Sichuan cuisine or Sichuanese cuisine, alternatively romanized as Szechwan cuisine or Szechuan cuisine (,

Standard Mandarin Standard Chinese ( zh, s=现代标准汉语, t=現代標準漢語, p=Xiàndài biāozhǔn hànyǔ, l=modern standard Han speech) is a modern Standard language, standard form of Mandarin Chinese that was first codified during the Republic of ...

pronunciation: ) is a style of

Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine comprises cuisines originating from Greater China, China, as well as from Overseas Chinese, Chinese people from other parts of the world. Because of the Chinese diaspora and the historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine ...

originating from

Sichuan province Sichuan is a Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capita ...

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. It is renowned for fiery and bold tastes, particularly the pungency and spiciness resulting from liberal use of

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

and chilis, as well as the unique flavors of Sichuan (Szechuan) pepper. Some examples are Kung Pao chicken and Yuxiang shredded pork. Four substyles of Sichuan cuisine include Chongqing,

Chengdu Chengdu; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, previously Romanization of Chinese, romanized as Chengtu. is the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a ...

Zigong Zigong ( zh, s=自贡 , ), formed by the merger of the two former towns of Ziliujing (Tzuliuching, literally "self-flow well") and Gongjing (Kungching, literally "offering well"), is a prefecture-level city in Sichuan, Southwestern China. Demo ...

(known for a genre of dishes called yanbangcai), and Buddhist vegetarian style.

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

declared Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, a city of gastronomy in 2011.

History

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, Sichuan welcomed

Middle Eastern The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

crops, such as broad beans,

sesame Sesame (; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a plant in the genus '' Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for ...

and

walnuts A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an invo ...

. Since the 16th century, the list of major crops in Sichuan has even been lengthened by

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

newcomers. The characteristic chili pepper originally came from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

but probably overland from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

or by river from

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

, complementing the traditional Sichuan (Szechuan) peppercorns. Other newcomers from the New World included corn, which largely replaced

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

; white potatoes introduced by

Catholic missions Missionary work of the Catholic Church has often been undertaken outside the geographically defined parishes and dioceses by religious orders who have people and material resources to spare, and some of which specialized in missions. Eventually, p ...

; and sweet potatoes. The population of Sichuan was cut by perhaps three-quarters in the wars from the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

to the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. Settlers from the adjacent

Hunan Province Hunan is an inland province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Guangdong and Guangxi to the south, and Guizhou and Chon ...

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 flavors, and they are fond of hot and spicy taste." Most Sichuan dishes are spicy, although a typical meal includes nonspicy dishes to cool the palate. Sichuan cuisine is composed of seven basic tastes: sweet, sour, numbingly spicy, spicy, bitter, fragrant/aromatic, and salty. Sichuan food is divided into five different types: sumptuous banquet, ordinary banquet, popular foods, household-style food and snacks. Milder versions of Sichuan dishes remain a staple of American Chinese cuisine. The superior natural resources of

Sichuan Province Sichuan is a Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capita ...

provided plenty natural resources for the development of cooking. The flow of the

Yangtze river The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

through Sichuan Province provided nutrients for fundamental foods, spices, and a source of water.

Origin theories

Scholars have proposed different theories regarding the division of Sichuan cuisine regions. Wang Dayu introduced in the compilation of Sichuan cuisine history strategy by the Committee on Literature and History of the CPPCC in the whole country: Sichuan cuisine can be roughly divided into Chengdu Bang, Chongqing Bang, Dahe Bang, Xiaohe Bang, from the inside, each has its own special background and representative menu. Sichuan cuisine originated in Shu during the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, the beginning of Qin and Han dynasties, and the formation of classical Sichuan cuisine in Han and Jin dynasties. Characterized by Sichuan peppercorn and ginger. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, Sichuan cuisine was developed further, and Sichuan restaurants spread throughout Kaifeng and Lin'an, and won the favor of many diners for their taste characteristics. During the Song dynasty, Sichuan cuisine became an independent cuisine. Sichuan is rich in products, and natural crops provide abundant raw materials for Sichuan cuisine. Among them, ginger, Sichuan pepper and other seasonings, as early as the Han dynasty, as Sichuan people "like the flavor of spices" characteristics known throughout the country. The taste of Sichuan people today is far from that of

Li Bai Li Bai (, 701–762), Literary and colloquial readings, also pronounced Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai (), was a Chinese poet acclaimed as one of the greatest and most important poets of the Tang dynasty and in Chinese history as a whole. He and hi ...

and

Su Shi Su Shi ( zh, t=, s=苏轼, p=Sū Shì; 8 January 1037 – 24 August 1101), courtesy name Zizhan (), art name Dongpo (), was a Chinese poet, essayist, calligrapher, painter, scholar-official, literatus, artist, pharmacologist, and gastronome wh ...

. If there were no chili peppers from South America in the Ming and Qing dynasties, it would not be Sichuan cuisine for Sichuan people today. Sichuan cuisine claims to have a history of more than two thousand years. However, it is difficult to say how much Sichuan cuisine is related to ancient Sichuan cuisine. One hard evidence is that before the Ming and

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

dynasties, there were no chili peppers in Sichuan cuisine. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Sichuan cuisine developed further until the Republic of China. Modern Sichuan cuisine eventually formed the characteristics of "rich variety", "strong taste and spicy", and developed into the first dish of Chinese cuisine. Chairman Mao once said on January 30, 1949, "I believe that a Chinese medicine, a Chinese dish, will be China's two major contributions to the world." This evaluation was repeated in 1953 when he took a nap at the Liuzhuang Hotel in Hangzhou. Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, was awarded the honorary title of "World Cuisine Capital" by UNESCO in 2010, and only six cities in the world received it. Chengdu Sichuan cuisine has long been the official cuisine of Sichuan Governor and Yamen. Chili peppers were introduced into Sichuan and widely used in Sichuan cuisine, which was a watershed between ancient Sichuan cuisine and modern Sichuan cuisine. Probably during the Kangxi period in the early Qing dynasty. The book "Flower Mirror" written and published by Chen Xiuzi in 1688, Kangxi, is recorded in volume five: "Pepper, a sea mad vine, commonly known as spicy eggplant……the most spicy, used by many people, very fine, winter moon to replace pepper. "Here the paprika, is chili, also known as sea pepper, Qin pepper and so on. The perfect combination of chili peppers and broad beans (i.e., beans) created Sichuan bean, known as the soul of Sichuan cuisine, is widely used in Sichuan cuisine. Peanuts are the most famous of the many varieties of Sichuan Beans. Pixian's is most renowned among the many varieties of Sichuan spicy bean paste. The innovative use of pickled peppers, pickle and black bean sauce in Sichuan cuisine has formed 24 common flavors, 54 cooking methods and more than 3,000 classic traditional dishes in three categories of Sichuan cuisine, which are the hallmarks of modern Sichuan cuisine. Native to Peru in South America, chili peppers were domesticated as cultivated species in Mexico, introduced to Europe in the 15th century, and introduced from the sea to China in the late 16th century, the late Ming dynasty. Because of the introduction of Western countries, it is also called " Fan pepper". It is also called "sea pepper" because it is introduced from the sea, and Sichuan chili pepper is introduced from Guanzhong to Shu, so it is also called "Qin pepper".

Features

The complex topography of Sichuan Province, including its mountains, hills, plains, plateaus and the

Sichuan Basin The Sichuan Basin (), formerly transliterated as the Szechwan Basin, sometimes called the Red Basin, is a lowland region in southwestern China. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides and is drained by the upper Yangtze River and its tributar ...

, 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 Bovines (subfamily Bovinae) comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including Bos, cattle, bison, African buffalo, Bubalus, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The members of this gro ...

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 Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated form ...

is also much more popular in Sichuan than elsewhere in China. It is estimated that the Sichuan Basin and Chongqing area are responsible for about 70 percent of China's total rabbit meat consumption. The salt produced from Sichuan salt springs and wells, unlike sea salt, does not contain iodine, which led to goiter problems before the 20th century. Sichuan cuisine often contains food preserved through

pickling Pickling is the process of food preservation, preserving or extending the shelf life of food by either Anaerobic organism, anaerobic fermentation (food), fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. The pickling procedure typically affects t ...

, salting and

drying Drying is a mass transfer process consisting of the removal of water or another solvent by evaporation from a solid, semi-solid or liquid. This process is often used as a final production step before selling or packaging products. To be consider ...

. Preserved dishes are generally served as spicy dishes with heavy application of chili oil.

Meal styles

The most unique and important spice in Sichuan cuisine is the Sichuan (Szechuan) pepper (), which has an intense, fragrant citruslike taste and produces a notably distinct "numbingly spicy" () sensation in the mouth. Other commonly used spices in Sichuan cuisine are

chili pepper Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of fruit#Berries, berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to ...

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

, and

star anise ''Illicium verum'' (star anise or badian, Chinese star anise, star anise seed, star aniseed and star of anise) is a medium-sized evergreen tree native to South China and northeast Vietnam. Its star-shaped pericarps harvested just before ripen ...

. There are 40 kinds of Sichuan cuisine cooking techniques such as frying, stir fry, oiling, and crispy fried. Taste type to spicy, fish flavor, strange taste as its outstanding characteristics. Broad bean chili paste () is one of the most important seasonings. It is an essential component to famous dishes such as Mapo tofu and twice-cooked pork. Sichuan cuisine is the origin of several prominent sauces/flavors widely used in modern

, including: * '' Yuxiang'' (魚香) * '' Mala'' (麻辣) * '' Guaiwei'' (怪味) Other examples of mixed flavors including spicy and hot ('' Mala),'' fish flavor ('' Yuxiang''), hot and sour, the five spices ('' Wuxiang;'' 五香),

juice, mashed

sweet and sour Sweet and sour is a generic term that encompasses many styles of sauce, cuisine, and cooking methods. It is commonly used in East Asia and Southeast Asia and has been used in English cuisine, England since the Middle Ages.Clarissa Dickson WDickson ...

, spice salt (''Jiaoyan''; 椒鹽), dried

tangerine The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in colour, that is considered either a variety of the mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata''), or a closely related species, under the name ''Citrus tangerina'', or yet as a hybrid (''Citr ...

or orange peel (''Chenpi''; 陳皮), burnt chili, pot-stewed fowl (''Lu''; 滷味), odd flavor (''Guaiwei''; 怪味), and other recombinations of these seasonings. Common preparation techniques in Sichuan cuisine include stir frying,

steaming Steaming is a method of cooking using steam. This is often done with a food steamer, a kitchen appliance made specifically to cook food with steam, but food can also be steamed in a wok. In the American Southwest, steam pits used for cooking ha ...

and braising, but a complete list would include more than 20 distinct techniques.

Notable foods

References

External links

* * NPRbr>story on Sichuan cuisine and a cookbook about the cuisine
{{Authority control Regional cuisines of China