| Sichuan 川菜 |
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麻婆豆腐 - ma po dou fu: spicy tofu (with pork)
干煸四季豆 - gan bian si ji dou: dry fried long beans (with pork)
回锅肉 - hui guo rou: thin sliced pork belly fried with leeks and peppers
水
煮鱼/水煮牛- shui zhu yu/niu: literally Water Cooked Fish/Beef, but in reality, sort of a confit, stewed covered in oil and piled high with chilies; very ma and very la
豆花 - dou hua: savory or sweet custard like soy bean curd
鱼香茄子/肉丝 - yu xiang qie zi/rou si: literally Fragrant Fish Eggplant/Meat (always pork), but in reality, a preparation style traditionally used for a fancy fish dish, but adapted by commoners using eggplant and pork to imitate the flavors of that dish.
樟茶鸭 - zhang cha ya/ji: tea smoked duck (restaurants might served this by different names, but if you ask for the 茶熏鸭, that should steer you to the right dish.)
担担面 - dan dan mian: spicy, garlicky, sesame sauce noodles, with or without ground pork
口水鸡 - kou shui ji: cold dish of simple steamed chicken topped with spicy chili oil
麻团 ma tuan: deep fried glutinous rice balls with red bean or black sesame paste inside
What’s in a name?
松鼠桂鱼 song shu gui yu: Squirrel/Mandarin fish. The great mystery is 松鼠song shu3 or 松树song shu4—is it a squirrel fish or a pine tree fish? Conventional wisdom calls the blossomed dish of the cross hatched and fried fish, resembling a fluffy tail, Squirrel Fish. However, our resident experts hypothesize that the fish blossom more closely resembles a large pine cone, and the generous sprinkle of toasted pine nuts atop this dish offers an important clue.
夫妻肺片 fu qi fei pian: literally husband and wife lung slices (片) but this dish is usually made with an assortment of beef, heart and tongue and other “beef scraps”. Originally called 夫妻废片 after a dish made by a poor couple who made it from unwanted scraps (废片) at the market, this dish was renamed to make it more appealing to diners (though some might find beef scraps more tempting than lung).
Where to find them (and other recommended dishes)?
东坡竹叶菜 - dong po zhu ye cai: Dong Po bamboo leaf green, a wild green with leaves the shape of baby bamboo leaves; great flavor resembling 空心菜but with thin stems and fuller textured leaves
香炸麻团 - xiang zha ma tuan: fried glutinous rice sesame balls (baby golf ball sized ones here; even a half order goes a long way); photo above
金银馒头 - jin ying man tou: gold and silver man tou; in theory, white and gold little buns (white ones steamed and golden ones fried) that are eaten dipped in sweetened condensed milk—we say go golden for the full order!
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Everyone’s heard of Sichuan food – sometimes romanized as “Szechwan” – and knows it’s the spicy kind of Chinese food. This stereotype is very, very well deserved. Sichuan is savory, spicy and intensely flavored cuisine featuring mostly dried and pickled chilies, and in China, a special ma, or “numbing” Sichuan pepper corn (hua jiao 花椒). The pepper corn is said to have medicinal qualities to qu shi, or reducing the dampness/humidity, so while it is spicy on the surface, it helps the body maintain its internal equilibrium. Beijingers embrace enduring the ma of “ma la” as a sign of culinary machismo, and throw in the Sichuan peppercorns by the fistful. At least one of our Savour Asia tasters feels the hua jiao craze has ruined Sichuan food. Some of us secretly love it.
