Some of these leave your lips buzzing for an hour; others are cold, sweet and sour. Only one gets to be the dish you order every time.
1Mapo TofuSoft tofu in a numbing, chili-red sauce with minced beef and fermented broad-bean paste.1000pts
2Zhong DumplingsChengdu pork dumplings served in sweet soy and chili oil, from a shop dating to 1893.1000pts
3Tea-Smoked DuckDuck marinated, smoked over tea leaves and camphor wood, then steamed and fried crisp.862pts
4Kung Pao ChickenDiced chicken stir-fried with dried chilies, Sichuan pepper and peanuts in a sweet-sour glaze.764pts
5LazijiChongqing chicken: crisp fried morsels buried in a mound of dried chilies.764pts
6Mala Xiang GuoNumbing-spicy dry pot: a stir-fry of meats and vegetables chosen by the diner.764pts
7Shuizhu BeefWater-boiled beef: tender slices poached in a broth thick with chilies and Sichuan pepper.764pts
8Fish-Fragrant PorkShredded pork with wood ear and bamboo shoots in the same yuxiang sauce as the aubergine.647pts
9Twice-Cooked PorkPork belly simmered, sliced thin, then stir-fried with leeks and chili bean paste.503pts
10Fish-Fragrant AubergineBraised aubergine in the sweet, sour and garlicky yuxiang sauce, with no fish in it at all.503pts
11Fuqi FeipianHusband-and-wife lung slices, a cold dish of thin-cut beef and offal in chili oil.0pts
12Chongqing Hot PotCommunal pot of beef-tallow broth loaded with chilies and Sichuan pepper, cooked at the table.0pts
13Dan Dan NoodlesChengdu street noodles in chili oil and sesame paste, topped with crisp minced pork.0pts
14Bang Bang ChickenCold shredded chicken dressed in sesame paste and chili oil, named for the stick used to tenderise it.0pts
15Suan Cai YuFish fillets simmered in a sour broth of pickled mustard greens and chilies.0pts
Photo credits
- Mapo Tofu — ZhengZhou, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Tea-Smoked Duck — Ssebastian Bassi, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Kung Pao Chicken — Steven G. Johnson, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Laziji — N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Mala Xiang Guo — 我乃野云鹤, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Shuizhu Beef — Liu Nan, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fish-Fragrant Pork — avlxyz on flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Twice-Cooked Pork — Guilhem Vellut from Paris, France, CC BY 2.0
- Fish-Fragrant Aubergine — Francesc Fort, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fuqi Feipian — Dice~commonswiki, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Dan Dan Noodles — Steven G. Johnson, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Bang Bang Chicken — rick, CC BY 2.0
- Suan Cai Yu — Alpha from Melbourne, Australia, CC BY-SA 2.0
