Stinky tofu (臭豆腐, chòu dòufu) is tofu that has been steeped in a fermented brine until it takes on a powerful smell, then usually deep-fried and eaten hot from a paper cup with chili sauce and pickled vegetables. It is sold from street carts and night-market stalls all over China, from Changsha to the night … Read more
Xiaolongbao (小笼包) are small steamed buns with a hot, liquid filling: a thin, barely-leavened wrapper, a lump of seasoned pork, and a mouthful of soup that is not poured in but forms during cooking. They are sold by the basket, eaten in one bite or two, and they come from Jiading — now the northwestern … Read more
Rou jia mo (肉夹馍) is a Shaanxi street food: chopped, slow-braised pork packed into a round griddle-baked wheat bun. It is sold from Xi’an breakfast stalls and street windows, eaten in the hand, and usually finished in under two minutes. That is the dish. The interesting part is the name, which appears to describe something … Read more
Chongqing xiaomian (重庆小面) is a bowl of fine wheat noodles dressed with a seasoning mix that is built in the bowl before the noodles arrive: soy sauce, red chili oil, ground Sichuan pepper, preserved vegetables, ginger-garlic water, sesame, peanuts, scallions. In the narrow local sense it carries no meat at all. Add beef, or peas … 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
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
Chuan chuan (串串, also written chuanchuan) is the skewer food of Sichuan and Chongqing: slices of meat, offal, tofu products, mushrooms and vegetables threaded a few pieces at a time onto bamboo sticks, then cooked in a spicy, numbing broth or dressed in red oil. The stick is part utensil, part portion marker, and part … 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
Dan dan noodles (担担面, dan dan mian) are a Sichuan street noodle served in a small bowl with almost no broth — a spoonful or two of stock at most. The seasoning goes into the empty bowl first: chili oil, soy sauce, vinegar, ground Sichuan pepper. The noodles go on top, then crisp fried pork … 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