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6 Sichuan Dishes that Won't Burn Your Face Off

2018-04-09 Sophie Steiner ShanghaiWOWeng


Sichuan is China’s spicy food Mecca, most famous for its mouth-numbing flavors, velvety chili oil, abundant noodle dishes, and never-ending street snacks. The most common spice in Sichuan, huajiao (花椒), is known for its “mala” (numbing) flavor. Although it looks like a normal, small, round peppercorn, and, when ground up, it has the same black and white flecks, you definitely don’t want to mix it up with regular pepper since it REALLY packs a punch. That trademark mouth-numbing tingle is unlike any other spice. While I’m a sucker for everything spicy, even I need a break sometimes, so here are a few of my favorite non-spicy Sichuan dishes to help cool down those tingling lips.

 

1. Tian Shui Mian (甜水面)- Sweet Water Noodles

 


While these noodles may not look like much, they are some of the best noodles in the entire world! Tian shui mian are literally heaven on a plate, and I feel awful for anyone who doesn’t get to experience the pure and utter bliss that goes along with every single bite of them. They are thick and chewy, like an udon noodles on crack, and roughly cut so the texture and shape varies with each individual noodle. After being smothered with a light oil, sugar crystals, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, MSG, garlic water, and a thick, sweet plum sauce, each bite becomes an explosion of all the best flavor combinations at once!


2. Yu Xiang Qieza (鱼香茄子)- Fish Fragrance Eggplant


Photo Source: thehungryexcavator.com


Photo Source: flickr user Robyn Lee


Have you ever wondered what Chinese people say when they are smiling for a photo? Instead of the English version of “cheese” you’ll hear shouts of “qieza” which makes me think of only one thing…mmmmmm…It’s time to go get some yu xiang qiezi, or Sichuan-style eggplant. Interestingly enough, “yu xiang” translates to “fish fragrance,” but after only the first bite, you immediately realize that the dish includes no fish nor seafood. Rather, the ingredients used to season the eggplant are those commonly found in fish recipes of the region, and include garlic, scallions, ginger, sugar, and salt. While some varieties of this dish do contain spices, they are not a necessary component, and I love to eat it as a contrasting side dish to balance out the spice in other dishes.

 

3. Hong Tang Bing (红糖饼)- Brown Sugar Bun

 


Why Shanghai has yet to get on the brown sugar bandwagon when it comes to pastries, I still don’t understand. Luckily, Sichuan province has received the message loud and clear. Most desserts in Sichuan use brown sugar, rather than cloying white sugar, for a more warming, earthy sweetness. The best Sichuan sweet street snack is easily hong tang bing. These little baked dough balls are crispy on the outside, doughy on the inside, and filled to the brim with ooey-gooey melted brown sugar. As the bing bakes in a claypot drum oven (think of those massive drum-ovens used to make naan bread), the brown sugar liquefies to a syrupy consistency. When you bite into it, the molten sugary mixture bubbles over and oozes out oh-so deliciously.


  

4. Bing Fen (冰粉)-Ice Jelly



Bing fen is Sichuan’s answer to the United States’ JELLO and the UK’s jelly. It’s jiggly and light, making it the perfect end to any spicy meal. The ice jelly is made from rice powder, bean powder, or potato starch, giving it a bit of a glutinous texture, but not as sticky as mochi. The bing fen is topped with a light brown sugar syrup for a touch of sweetness, and other garnishes, such as sesame seeds, peanuts, raisins, and dried hawthorn for textural contrast. It’s cold, refreshing and exactly what you want on a summer day, whether that’s before, after, or simultaneously while eating something spicy.

 

5. Shaobai (烧白)- Steamed White


This signature Sichuan pork-based dish is soft, tender, and luscious in the most sinful of ways. Thick slices of fatty pork belly cover sticky rice and are steamed for an hour after being basted with cooking wine, sugar, and other spices. The fat melts into the rice, making each bite a meaty, sticky, sweet morsel. This is Sichuan’s version of hong shao rou, but quite possibly a better one.  

 

6. Hui Guo Rou (回锅肉)- Twice Cooked Pork

  

(Photo Credit: Spicetrekkers.com)

 

You can’t enter any Sichuan-style “fly” restaurant without finding hui guo r 53 30299 53 16173 0 0 7469 0 0:00:04 0:00:02 0:00:02 7466ou on the menu. This unpretentious stir-fry of sizzling, fatty pork and fragrant green peppers seasoned with chili bean sauce, fermented black beans, and garlic is sure to get your mouth watering. The dish gets its name from the process in which the pork is cooked. First boiled and then fried, the pork gets added back into the pot (hence the “hui guo”) for two full rounds of cooking to really develop those aromatic flavors. While some restaurants do use spicy chilies in their recipe, it’s easy enough to just ask for it without spice, which doesn’t detract from the dish at all.

 

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