Sichuan Cuisine - China's Most Popular Cuisine
Sichuan cuisine is one of the eight major cuisines of China, originating from Sichuan and Chongqing in Southwest China.
Sichuan cuisine is the most widely served cuisine in China. Sichuan dishes with their bold and spicy flavors are also very popular in the country.
Sichuan Cuisine Characteristics
Sichuan cuisine is the most distinctive cuisine in China with its hot and spicy flavors, although Sichuan dishes may also have sour and sweet flavors.
Cooks in Sichuan use a variety of seasonings to create dishes with distinctive flavors such as strong pepper, chilies, garlic, thick bean sauce, and other uniquely Sichuan ingredients such as ginger, and mustard.
The Variety of Ingredients
Sichuan's complex topography has shaped its cuisine with a variety of ingredients. Located in southwest China, the region features plains, mountains, hills, and rivers.
Pork, beef, chicken, and fish are more widely used in Sichuan cuisine
Sichuan cuisine also uses organs such as its major ingredients such as liver, tongue, and intestine.
Preserved vegetables are very commonly used in Sichuan cuisine to add fragrant and sour flavor to the dishes.
Seasonings
Sichuan cuisine can't have its unique flavors without its variety of seasonings such as Sichuan pepper, black pepper, chili, broad bean chili paste, shallots, ginger, and garlic. They are used in almost every Sichuan dish.
The most used cooking methods are quick-frying, stir-frying, dry-braising, and dry-stewing, the latter two are techniques special to Sichuan cuisine.
Famous Sichuan Food You Should Try
Sichuan dishes are very popular all over China, and even in some countries outside China. There are a lot of dishes worth trying. Below are the most famous ones:
1. Kung Pao Chicken
- Chinese: (Gōngbǎo jīdīng)
- Best place to eat: Chengdu in China
- Price：25-40 yuan
Kung Pao Chicken is the most famous Sichuan food in the West. The dish contains diced chicken, dried chilies, and peanuts. The chicken is tender, and the peanuts taste crisp.
In Western countries, Kung Pao Chicken is widespread and has become the representative sample of “Chinese food”, just like what pasta is for Italian cuisine.
2. Mapo Tofu
- Chinese: 麻婆豆腐 (Mápó dòufu)
- Best place to eat: Chengdu in China
- Price：15-30 yuan
Mapo Tofu is actually sautéed tofu in hot and spicy sauce. It is named after the lady Chen Mapo, who created its cooking method. The ingredients of Mapo Tofu include tofu, minced beef or pork, chilies, and Sichuan pepper, which highlight the characteristics of Sichuan cuisine - hot and spicy.
4. Sichuan Hotpot
- Chinese: 四川火锅 (Sìchuān huǒguō)
- Best places to eat: Chengdu and Chongqing
- Price：80-120 yuan/per person
Hotpot is very famous in the winter season in China. A hotpot is a stew of meat and vegetables cooked in a simmering pot of soup stock. Hot pots can be roughly divided into two types, spicy and clear (not spicy). But with dozens of condiments, it also has hundreds of different flavors.
In fact, Sichuan people believe hotpots should be “the spicier, the better”, so the spices of Sichuan hotpots feature all kinds of chilies and peppers.
4. Sichuan Chicken
- Chinese: 辣子鸡 (là zǐ jī)
- Best places to eat: Chengdu and Chongqing
- Price：30-40 yuan
Sichuan Chicken, also known as Spicy Chicken with Chilies, is a dish made by cooking chicken with red chilies. Typically, the chicken is cut into small pieces and fried first. The dish looks beautiful and the chicken tastes crispy.
5. Dan Dan Noodles
- Chinese: 担担面 (dàn dàn miàn).
- Best places to eat: Chengdu and Chongqing
- Price：10-20 yuan/per bowl
Dan Dan noodles are a popular Sichuan street food that can be found in almost all restaurants specializing in Sichuan cuisine. They are a type of soup noodle dish that features diced pork and a spicy, numbing soup.
Continue to read: the 18 most famous Sichuan foods you must love.
Best Places to Try Sichuan Dishes
Although you can find Sichuan food in other cities in China even outside China, the only place where you can have the most authentic flavors is in Sichuan province such as Chengdu. Find below the best places to eat Sichuan food:
1. Jinli Street
- Chinese: 锦里 (jǐn lǐ)
- Address: Jinli Street is No. 231 Wuhou Temple Street, Wuhou District
- Feature: Street food
This popular street is filled with food stalls and shops selling traditional Sichuan snacks and souvenirs.
You can take a walk around the street and explore the different food stalls and shops to see what catches your eye. Many vendors will offer samples or have photos of their dishes displayed to attract you.
2. Wide and Narrow Alley
- Chinese: 宽窄巷子 kuān zhǎi xiàng zi
- Address: No. 56, 58, and 62 of East and West Changshun Street, Qingyang District.
- Feature: trendy restaurants and teahouses
This ancient alley is home to many traditional teahouses and restaurants, offering classic Sichuan dishes such as mapo tofu and kung pao chicken.
3. Chen Mapo Tofu Restaurant
Chen Mapo Tofu Restaurant
- Chinese: 陈麻婆豆腐
- Address: 197 Xi Yu Long St, Chengdu
- Price: about 50 yuan/per person
4. Huang Cheng Lao Ma Hotpot
- Chinese: 皇城老妈
- Address: 20 Qintai Rd, Qingyang District, Chengdu
- Price：70-150 yuan/per person
5. Long Chao Shou Restaurant
- Chinese: 龍抄手
- Address: 35 Wen Shu Yuan St, Qingyang District, Chengdu
- Price: 30 -50 yuan/per person
You Might Like to Read
- Eight Regional Cuisines in China
- Top 18 Spicy Food/Dishes in China
- Best Sichuan Dishes/Snacks to Eat in Chengdu
Experience a Food Tour in Chengdu
The food in Chengdu is a representative sample of Sichuan cuisine. It is a brilliant idea to plan a Chengdu tour combining culinary delicacies with visiting giant pandas: