eatstreetfoodchina Before a strand of noodle enters the water, a Chongqing xiaomian (重庆小面) bowl is already taking shape. Soy sauce, red chili oil, ground Sichuan pepper, preserved vegetables, ginger-garlic water, sesame paste or sesame oil, peanuts, and scallions are measured into the empty bowl. Fine wheat noodles and a handful of greens arrive last. This order … Read more
Lift a strand of suan la fen (酸辣粉) beside a strand of Chongqing xiaomian and the difference is visible. Xiaomian is an opaque wheat noodle. Suan la fen is made with starch, most characteristically sweet potato starch in Chongqing, which gives it a translucent surface and an elastic pull. The bowl belongs to the connected … Read more
A square wrapper lies flat, the filling sits off-center, and two side corners are brought together. That compact fold is one reason Sichuan and Chongqing speakers call these dumplings chaoshou (抄手), a word associated with crossed or folded arms. Once boiled and placed in a seasoned bowl of red chili oil, they become hongyou chaoshou … Read more
In chuan chuan (串串), the bamboo stick is part utensil, part portion marker, and part ordering system. Slices of meat, offal, tofu products, mushrooms, and vegetables are threaded in small quantities so diners can combine many ingredients without committing to a full plate of any one item. The name covers more than one way of … Read more
To make you lao zao (油醪糟), fermented glutinous rice is drained and returned to the heat. Traditional Fuling versions cook it gently with lard, black sesame, nuts, candied fruit, and osmanthus until the mixture becomes a rich concentrate. A portion can later be loosened with boiling water to make a hot sweet soup. This extra … Read more
Sweet water noodles (甜水面, tian shui mian) are a Chengdu snack made from unusually thick wheat noodles coated in a dark, concentrated sauce. The bowl is sweet, salty, garlicky, and gently hot, with chili oil and sweet red soy sauce clinging to strands that can be close to chopstick thickness. Despite the English name, this … Read more
Dan dan noodles (担担面, dan dan mian) are a Sichuan xiaochi, or prepared snack, built from wheat noodles, a concentrated seasoning mixture, preserved vegetables, and often a crisp, crumbly pork topping. Recorded regional preparations describe handmade or fine noodles dressed with soy sauce, vinegar, chili oil, scallion, yacai (芽菜), and a small amount of stock. … Read more
Guokui is a broad Chinese flatbread family, not one uniform recipe. In Sichuan, one of its clearest regional forms is Juntun guokui (军屯锅盔), a filled, layered bread associated with the Chengdu area. Fermented wheat dough is combined with a rich pastry-like layer, wrapped around seasoned pork, coated with sesame, flattened, browned on a griddle, and … Read more
Zhong dumplings (钟水饺, Zhong shuijiao) are a Chengdu snack made from thin wheat wrappers folded around a finely seasoned pork filling, boiled, and served either with a red-oil seasoning or in clear broth. The name does not mean “Chinese dumplings” or “middle dumplings.” Zhong is a surname, while shuijiao (水饺) means dumplings cooked in water. … Read more
Sichuan wontons are called chaoshou (抄手), a regional name for thin wrappers folded around a tender pork filling and cooked in boiling water. In English, they are often reduced to “red oil wontons,” but red oil is only one way to serve them. Chengdu traditions also include clear broth, original broth, chicken broth, hot-and-sour seasoning, … Read more