For those who love spicy food, making classic Sichuan cuisine.

Having eaten so much Sichuan cuisine, do you know which one has the highest click-through rate? The editor has summarized ten classic Sichuan dishes for you, who love spicy food. Hurry up and get cooking!

Shredded Pork in Fish Flavor Sauce

Shredded Pork in Fish Flavor Sauce is a traditional and famous dish named after its fish-flavored seasoning. Legend says its inspiration came from the old dish Pickled Chili Stir-fried Pork Shreds, and it was created by a Sichuanese chef during the Republic of China era. The main ingredient is pork, often with black fungus. The secondary ingredients vary by recipe but commonly include carrots, bamboo shoots, and chilies. The pork is typically a 30% fat, 70% lean mix, stir-fried until the shreds are tender and succulent. The finished dish is reddish in color, with tender meat, a fresh texture, and a distinct "fish" flavor. This "fish" flavor does not come from fish but is made from seasonings like pickled red chilies, scallions, ginger, garlic, sugar, salt, and soy sauce. "Fish flavor" (鱼香) is a homophone for "lingering fragrance" (余香), hence another name for the dish is "Lingering Fragrance Pork Shreds." The "Lingering Fragrance" series of Sichuan dishes primarily uses Sichuan broad bean paste. Dishes made with the main ingredient, broad bean paste, and other seasonings have a rich, long-lasting flavor and an aftertaste that lingers, which is why they are called "Lingering Fragrance." Before the 1970s, the dish was written as "Lingering Fragrance Pork Shreds" on restaurant menus.

Suancai Yu (Pickled Cabbage Fish)

Suancai Yu is a classic Sichuan dish originating from the mountain city of Chongqing, known for its unique seasoning and cooking techniques. It is also called "Suan Tang Yu" (Sour Soup Fish) in other regions. The main ingredient is fresh grass carp, cooked with Sichuan pickled vegetables to create a sour and spicy taste. Suancai Yu became popular in the 1990s and is considered one of the pioneers of Chongqing's "hujiang cai" (river-style cuisine).

Mapo Tofu

Mapo Tofu

Mapo Tofu, also known as "Chen Mapo Tofu," is one of the famous traditional local dishes from Sichuan Province. Its main ingredients are tofu, minced meat, chili, and Sichuan peppercorns. Mapo Tofu was first created in the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty by Chen Liu, the owner's wife of the "Chen Xingxing Eatery" on Wanfu Bridge in Chengdu. She was nicknamed "Mapo" (meaning "pockmarked lady") because she had a pockmarked face. Mapo Tofu is characterized by its dark red and glossy appearance, with a contrast of red, white, and green colors. The tofu remains whole and intact, and the dish is famous for its seven flavors: numbness (from Sichuan peppercorns), spiciness, heat, tenderness, crispness, fragrance, and freshness, highlighting the "mala" (numbing and spicy) characteristic of Sichuan cuisine.

Yanjian Rou (Salt-Fried Pork)

"Yanjian Rou" (Salt-Fried Pork) is a traditional and famous specialty dish of Sichuan cuisine and a representative of everyday Sichuan home cooking, often considered a "sister dish" to Huiguo Rou (Twice-Cooked Pork). This dish is made with pork, and the finished product features tender pork slices, a deep red color, a dry yet crisp and tender texture, and a delicious flavor with a strong local character. It is a household name in Sichuan and Chongqing and is an excellent dish for drinking or accompanying a meal.

Huiguo Rou (Twice-Cooked Pork)

Sichuan Style Twice-Cooked Pork

Sichuan Style Twice-Cooked Pork is a traditional Han Chinese dish from Sichuan Province and belongs to the Sichuan cuisine school. To make it, pour a small amount of oil into a wok. Since pork belly will release its own fat, add the pork when the oil is about 70% hot. You can fry the pork for a longer time to render out more of the fat. When the pork starts to turn slightly golden, add the Pixian broad bean paste (mixed with a little water) to the wok and stir-fry for a short while. Then, add the pointed chilies (or other vegetables) and stir-fry until they are almost cooked. Before they are fully done, add a starch-water mixture to thicken the sauce and then serve.

Suanr Bairou (Garlic Sauce Pork)

Suanr Bairou (Garlic Sauce Pork) belongs to the Sichuan cuisine school and was once all the rage and highly praised. This dish requires high-quality ingredients, proper cooking control, good knife work, and fragrant seasonings. It is served cold after being cooked hot. When eaten, you mix it with chopsticks, and the steam carries a combined aroma of soy sauce, chili oil, and garlic straight to your nose, whetting the appetite. The garlic flavor is rich, and the pork is fatty but not greasy.

Maoxue Wang (Numbing and Spicy Blood Cubes)

Maoxue Wang

Maoxue Wang, originating from Chongqing, is a famous traditional dish popular in Chongqing and Sichuan. It is listed in the Sichuan cuisine cookbook. The main ingredient is duck blood, and the cooking technique is primarily boiling. The flavor is numbing and spicy. Maoxue Wang is a specialty of Chongqing. The dish is named because it features fresh blood cubes and other offal ingredients that are blanched and eaten immediately. It is considered one of the ancestors of Sichuan's "hujiang cai" (river-style cuisine). Today, the fame of Maoxue Wang has led the "Yu cai" (Chongqing cuisine) trend, spreading far and wide. Malaxuanguo (a restaurant chain) has innovated and improved the traditional Maoxue Wang, enhancing its characteristics of a bright red sauce, numbing and spicy flavor, and rich and thick taste, making it a Sichuan delicacy worth trying.

Shuizhu Roupian (Water-Boiled Slices of Pork)

Shuizhu Roupian (Water-Boiled Slices of Pork) is a newly created famous dish of the Han people, originating from Zigong and popularized in Southwest China. It is a famous home-style dish in Sichuan cuisine. It originated in the 1930s, created by the famous Zigong chef Fan Ji'an (1887-1982), who innovated this dish with a distinctive flavor. It is called "Water-Boiled Slices of Pork" because the pork slices are boiled in water instead of being stir-fried in oil first. The meat is fragrant, spicy, soft, and tender. When eaten, the meat is tender, the vegetables are fresh, the soup is red and glossy, and the flavor is intensely numbing and spicy, making it perfect with rice. It is a classic home-style dish, characterized by "numbing, spicy, fresh, and fragrant" flavors.

Yuxiang Qiezi (Fish Flavor Eggplant)

Paojiao Yaohua (Pickled Chili Kidney)

Paojiao Yaohua (Pickled Chili Kidney) is a very popular dish in Sichuan cuisine. The pickled chili flavor is excellent at removing gamey and fishy smells, making it perfect for ingredients with strong odors like stir-fried kidneys, liver, chicken giblets, or braised fish. Of course, with pickled chilies and pickled ginger on hand, you have to make a dish to try them out, so here is Pickled Chili Kidney. Pickled Chili Kidney is a dish in the Sichuan cuisine cookbook. The main ingredient is kidney; the cooking technique is "bao" (quick-frying), and the difficulty level is moderate.

Yuxiang Qiezi (Fish Flavor Eggplant)

Yuxiang Qiezi (Fish Flavor Eggplant), also known as "Yuxiang Qiezi" (Lingering Fragrance Eggplant), is one of the traditional and famous specialty dishes from Sichuan Province. It is a representative dish of the "fish flavor" type in the Sichuan cuisine school, as famous as dishes like Fish Flavor Pork Liver, Fish Flavor Pork Shreds, and Fish Flavor Shredded Vegetables, and is very popular. "Fish flavor" (鱼香) is a homophone for "lingering fragrance" (余香), so another name for the dish is "Lingering Fragrance Eggplant." The "Lingering Fragrance" series of Sichuan dishes primarily uses Sichuan broad bean paste. Dishes made with the main ingredient, broad bean paste, and other seasonings have a rich, long-lasting flavor and an aftertaste that lingers, which is why they are called "Lingering Fragrance." Before the 1970s, the dish was written as "Lingering Fragrance Eggplant" on restaurant menus.