Region
Upper reaches of the Yangtze River
Features
Wide range of ingredients, including hot and spicy Sichuan peppercorns, garlic, chili peppers, and other spices. Combines many different flavors in a dish – Locals say that each Sichuan dish has its own style and that ‘a hundred dishes have a hundred different flavors’. There are over 24 different flavors used in Sichuan food, including spicy, salty, sour, savory, bitter, and nutty. The intention with many dishes is to create a tingling or ma (麻)sensation on the lips and tongue, although other typical Sichuan flavors are: yuxiang (fish flavored); hongyou (red chili oil); suanla (hot and sour).
Signature dish: Sichuan hotpot; Yuxiang shredded pork (sauteed in spicy garlic sauce); Mapu tofu (sauteed tofu in hot and spicy sauce); Sichuan-style spicy chicken (diced chicken with spicy red chilies).