Sichuan cuisine - wikipedia Sichuan cuisine Sichuan cuisine Kung Pao chicken Chinese 四川 菜 Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Sìchuān cài Chuan cuisine Chinese 川菜 Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Chuān cài This article is part of the series Chinese cuisine Regional cuisines Four Great Traditions Chuan Lu Yue Huaiyang Eight Great Traditions Anhui Cantonese Fujian Hunan Jiangsu Shandong Sichuan Zhejiang Ten Great Traditions Anhui Beijing Cantonese Fujian Hunan Jiangsu Shandong Shanghai Sichuan Zhejiang Twelve Great Traditions Anhui Beijing Cantonese Fujian Henan Hunan Jiangsu Shaanxi Shandong Shanghai Sichuan Zhejiang Fourteen Great Traditions Anhui Beijing Cantonese Fujian Henan Hubei Hunan Jiangsu Liaoning Shaanxi Shandong Shanghai Sichuan Zhejiang Sixteen Great Traditions Anhui Beijing Cantonese Fujian Henan Hubei Hunan Jiangsu Liaoning Shaanxi Shandong Shanghai Sichuan Tianjin Zhejiang Yunnan New Eight Great Traditions Gansu Hangzhou Jilin Liaoning Ningbo Shaanxi Shanghai Shanxi Beijing and the vicinity Beijing Imperial Aristocrat Tianjin Other regional styles Teochew Guangxi Guizhou Hainan Haipai Hakka Hong Kong Jiangxi Macanese Manchu Northeastern Qinghai Tibetan Xinjiang Overseas cuisine Burma Canada Caribbean Philippines India Indonesia Japan Korea Malaysia Pakistan Peranakan Perú Puerto Rico Singapore Taiwan United States Religious cuisines Buddhist Islamic Ingredients and types of food Main dishes Desserts Noodles Preparation and cooking Stir frying Double steaming Red cooking See also Customs and etiquette List of Chinese desserts List of Chinese dishes List of Chinese restaurants List of restaurants in China China portal Hong Kong portal Macau portal Singapore portal Taiwan portal Geographic extent of Sichuan cuisine Sichuan cuisine, Szechwan cuisine, or Szechuan cuisine ( 四川 菜 ) ( / ˈsɛʃwɒn / or / ˈsɛtʃwɒn / ), alternatively known as Chuan cuisine, is a style of Chinese cuisine originating from Sichuan Province in southwestern China. It has bold flavours, particularly the pungency and spiciness resulting from liberal use of garlic and chili peppers, as well as the unique flavour of Sichuan pepper. There are many local variations within Sichuan Province and the neighbouring Chongqing Municipality, which was part of Sichuan Province until 1997. Four sub-styles of Sichuan cuisine include Chongqing, Chengdu, Zigong and Buddhist vegetarian style. UNESCO declared Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, to be a city of gastronomy in 2011 to recognise the sophistication of its cooking. Contents 1 History 2 Features 3 Notable dishes 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links History Sichuan in the Middle Ages welcomed Near Eastern crops, such as broad beans, sesame and walnuts. Since the 16th century, the list of major crops in Sichuan has even been lengthened by New World newcomers. The characteristic chili pepper came from Mexico, but probably overland from India or by river from Macao, replacing the spicy peppers of ancient times and complementing the Sichuan peppercorn ( 花椒 ; huājiāo ). Other newcomers from the New World included maize ( corn ), which largely replaced millet ; white potatoes introduced by Catholic missions ; and sweet potatoes. The population of Sichuan was cut by perhaps three quarters in the wars from the Ming dynasty to the Qing dynasty. Settlers from the adjacent Hunan Province brought their cooking styles with them. Sichuan is colloquially known as the `` heavenly country '' due to its abundance of food and natural resources. One ancient Chinese account declared that the `` people of Sichuan uphold good flavour, and they are fond of hot and spicy taste. '' Most Sichuan dishes are spicy, although a typical meal includes non-spicy dishes to cool the palate. Sichuan cuisine is composed of seven basic flavours : sour, pungent, hot, sweet, bitter, aromatic and salty. Sichuan food is divided into five different types : sumptuous banquet, ordinary banquet, popularised food, household - style food and food snacks. Milder versions of Sichuan dishes remain a staple of American Chinese cuisine. Features A chili hot pot characteristic of Sichuan cuisine The complex topography of Sichuan Province, including its mountains, hills, plains, plateaus and the Sichuan Basin, has shaped its food customs with versatile and distinct ingredients. Abundant rice and vegetables are produced from the fertile Sichuan Basin, whereas a wide variety of herbs, mushrooms and other fungi prosper in the highland regions. Pork is overwhelmingly the most common type of meat consumed. Beef is somewhat more common in Sichuan cuisine than it is in other Chinese cuisines, perhaps due to the prevalence of oxen in the region. Sichuan cuisine also uses various bovine and porcine organs as ingredients, such as intestine, arteries, head, tongue, skin and liver, in addition to other commonly used portions of the meat. Rabbit meat is also much more popular in Sichuan than elsewhere in China. It is estimated that the Sichuan Basin and Chongqing area consume about 70 percent of China 's rabbit meat consumption. Yoghurt, which probably spread from India through Tibet in mediaeval times, is consumed among the Han Chinese. This is an unusual custom in other parts of the country. The salt produced from Sichuan salt springs and wells, unlike the sea salt, does not contain iodine, leading to goiter problems before the 20th century. Sichuan cuisine often contains food preserved through pickling, salting and drying. Preserved dishes are generally served as spicy dishes with heavy application of chili oil. The most unique and important spice in Sichuan cuisine is the Sichuan pepper ( 花椒 ; huājiāo ; `` flower pepper '' ). Sichuan peppercorn has an intense fragrant, citrus - like flavour and produces a `` tingly - numbing '' ( 麻 ; má ) sensation in the mouth. Other commonly used spices in Sichuan cuisine are garlic, chili peppers, ginger and star anise. Broad bean chili paste ( 豆瓣 酱 ; 豆瓣 醬 ; dòubànjiàng ) is one of the most important seasonings. It is an essential component to famous dishes such as Mapo tofu and double - cooked pork slices. Sichuan cuisine is the origin of several prominent sauces / flavours widely used in modern Chinese cuisine, including : Yuxiang ( 魚 香 ) Mala ( 麻辣 ) Guaiwei ( 怪 味 ). Common preparation techniques in Sichuan cuisine include stir frying, steaming and braising, but a complete list would include more than 20 distinct techniques. Notable dishes Although many dishes live up to their spicy reputation, there are a large percentage of recipes that use little or no hot spices at all, including dishes such as tea - smoked duck. English Image Traditional Chinese Simplified Chinese Pinyin Notes Ants climbing a tree 螞蟻 上 樹 蚂蚁 上 树 mǎyǐ shàng shù Bon bon chicken 棒 棒 雞 棒 棒 鸡 bàngbàng jī Braised pork ribs with konjac 魔芋 燒 排骨 魔芋 烧 排骨 móyù shāo páigǔ Dan dan noodles 擔 擔 麵 担担 面 dàndàn miàn Double - cooked pork 回鍋肉 回锅肉 huíguōròu Literally `` meat returning to the pot '' Fish with pickled mustard greens 酸菜 魚 酸菜 鱼 suān cài yú Fragrant and spicy fish slices 香 辣 魚 片 香 辣 鱼 片 xiāng là yú piàn Kung Pao beef tendon 宮保 牛 筋 宫 保 牛 筋 gōngbǎo niú jīn Kung Pao chicken 宮保 雞 丁 宫 保 鸡 丁 gōngbǎo jīdīng Mao xue wang 毛 血 旺 毛 血 旺 máo xuě wàng A traditional dish from Chongqing made from pig 's blood, tripe, duck 's blood, ham and chicken gizzard. Beansprouts, chili, Sichuan peppercorn, sesame and other spices are often added as seasoning. Mapo tofu 麻 婆 豆腐 麻 婆 豆腐 mápó dòufǔ Literally `` pockmarked granny 's tofu '' Shredded chicken cold noodles 雞 絲 涼 麵 鸡 丝 凉 面 jī sī liáng miàn Shredded pork in garlic sauce 魚 香 肉 絲 鱼 香 肉 丝 yuxiang rousi Literally `` sliced pork with fish aroma '' Sichuan hotpot 四川 火鍋 四川 火锅 Sìchuān huǒguō Sliced beef / beef tripe / ox tongue in chili sauce 夫妻 肺 片 夫妻 肺 片 fūqī fèipiàn Literally `` husband and wife lung pieces '' Spicy deep - fried chicken 辣子 雞 辣子 鸡 làzǐjī Tea - smoked duck 樟 茶 鴨 樟 茶 鸭 zhāngchá yā Three pepper chicken 三 椒 煸 雞 三 椒 煸 鸡 sān jiāo biān jī Water - cooked meat 水 煮 肉 水 煮 肉 shuǐzhǔ ròu See also China portal Food portal Hunan cuisine Chen Kenmin Chen Kenichi List of Chinese dishes References Jump up ^ `` Szechuan. '' at Merriam - Webster Online. Jump up ^ Dunlop, Fuchsia ( 2003 ). Land of Plenty : A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking. New York : W.W. Norton. ISBN 0393051773. Jump up ^ UNESCO ( 2011 ). `` Chengdu : UNESCO City of Gastronomy ''. UNESCO. Retrieved May 26, 2011. ^ Jump up to : Anderson, Eugene ( 2003 ). `` Sichuan ( Szechuan ) Cuisine ''. Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. New York : Scribner 's. pp. 393 -- 395. Jump up ^ Fu, Peimei ( 傅培梅 ) ( 2005 ). Peimei 's Selection of Famous Dishes : Special Edition on Sichuan and Zhejiang Cuisine ( 培 梅 名 菜 精選 : 川 浙 菜 專輯 ) ( in Chinese ). Tangerine Culture Enterprise Co., Ltd. ( 橘子 文化 事業 有限 公司 ). p. 9. Jump up ^ Tropp, Barbara ( 1982 ). The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking. New York : Hearst Books. p. 183. ISBN 0 - 688 - 14611 - 2. Jump up ^ Geng, Olivia ( June 13, 2014 ). `` French Rabbit Heads : The Newest Delicacy in Chinese Cuisine ''. The Wall Street Journal Blog. Further reading Fuchsia Dunlop. Land of Plenty : A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking. New York : W.W. Norton, 2003. ISBN 0393051773. Fuchsia Dunlop. Shark 's Fin and Sichuan Pepper : A Sweet - Sour Memoir of Eating in China. ( New York : Norton, 2008 ). ISBN 9780393066579. The author 's experience and observations, especially in Sichuan. Jung - Feng Chiang, Ellen Schrecker and John E. Schrecker. Mrs. Chiang 's Szechwan Cookbook : Szechwan Home Cooking. New York : Harper & Row, 1987. ISBN 006015828X. Eugene Anderson. `` Sichuan ( Szechuan ) Cuisine, '' in Solomon H. Weaver William Woys Katz. Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. ( New York : Scribner, 2003 ; ISBN 0684805685 ). Vol I pp. 393 -- 395. Lu Yi, Du li. China Sichuan Cuisine ( Chinese and English ) Bilingual. Sichuan Publishing House of Science and Technology, 2010. ISBN 9787536469648 External links NPR story on Sichuan cuisine and a cookbook about the cuisine Sichuan cuisine Ants climbing a tree Chicken with chilies Dan dan noodles Doubanjiang Fuqi feipian Guaiwei Guoba Hot and sour soup Chongqing hot pot Hot pot Kung Pao chicken Mala sauce Mapo doufu Pao cai Shuizhu Sichuan pepper Suanla chaoshou Tuotuorou Twice cooked pork Wonton Wuliangye Yibin Yuxiang Zha cai Zhangcha duck Hong Kong cuisine Macanese cuisine Chinese cuisine History of Chinese cuisine Cuisines Regional African North West list Americas North South list Asian Central South list Caribbean Caucasian European Central Eastern list Global Latin American Mediterranean Middle - Eastern Levantine Oceanic National Afghan Albanian Algerian Angolan Argentine Armenian Australian Austrian Azerbaijani Bahraini Bangladeshi Barbadian Belarusian Belgian Belizean Beninese Bhutanese Bissau - Guinean Bolivian Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazilian British English Scottish Welsh Cornish Bruneian Bulgarian Burkinabé Burmese Burundian Cambodian Cameroonian Canadian Canadian Chinese Quebec Central African Republic Chadian Chilean Chinese Colombian Congolese Croatian Cuban Cypriot Czech Danish Djiboutian Dominican Dominican Republic Dutch East Timorese Ecuadorian Egyptian Emirati Equatorial Guinean Eritrean Estonian Ethiopian Fijian Filipino Finnish French Occitan Gabonese Gambian Georgian German Ghanaian Greek Guatemalan Guianan Guinean Haitian Honduran Hong Kong Hungarian Icelandic Indian Indonesian Iranian Iraqi Irish Israeli Italian Sicilian Ivorian ( Côte d'Ivoire ) Jamaican Japanese Jordanian Kazakh Kenyan Korean Kosovan Kuwaiti Kyrgyz Lao Latvian Lebanese Lesotho Liberian Libyan Liechtensteiner Lithuanian Luxembourg Macau Macedonian Malagasy Malawian Malaysian Malay Chinese Indian Eurasian Sabahan Sarawakian Maldivian Malian Maltese Mauritanian Mauritian Mexican Moldovan Monégasque Mongolian Moroccan Mozambican Namibian Nauruan Nepalese New Zealand Nigerian Nigerien Norwegian Niuean Omani Pakistani Palestinian Panamanian Peruvian Chinese Polish Portuguese Qatari Romanian Russian Rwandan Salvadoran Saint Helena Saint Lucian Sammarinese São Tomé and Príncipe Saudi Arabian Senegalese Serbian Seychelles Sierra Leonean Singaporean Slovak Slovenian Somali South African Spanish Andalusian Asturian Basque Catalan Galician Sri Lankan Sudanese Swazi Swedish Swiss Syrian Taiwanese Tajik Tanzanian Thai Tibetan Togolese Tunisian Turkish Trinidadian and Tobagonian Ugandan Ukrainian United States California Cuisine Hawaiian New American Puerto Rican Soul food Uruguayan Uzbek Venezuelan Vietnamese Vatican Western Saharan Yemeni Zambian Zimbabwean Ethnic and religious Ainu American Chinese Anglo - 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Question: where does the delicious sichuan cuisine originate from
Answer: Sichuan Province in southwestern China