Chengdu became Asia’s first and the world’s second UNESCO city of gastronomy in 2010 (after Popayán in Colombia), listed thanks to the delicious flavours and culinary traditions that characterise Sichuan food. In 2015, 70% of Chinese travellers said they visited Chengdu for the food – in a land of big cuisines, the city must be doing something right!
To us in the UK, you’re most likely to have heard of Chengdu because of its population of gorgeous, cuddly bears, the giant pandas. Some people may have only heard of Sichuan cuisine in passing, perhaps in a Chinese restaurant. But in the culinary world and to the huge number of foodies out there, Sichuan food is a big deal. So big it caught the attention of UNESCO. Chengdu, as Sichuan’s capital, is at the forefront of the province’s culinary prowess and the birthplace of many culinary traditions. It is also a city obsessed with eating – and who can blame them?
All this talk about Sichuan food may be making you wonder, what’s so great about it? Well…it’s unique, makes fantastic use of local, seasonal produce and utilises 20 major cooking skills and techniques. Its flavours are fresh and intense and the food famous for its long-lasting pungency and fieriness (thanks to plenty of garlic and the 15 different types of chillies) and combines five essential elements of flavour – sweet, sour, bitter, spicy and salty, in beautiful, sometimes subtle, sometimes in your face, ways. The Sichuan pepper is the star of the show, giving a fragrant, lemony taste to food, as well as creating a numb, tingly sensation in the mouth (má in Chinese) – it’s even used for baking in cakes and biscuits! There’s no need to worry though, a proper Sichuan meal will have a balance of spicy and subtly flavoured dishes, to cool the palate.
Sichuan is a province of fertile valleys and mountains in China’s west. Abundant in foods – rice, herbs, spices and vegetables are grown; there is lush pasture for oxen and pigs; and waterways rich in fish – there were also trade routes passing through the region from Indian and beyond which brought ingredients such as chillies and maize to the area. As well as this natural richness, it is also thought that the climate had a profound effect on the development of the cuisine – a province of high humidity and plenty of rain, in times-gone-by the Sichuan people ate such hot food to help minimise their internal dampness. The food of Chengdu brings together the characteristics of the Sichuan region as a whole. Whether you eat in the acclaimed restaurant of a five-star hotel, or pick up some snacks from the street stall, it will be a treat for your taste buds. Here are a few quintessential dishes you can’t go wrong with: Kung Pao Chicken; Tea-smoked duck (not spicy); twice-cooked pork; mapo tofu; Sichuan hot pot; and dandan noodles.
Is your mouth watering for a taste of something sizzling and Sichuan? Click to find out more about the ‘panda and food capital’ Chengdu and Sichuan province. It is also easy to add both the city and province onto your tailormade itinerary, call us now and we’ll help you work out how.