Sichuan cuisine or Sichuanese cuisine, alternatively romanized as Szechwan cuisine or Szechuan cuisine is a style of Chinese cuisine originating from Sichuan province and the neighboring Chongqing municipality. Chongqing was formerly a part of Sichuan until 1997; thus, there is a great deal of cultural overlap between the two administrative divisions. There are many regional, local variations of Sichuanese cuisine within Sichuan and Chongqing.
Korean Chinese cuisine, also known as Sino–Korean cuisine, is a hybrid cuisine developed by the ethnic Chinese in Korea.
Chili sauce and chili paste are condiments prepared with chili peppers.
Jiangxi cuisine, also known as Gan cuisine, is a style of Chinese cuisine derived from the native cooking styles of Jiangxi province in southern China. According to the East China Travel Guide published in 1983, Jiangxi cuisine has its unique taste which can be described in four Chinese idioms: 原汁原味(aim to bring out the own flavor of the cooking material)，油厚不腻(dishes contained a significant amount of oil but the taste are not greasy)，口味浓厚(dishes have really thick taste)，咸鲜兼辣(always come with spicy solid, salty flavor). Jiangxi cuisine is widely popular within the ordinary family because most of the notable dishes from Jiangxi cuisine are the extension of homely dishes with solid local flavor.
Guizhou cuisine, or Qian cuisine, consists of cooking traditions and dishes from Guizhou Province in southwestern China. Guizhou cuisine shares many features with Sichuan cuisine and Hunan cuisine, especially in bringing the sensation of spiciness and pungency. What makes Guizhou cuisine unique is the emphasis of a mixed sour-and-spicy taste, as compared to the numbing-and-hot sensation featured in Sichuan cuisine and the dry-hot taste featured in Hunan cuisine. There is an ancient local saying, "Without eating a sour dish for three days, people will stagger with weak legs". The saying reflects how Guizhou people love local dishes with a sour taste. The combination of sour and spicy flavours is also found in Shaanxi cuisine. Guizhou cuisine differs from Shaanxi cuisine in that it lacks the emphasis on the salty taste, which is a common trait found in most northern Chinese cuisines. In addition, the unique sourness featured in Guizhou cuisine comes from the local tradition of fermenting vegetables or grains, and not from using vinegar products.
Hubei cuisine, also known as Chu cuisine or E cuisine, is derived from the native cooking styles of Hubei Province in China.
Shaanxi cuisine, or Qin cuisine, is derived from the native cooking styles of Shaanxi Province and parts of northwestern China.
Malatang is a common type of Chinese street food. It originated in Sichuan, China, but it differs mainly from the Sichuanese version in that the Sichuanese version is more similar to what in northern China would be described as hot pot.
Chinese regional cuisines are amongst the many different cuisines found in different provinces and prefectures of China as well as from larger overseas Chinese communities.
Hot and sour soup is a popular example of Chinese cuisine. Although it is said to be originated in Sichuan, this is actually a variant of hulatang or "pepper hot soup" (胡辣汤) with added vinegar to enhance the sourness. This variation is found in Henan province, and in Henan cuisine itself. Also popular in Southeast Asia, India, Pakistan and the United States, it is a flexible soup which allows ingredients to be substituted or added depending on availability. For example, the American-Chinese version can be thicker as it commonly includes corn starch, whilst in Japan, sake is often added.
Doubanjiang, also known as douban, toban-djan, broad bean chili sauce, or fermented chili bean paste, is a hot and savoury Chinese bean paste made from fermented broad beans, chili peppers, soybeans, salt and flour. Characteristically used in Sichuan cuisine, it has been called "the soul of Sichuan cuisine." Sichuan dishes such as mapo tofu, huoguo, yuxiang flavouring, and Shuizhu all use doubanjiang as a key ingredient. Other regions have their own versions: in Guangdong and Taiwan, for instance, the Sichuan doubanjiang is called la-doubanjiang to distinguish it from local non-spicy versions.
Kung Pao chicken, also transcribed Gong Bao or Kung Po, is a spicy, stir-fried Chinese dish made with cubes of chicken, peanuts, vegetables and chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns. From its origins in Sichuan cuisine, the dish's popularity has spread throughout China, spawning a number of regional variations some of which are less spicy than the classic version.
Chili oil is a condiment made from vegetable oil that has been infused with chili peppers. Different types of oil and hot peppers are used, and other components may also be included. It is commonly used in Chinese cuisine, Southeast Asian cuisine, Italy, and elsewhere. It is particularly popular in Chinese cuisine, especially western Chinese cuisines such as Sichuan cuisine, Hunan cuisine, Guizhou cuisine, and Shaanxi cuisine where it is used as an ingredient in cooked dishes as well as a condiment. It is sometimes used as a dip for meat and dim sum. It is also employed in the Korean Chinese noodle soup dish jjamppong. A closely related condiment in Chinese cuisine is chili crisp, which contains edible chunks of food and chilis in oil.
Mala is a spicy and numbing seasoning made from Sichuan peppercorn and chilli. Most commonly, mala is made into a sauce by simmering it in oil and other spices. Characteristic of Sichuan cuisine, particularly Chongqing cuisine, it has become one of the most popular ingredients in Chinese cuisine, spawning many regional variants.
Mapo tofu is a popular Chinese dish from Sichuan province. It consists of tofu set in a spicy sauce, typically a thin, oily, and bright red suspension, based on douban, and douchi, along with minced meat, traditionally beef. Variations exist with other ingredients such as water chestnuts, onions, other vegetables, or wood ear fungus. One account indicates that the dish existed as early as 1254, in a suburb of Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan. Other accounts indicate it originated at a Chengdu restaurant in the 1860s.
Sichuan pepper, also known as Szechuan pepper, Chinese prickly ash, Chinese pepper, Mountain pepper, and mala pepper, is a spice commonly used in Sichuan cuisine in China, in Nepal, and in northeast India. Despite its name, Sichuan pepper is not closely related to black pepper or chili peppers. It is made from plants of the genus Zanthoxylum in the family Rutaceae, which includes citrus and rue.
Hot pot or hotpot, also known as steamboat, is a dish whereby a heat source placed on the dining table keeps a pot of soup stock simmering, and accompanied with an array of Chinese foodstuffs and ingredients and food offerings provided for the diners to dip into the flavorful broth.
Chongqing hot pot, also known as spicy hot pot, is usually eaten at restaurants, but otherwise is similar to roadside malatang. Chongqing hot pot is similar to the dry stir-fried mala xiang guo (麻辣香锅) which is also eaten in restaurants.
Mala xiang guo, roughly translated into English as "spicy stir-fry hot pot", is a Chinese dish prepared by stir frying. Strongly flavored with mala, it often contains meat and vegetables, and has a salty and spicy taste. The preparation process involves placing the required ingredients in the pot, stir frying and adding seasoning. In restaurants, customers usually choose the ingredients by themselves before the chef prepares the dish.
Chili crisp, chile crisp or chili crunch is a type of hot sauce, originating from Chinese cuisine, made with fried chili pepper and other aromatics infused in oil, sometimes with other ingredients. Multiple regional, homemade, and restaurant-original versions exist across China. The best-known commercial brand is Lao Gan Ma, which is based on the chili crisps of Guizhou province. The chili crisp is closely related to Chinese chili oil, and sometimes the two terms are used interchangeably, the difference being that the crisp contains edible chunks of food in the chili oil.
