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
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
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
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
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