The methods of Sichuan cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, mainly focuses on home-style dishes, using ingredients from daily life. The characteristic of the red flavor is its emphasis on numbness, spiciness, and aroma, while the white flavor is salty and fresh with a hint of spiciness.
Mapo Tofu
Mapo Tofu
A poem from the Qing Dynasty says: "Mapo Chen's name is still famous, tofu baked is the most delicious, the curtain shadow moves by Wanfu Bridge, let's buy spring wine to get the scholar drunk." Making Mapo tofu at home, although it still falls short of the eight-character mantra of authentic Chen Mapo tofu—"numb, spicy, hot, fragrant, crispy, tender, fresh, and vibrant"—the numb, spicy, fragrant, and tender flavor is appetizing enough.
1. Wash the tofu curd, cut into 1.5cm cubes, and soak in salt water for later use;
2. Mince the garlic, ginger, and scallions. Chop the Pixian broad bean paste. Mince the garlic stalks. I was lazy this time and used beef sauce, just for a bit of beef flavor;
3. Heat oil until 70% hot, add the minced scallion, ginger, and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the beef sauce and stir to mix evenly. Add the Pixian broad bean paste and stir-fry until the red oil is fully released. Add sugar to taste. Drain the tofu and add it to the wok, stir-frying to mix. Add chicken broth, bring to a boil over high heat, then cover and turn to medium-low heat to simmer for 2-3 minutes. Mix a small amount of water with starch to make a slurry, add the starch slurry to thicken, sprinkle with Sichuan pepper powder and minced garlic stalks, stir-fry evenly, and done.
Suancai Yu (Pickled Vegetable Fish)
Suancai Yu (Pickled Vegetable Fish)
Legend has it that Suancai Yu originated on fishing boats in Jiangcun, Jiangjin, Chongqing. It is one of the pioneers of Chongqing cuisine. The fish in Suancai Yu has a delicate and tender texture, the soup is sour, fragrant, and delicious, slightly spicy but not greasy, and the fish slices are tender, yellow, and smooth. If you don't have pickled vegetables at home, don't worry, there are pre-made packages for Suancai Yu available in the market now, which is very convenient.
1. One grass carp, cleaned after being butchered. Place the sliced fish fillets in a large bowl, add a little salt, pepper, ginger, and cooking wine, and mix evenly to marinate;
2. Cut the scallion into sections, slice the old ginger, slice the garlic, cut the dried chili peppers into sections, use a moderate amount of dried Sichuan peppercorns, cut the home-pickled vegetables into sections, and add a few red pickled chili peppers;
3. Heat rapeseed oil in a wok until hot, then stir-fry the scallion, ginger, garlic, dried chili peppers, and Sichuan peppercorns until fragrant. Add the pickled vegetables and red pickled chili peppers and stir-fry for 7-8 minutes. Add an appropriate amount of boiling water or bone broth and cook for 5 minutes. Season with a spoonful of oyster sauce and a spoonful of pepper. Add the fish head and bones, bring to a boil over high heat, skim off the foam, and cook for about 10 minutes. Use a ladle to remove the fish bones, head, and pickled vegetables and place them in a large basin first. Turn down the heat, add the fish fillets one by one into the pot. Turn to medium heat, and when the fish turns white and the soup is slightly boiling, carefully pour the soup and fish fillets into the basin together.
Sourfish
French bread