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Poultry    Meat    Fish   Tofu   Veggies

Soup     Noodles and Rice    Appetizers and Sides

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Essentials:

Essentials are a selection of core dishes in Sichuan cuisine. These are the most famous dishes from Sichuan and a great place to start if new to Sichuan cooking. Some of the most famous dishes from Sichuan include Kung Pao Chicken (宫保鸡丁), Spicy Boiled Pork (水煮肉片), and Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐). Find more recipes by clicking this link: Essentials.

Kung Pao Chicken

Sichuan Heart:

Sichuan Heart is a sister site providing instructions on the basics of preparing and cooking Sichuan cuisine as well as providing in-depth guides to some of the more intricate aspects of Sichuan dishes. Sichuan Heart has great recipes for Chili Oil (红油) and Sichuan Pickled Vegetables (四川泡菜) along with many other useful guides for making sauces and preparing meat. Sichuan Heart also has recipes for many sweets and snacks like Frosted Peanuts (挂霜花生) and Sizzling Spicy Five-Spice Chicken Legs (麻辣五香鸡腿) as well as classic street food dishes like Fried Rice (炒饭) and Egg Fried Noodles (鸡蛋炒面). Find more recipes by following this link: Sichuan Heart.

Sichuan Pickles

Poultry:

Sichuan boasts an incredible array of poultry dishes. These include crispy-fried dishes such as Spicy Chili Chicken (辣子鸡) and Fragrant Spicy Crispy-Fried Chicken (香辣干煸鸡) as well as stewed dishes like Spicy Stewed Chicken with Potatoes (土豆烧鸡) and Sichuan Beer Duck (四川啤酒鸭). In addition to these are numerous stir-fried dishes such as the legendary Kung Pao Chicken (宫保鸡丁) and the lesser-known, but still incredible, Stir-Fried Chicken with Green Chilies (青椒炒鸡丁). For more amazing chicken recipes, click on the following link: Poultry.

Spicy Chili Chicken

Meat:

Sichuan natives enjoy a variety of meats in their diets including staples like Pork, Beef, Lamb, and Rabbit. For Beef, the cut of meat will often determine the cooking techniques and flavor of the dish. Lean cuts such as tenderloin and sirloin are excellent for Spicy Boiled Beef (水煮牛肉) and stir-fries like Stir-Fried Beef with Pickled Chilies (泡椒牛肉丝). Fattier cuts of Beef like rib and chuck are better suited for slowing cooking as in Spicy Boiled Beef with Potatoes (土豆烧牛肉). Pork, likewise, can have radically different cooking methods depending on the cut. Pork loin is excellent for simple home-style stir-fries like Stir-Fried Pork with Celery (芹菜肉丝) and for more advanced recipes like Yu-Xiang Pork (鱼香肉丝). Pork belly can be braised in rich aromatic sauces as done in Red Braised Pork Belly (红烧肉) or sliced thin and stir-fried as with Lightly Stir-Fried Pork with Green Chilies (青椒小炒肉). Hindquarters have the perfect ratio of fat to meat for classics like Twice-Cooked Pork (回锅肉) and Salty Pan-Fried Pork (盐煎肉). For more delicious meat dishes, click the following link: Meat.

Spicy Stewed Beef and Potatoes

Fish and Seafood:

Sichuan is a landlocked province far from the ocean. However, one of the longest rivers in the world flows through Sichuan, the Yangtze River - better known as the Chang Jiang (Long River) to people from Sichuan. Fresh water fish is the most common fish eaten in Sichuan along with crayfish and frog. Grass Carp, Silver Carp, and other white fish are ideal for any of the following dishes. Sichuan fish dishes often feature thinly sliced fish poached or cooked in soupy sauce like in Spicy Boiled Fish (水煮鱼) and Red Poached Fish (红烧鱼). Not as numerous are stir-fried dishes, though Lightly Pan-Fried Fish (小煎鱼), also known as Fresh Chili Fish (鲜椒鱼), is a staple in many regions. Fish dishes from other regions of China, such as sweet and sour dishes from Jiangsu can also be found in Sichuan. Check out my simple version - Sweet and Sour Fish Bites (糖醋鱼块) - which has all the great flavor of classic sweet and sour fish in an easy to eat format. For more recipes click the following link: Fish.

Lightly Fried Fish

Tofu and Eggs

Sichuan has numerous delicious tofu dishes. While one might associate tofu with bland vegetarian food, Sichuan Tofu Dishes are anything but bland. Tofu is often cooked with meat along with rich aromatic or spicy flavors. Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐), for instance, is made with minced beef, pickled red chilies, and Sichuan pepper. It's exploding with incredible sizzling-spicy (麻辣) flavors. Yu-Xiang Tofu (鱼香豆腐) has a complex sauce that's sweet, sours, spicy, fragrant, salty, and umami. Unlike Tofu Dishes, Egg Dishes are actually quite simple and relatively easy to make. Usually, only one or two core vegetables are stir-fried with the Eggs, as in Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes (番茄炒蛋) and Scrambled Eggs with Bitter Melon (苦瓜炒鸡蛋). Tofu Dishes can be found by clicking the following link - Tofu - and Egg Dishes can be found at - Eggs.

Yu-Xiang Tofu

Vegetables:

Sichuan has countless Vegetable Dishes because each type of Vegetable has numerous ways in which it can be prepared. Vegetables can be simply stir-fried like with Stir-Fried Water Spinach (炝空心菜) and Fiery Stir-Fried Potato Slivers (炝炒土豆丝). Green Beans and even Bitter Melon can be flash-fried and then stir-fried with minced pork like in Flash-Fried Green Beans (干煸四季豆) and Flash-Fried Bitter Melon (干煸苦瓜). Eggplants can be fried until ultra-cripsy like with Crispy-Fried Eggplant (干煸茄子) or braised in a meaty sauce like Braised Eggplant with Minced Pork (肉末烧茄子). For even more Vegetable Dishes, click on the following link: Vegetables.

Braised Eggplant with Minced Pork

Soup:

Sichuan soups, like Clear Oxtail Soup (清炖牛尾汤) and Pork Bone with White Radish Soup (萝卜炖排骨汤), are known for their clear, rich broths and pure flavors. Accompanying every bowl of soup is a small bowl of rice and a bowl of Dipping Sauce (沾碟). The tender meat from the soup is dipped in the sauce and set on the rice to cool before being eaten. In that way, the sauce flavors both the meat and the rice. The soup is drank once most of the meat is gone or toward the end of the meal. Another common type of Sichuan Soup is the Herbal Soup, which is full of Chinese medicinal ingredients. Prime examples of this would be Pork Rib with Lotus Root Soup (莲藕排骨汤) and Herbal Chicken Soup (党参红枣炖鸡汤). The simplest soups are those made with Eggs or Tofu, such as Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes Soup (番茄炒蛋汤) and Tofu Soup (豆腐汤). For more recipes click the following link: Soup.

Pork Rib and Lotus Root Soup

Noodles and Rice:

Sichuan is famous for its spicy Noodle Dishes. There are three main categories of Sichuan Noodle Dishes: Tossed Noodles (拌面), Stir-Fried Noodles (炒面), and Soup Noodles (汤面). Tossed Noodles are cooked noodles that are not fried or added to a soupy sauce. This is a huge category that includes classics like Sichuan Cold Noodles (凉面), Dan Dan Noodles (担担面), and Yibin Kindling Noodles (宜宾燃面). Stir-Fried Noodles include the classic Egg Fried Noodles (鸡蛋炒面) but also unique dishes such as 'Ants on a Tree' Vermicelli (蚂蚁上树). Perhaps the most famous type of Noodle Dish is Soup Noodles. Red Braised Beef Noodles (红烧牛肉面) and Minced Pork Noodles (臊子面) are both staples of noodle Restaurants throughout China. For more Noodle recipes, click the following link: Noodles and Rice.

Red Braised Beef Noodles

Appetizers and Sides:

Sichuan doesn't usually have appetizers in the traditional sense. Instead, they have Small Dishes (小吃) that can be served at any point during a meal. Since many of these dishes are cooked before larger dishes, they're brought out first. Other Small Dishes are eaten between meals similar to snacks. Cold Dishes, like Bang Bang Chicken (棒棒鸡), Mouthwatering Chicken (口水鸡), and Red Oil Chicken Bites (红油鸡块), are commonly served at the beginning of a meal. Braised Dishes like Red Braised Pork Ribs (红烧排骨) and modern classics like Chinese Cola Wings (可乐鸡翅) are often served alongside large dishes. Small Tossed Noodle Dishes like Sichuan Cold Noodles with Shredded Chicken (鸡丝凉面) and Vegetable Dishes like Crispy-Fried Potatoes (干煸土豆条) are also commonly served as sides. For more recipes, click the following link: Appetizers and Sides.

Chinese Cola Wings

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