Second Sister Rabbit
Chengdu: City of Gastronomy #8
二姐兔丁 – Èr jiě tù dīng
Bite-sized rabbit bits in a very Sichuan sauce – numbing peppercorns, spicy peppers, peanuts, served cold with a sweet aftertaste.
This dish probably goes by another name on other menus, but this version comes from a chain of stalls that are scattered across Chengdu. The restaurant is called Second Sister Rabbit (in the video I mistakenly call it Two Sisters Rabbit). They make a mean bowl of rabbit chunks.
Rabbit is quite popular in Sichuan – more popular than in any other Chinese province. Perhaps this is because the meat goes well with Sichuan flavors, mainly the combination of numbing Sichuan peppercorns and spicy chili pepper oil, or perhaps it’s just because there were more rabbits hopping around the area’s hills. Either way, I’m happy that Sichuan was the place were I first tried rabbit.
It all started with a rabbit leg in Zigong, a small city southeast of Chengdu. I was completely surprised by the tenderness of the meat. I had to have more, and luckily this card was drawn.
The spicy sweet sauce is complimented by peanuts, and the rabbit chunks are tender with few bones (which is sometimes hard to find in the cuts that smaller animals produce).
If you find yourself wandering the streets of Chengdu, hungry for a bit of waskily wabbit, pop into one of the many Second Sister Rabbit locations.
Where To Find Second Sister Rabbit in Chengdu
Like I said, there are plenty locations around Chengdu:
If you want to try the place where I went (which was great because it’s outside of a market and there’s a park you can sit in while you eat it) it’s at:
12 Yulin W St – 成都市武侯区玉林综合市场1层 (west of at the Yulin market).
Yulin Location Map in China