What are the charms of Sichuan cuisine, one of the eight major Chinese cuisines?

Sichuan cuisine, as one of the four major Chinese traditional cuisines and one of the eight major Chinese cuisines, has a remarkable reputation. Sichuan cuisine is known for its wide range of ingredients, diverse seasoning, varied dishes, balanced flavors, and a distinct emphasis on the use of spicy and numbing seasonings. It is famous for its unique cooking methods and rich local flavors, incorporating characteristics from the southeast, northwest, and other regions.

Sichuan cuisine is a traditional cuisine of the Han Chinese and is originally from Sichuan Province in China. Broadly speaking, it refers to a regional culinary style that includes not only Chongqing, which was originally part of Sichuan Province but is now a separate municipality, but also neighboring regions such as Yunnan and Guizhou provinces.

In Sichuan cuisine, three types of spices, collectively known as the "Three Peppers," are widely used. "Shanshōu" refers to Sichuan peppercorn (red chili pepper), Hanyuan peppercorn (a type of Sichuan peppercorn), and chili pepper. However, chili peppers were introduced to Sichuan only after the late Ming Dynasty. Other commonly used seasonings include doubanjiang (broad bean paste), processed fava beans, douchi (fermented black beans), processed black beans, and rice wine.

Sichuan cuisine also has different factions, each with its own characteristics. These factions include the Rong faction (Upper River Gang), Yu faction (Lower River Gang), and Yan faction (Small River Gang). The Rong faction, centered around Chengdu and Leshan, is known for its approachability, rich selection of ingredients, and relatively mild flavors, making it the most widely spread style of Sichuan cuisine. The Yu faction, which flourished during the War of Resistance Against Japan, is characterized by bold and rough flavors, skillful use of pickled peppers and pickled vegetables as seasonings, and innovation in cooking techniques and ingredients. The Yan faction consists of the cuisine from Zigong (Yanbang), Neijiang (Tangbang), Luzhou (Hexian), and Yibin (Sanjiang), and is known for its grandeur, peculiarity, and high-end focus on seasoning.

Sichuan cuisine primarily consists of home-style dishes with some high-end dishes, using ingredients that are commonly found in daily life as well as a variety of seafood. Sichuan cuisine offers a wide range of flavors, including fish-flavored, homestyle, spicy and numbing, chili oil, garlic sauce, ginger sauce, tangerine peel, mustard, pure sweetness, and peculiar flavors, totaling 24 distinct flavors. Representative dishes include Fish-Fragrant Pork Shreds, Kung Pao Chicken, Sliced Boiled Pork in Spicy Sauce, Husband and Wife Lung Slices, Mapo Tofu, Twice-Cooked Pork, Pickled Pepper Chicken Feet, Lantern Shadow Beef, Mouthwatering Chicken, Spicy Shrimp, Spicy and Numbing Chicken, Chongqing Hot Pot, Chicken with Bean Flower, Chestnut Roast Chicken, and Spicy Chicken.

If you have developed an interest in Sichuan cuisine after reading this article, I would like to welcome you to Sichuan, China, to taste the most authentic Sichuan dishes! Sichuan warmly welcomes you!

source:

https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%B7%9D%E8%8F%9C/26409#1_2

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9B%9B%E5%B7%9D%E6%96%99%E7%90%86