishes, or carp’s head flavored with chili and red peppers (56 Zijing Nan Lu; 028–85142323; around $15 per person including beer).    Huang Cheng Lao Ma The city’s largest hotpot place, spread over five storeys, is also its best. The dark, smoky setting is full of antique paraphernalia, and the service is inventive—in one room, diners sit on a bar-stool and choose platters of ingredients from a sushi-style conveyor belt or train. There is lots of side-dishes that can be ordered to be cooked in the hotpot; these range from the usual ingredients to top-notch ingredients such as crocodile, ostrich, sturgeon, and French snails (20 Er Huan Nan Lu; 028–85139999; cost depends on what dishes you order, ranging from $20 per person to $150 per person). A cheaper, more traditional hotpot place—and one of the most popular in Chengdu—is Lao Ma Tou (27 Yulin Zhong Lu; 028-85555705; $13 per person), a place renowned for the fieriness and tastefulness of its broth as well as the freshness the ingredients.   Huang Cheng Lao Ma restaurant. ©Victor Borg Ja Ja Lou A local cheery restaurant, with orange-themed décor, including orange tabletops and cloth dressed over chairs. The focus is on standard Sichuan dishes—no nonsense local fiery food —and this is the place to try an array of faithful all-time-popular dishes. However, it’s got no English menu and no pictures of dishes on its menu; the manager speaks limited English, but best is if you can take a Chinese speaker (106 Shanxi Road; 028-86110298; $10 per person including beer).   Ruyi Guling A popular restaurant that cooks mostly mushrooms—the focus is almost completely on mushroom dishes. These range from mushrooms prepared in stir-fried sauces, and eaten with rice, to mushroom soups as well as mushroom hotpot. This is the place to experience the succulent and delectable range of mushrooms in Sichuan—the menu has pictures, allowing you to order (Yihuan Lu, East Section 3, No 58 Yushuang Road; 028-84343330; about $15 per person including beer).   Shang Palace The restaurant of the Shangri La Hotel is one of the best places in Chengdu to try modern Sichuan and Contonese fusion. For example, in one dish cod substitutes the chicken in the classical gong bao chicken: chunks of cod fish are marinated in corn flour and spices, then fried with peanuts, pepper, chilli, and ginger. In another dish, scallops are cooked with Sichuan mushrooms, bell pepper, and then served with a Cantonese sweet and sour sauce. The restaurant also serves excellent tea prepared in the traditional manner (Shangri La Hotel, 9 Binjiang Dong Road; 028-88889999; around $25 per person, including beer).

Victor Paul Borg has been living in Asia for the past eight years; he’s currently based in Sichuan, China, where he luckily survived last May’s earthquake. His travel articles and photographs are published around the world; more of his writing can be seen at www.victorborg.com.