Chengdu: City of Gastronomy
The food video series where I randomly choose a Sichuan food themed playing card and then hunt it down and try it in Chengdu, China – the Capital of Sichuan – and the first city in Asia to be named a UNESCO City of Gastronomy
One day I was exploring a tacky tourist shop in Chengdu, where I’m currently living. I came across a pack of playing cards that featured a different Sichuan specialty dish on each card. A big part of the reason why I moved to Chengdu was because I fell in love with Sichuan food after frequenting an authentic Sichuan restaurant back when I lived in Vietnam. I bought the cards and vowed to try every dish – all 54 of them.
That is the basis of this series.
You can watch all the episodes on YouTube now.
蚂蚁上树 – Mǎ Yǐ Shàng Shù
Glass noodles in a delicious sauce with ground pork.
Jiān dàn miàn – 煎蛋面
Fried egg and fresh tomatoes in a savory broth with noodles.
Hóng yóu chāo shǒu – 红油抄手
Pork filled wontons in a spicy chili oil infused broth.
Huí Guō Ròu – 回锅肉
Pork belly simmered and then fried with scallions with some special Sichuan sauce.
Kǎo wǔhuāròu – 烤五花肉
Hunks of pork belly on a stick, seasoned with the special Chinese barbecue seasoning, and grilled to perfection.
豆汤米饭 – Dòu tāng mǐfàn
This is pretty straight forward – beans and rice cooked in a broth. It’s a simple but healthy soup. While it doesn’t sound like much, but your body will thank you.
三大炮 – Sān dàpào
Sweetened glutinous rice balls dusted in toasted soy and ground sesame, then coated in a sweet melted brown sugar syrup. All that, and it comes with a show!
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.
钟水饺 – Zhōng shuǐ jiǎo
Dumplings packed with meat and served in a slightly sweet and fully delicious Sichuan chili oil.
赖汤圆 – Lài Tāng Yuán
Glutinous rice flour is made into a dough and wrapped around some sweetened black sesame paste.
担担面 – Dān dān miàn
This is one of the most iconic Sichuan noodle dishes of all time. A spicy chili oil and pork mix with fresh wheat based noodles.
耙泥鳅 – bà níqiu
This small bottom feeder fish can be prepared a variety of ways, but the texture of the fish makes it truly unique.