Sichuan cuisine is one of the four traditional Han Chinese cuisines, one of the eight major Chinese cuisines, and the culmination of Chinese cuisine. It has a wide range of ingredients, various seasonings, diverse dishes, clear and fresh flavors, and a balanced emphasis on richness and richness. It is known for its skillful use of spicy and numbing seasonings, as well as its unique cooking methods and rich local flavors. It integrates the characteristics of various regions in the southeast, northwest, and northwest, draws on the strengths of various schools, and is good at absorbing and innovating. Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, has been awarded the honorary title of "World Capital of Cuisine" by UNESCO.
History of Sichuan Cuisine
Sichuan cuisine is the main dish of Chinese cuisine, originating from the ancient states of Ba and Shu. After experiencing the enlightenment period from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Qin Dynasty, it presented itself as an early form of "wheel country" in the Han and Jin Dynasties. During the Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties periods, Sichuan cuisine had significant development. During the Song Dynasty, Sichuan cuisine crossed the border between Ba and Shu and entered the eastern capital, becoming known to the world. In the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, Sichuan cuisine used chili peppers for seasoning, inheriting the traditional seasoning of "taste preference" and "good spicy aroma" from the Ba and Shu periods, and further developing it.
After the late Qing Dynasty, a cuisine with extremely rich local flavor gradually formed. It consists of five categories: banquet dishes, popular light meals, home style dishes, steamed and braised dishes, and local snacks, forming a complete flavor system. Its flavor is both clear, mellow, and rich, and is known for its good use of spicy and numbing flavors, which has a considerable influence on the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River and Yunnan Guizhou. In recent years, Sichuan cuisine has spread throughout China and even overseas, earning the reputation of "taste in Sichuan" everywhere.
Sichuan cuisine was originally only popular in the Bashu region, and its flavors include the characteristics of local cuisine such as Chongqing, Chengdu, Leshan, Neijiang, Zigong, etc. The main feature is its diverse taste types.
Pepper, pepper, Chinese prickly ash, bean paste, etc. are the main condiments. Different proportions produce various flavors, such as spicy, hot and sour, pepper, sesame paste, garlic paste, mustard, red oil, sweet and sour, fish flavor, and strange taste. They are all thick and mellow. They have the special flavor of "one dish, one style" and "one hundred dishes, one hundred flavors". All kinds of dishes are popular. According to the Records of Huayang, Pakistan "grows five grains locally, and has six livestock", and produces fish salt and tea honey; Shu Kingdom is known for its forests, lakes, and fish, as well as its gardens and gardens filled with fruits and vegetables. It has been four generations since it was fully ripe, making it a rare sight.
At that time, the seasonings of Ba and Shu had already included brine, rock salt, Sichuan pepper, and "Yangpu ginger". Various bronze and pottery tableware were unearthed from tombs during the Warring States period, and the emergence of Sichuan cuisine can be seen. The formation of Sichuan cuisine was roughly between the unification of China by Emperor Qin Shi Huang and the Three Kingdoms period. At that time, the political, economic, and cultural center of Sichuan gradually moved to Chengdu.
At that time, both the selection of cooking ingredients, the use of seasonings, as well as the requirements for knife skills, cooking temperature, and professional cooking skills, had begun to take shape, and there were already embryonic forms of cuisine. King Hui of Qin and Emperor Qin Shi Huang immigrated to Shu twice in large numbers, bringing advanced production technology from the Central Plains region, which had a huge promoting and facilitating effect on the development of production. The Qin Dynasty laid a good economic foundation for Shu, and by the Han Dynasty, it had become even more prosperous.
Zhang Qian，a general in the Han Dynasty (208 BC-230 AD) went to the Western Regions as an envoy, introducing varieties such as Hu Gua, Hu Dou, Walnut, Soybean, Garlic, and adding cooking ingredients and seasonings for Sichuan cuisine. During the Western Han Dynasty, the country was unified, and both official and private commerce were relatively developed. Five major commercial cities centered on Chang'an emerged, including Chengdu. During the Three Kingdoms period, Wei, Shu, and Wu were in power, and Liu Bei named Sichuan as the "Shu Capital".
Although it is in a state of division nationwide, Sichuan is relatively stable and has created favorable conditions for the development of commerce, including the catering industry. This has laid a solid foundation for the formation of Sichuan cuisine in its early stages.
Classification of Sichuan Cuisine
Shanghebang (Rongpai, mainly consisting of Chengdu and Leshan cuisine); It is characterized by snacks, people friendly, relatively light, and many traditional dishes. Rongpai Sichuan cuisine emphasizes fine and accurate ingredients, strictly follows the traditional classic recipes, with mild taste and lingering fragrance. It is usually quite allusion. Its famous dishes include Mapo tofu, Twice cooked pork, Kung Pao chicken, salt braised white meat, steamed pork with rice flour, Fuqi Feipian (Sliced Beef and Ox Tongue in Chilli Sauce), ant climbing tree, Dengying beef, garlic white meat, camphor tea duck, white tofu, fish flavored shredded meat, spring tofu pudding, salt fried meat, dry fried eel slice, Dongpo cuttlefish, steamed Jiangtuan, etc.
Xiahebang (Chongqing style; mainly featuring Chongqing and Dazhou cuisine); It is characterized by homely cuisine, which is friendly to the people, spicy, and innovative. Chongqing style Sichuan cuisine is generous and straightforward. It is famous for its quick renovation, bold materials, and non stick to materials. It is commonly known as Jianghu cuisine. Most of it originated in the family kitchens or roadside stores of citizens, and gradually spread among the citizens. Chongqing style Sichuan cuisine has become popular nationwide in recent years, and many of the main dishes in Sichuan cuisine restaurants are Chongqing style Sichuan cuisine. Its representative works include pickled Chinese cabbage fish, Mao Xuewang, boiled chicken, and stewed dry vegetables (mostly dried cowpeas) The popular spicy hotpot (also known as tripe hotpot or hot pot) originated in Chongqing and is considered an independent dietary system rather than a part of Sichuan cuisine.
Xiaohebang (Dishes of Salt School; mainly Zigong and Neijiang); Its characteristics are atmospheric, peculiar, and high-end (due to salt merchants).
Characteristics of Sichuan Cuisine
The color is brown red, spicy and fresh. The main characteristic of Sichuan cuisine seasoning is diversity, which is often referred to as "one hundred dishes, one hundred flavors", but at the same time highlights the main flavors such as sour, spicy, and spicy.
The basic flavor types (single flavor) of Sichuan cuisine are similar to other cuisines, with only 10 types. The book "Sichuan Famous Dishes" states: "Sweet and salty, sour, soft, crispy, spicy, bitter, fresh, fragrant, all in one taste, this is the authentic Sichuan cuisine." The special feature of Sichuan cuisine lies in the skillful use of two or more single seasonings to create complex seasonings with unique characteristics and differences.
The homely flavor is made of bean paste, red pepper, Sichuan salt and soy sauce. It is named because Sichuan people often have it at home. Its characteristics are: salty, fresh and slightly spicy, widely used in hot dishes such as Twice cooked pork, salt fried meat, Taibai chicken, home-made sea cucumber, home-made tofu, etc.
The strange flavor type is made by mixing Sichuan salt, soy sauce, red oil, Sichuan pepper noodles, sesame sauce, sugar, garlic, sesame oil, monosodium glutamate and other seasonings. It combines various flavors, with a balance of fresh, sweet, spicy, sour, fragrant and salty flavors, hence the name "strange flavor".
It is mostly used for cold dishes made from chicken, fish, rabbit meat, peanuts and walnut kernels, such as odd taste shredded chicken, odd taste crisp fish, odd taste peanuts, odd taste walnut kernels, etc.
Spicy flavor, made of chili, Chinese prickly ash, salt, monosodium glutamate and cooking wine, is spicy, salty and fresh, with a slightly sweet aftertaste. It is mainly used for cold and hot dishes, such as Kung Pao chicken, Kung Pao loin, and braised winter bamboo shoots.
Smoke aroma type, using straw, cypress branches, tea leaves, camphor leaves, peanut shells, sawdust, etc. as smoking materials, smoked and roasted to make meat dishes, salty, fresh, mellow, and unique in aroma, such as camphor duck, smoked beef, smoked pork ribs, etc.
Chenpi flavor type is made by mixing Chenpi, Sichuan salt, soy sauce, vinegar, Sichuan pepper, dried chili, ginger, scallions, white sugar, red oil, and sesame oil. Its characteristics are the aroma of Chenpi, thick spicy flavor, and slightly sweet aftertaste. It is often used for cold dishes such as Chenpi duck, Chenpi roasted meat, Chenpi rabbit ding, etc.
Know more about Sichuan Cuisine
Chengdu Sichuan Cuisine Museum is located in Gucheng Town, Pidu District, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, in the western suburbs of Chengdu. It is a national AAA level tourist attraction and a national third level museum.
