Lotus Garden

Szechuan cuisine

• Szechwan
• Sichuan 
• 四川菜
• 川菜)

This cuisine originated in Sichuan Province of southwestern China.

The Chinese region of Sichuan is now romanized as Sichuan and the cuisine is still sometimes spelled Szechuan or Szechwan in the Gobal West. There are many local variations of Sichuan cuisine within the Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality which was part of the Sichuan until 1997. The 4 well known regional substyles are Chongqing style, Chengdu style, Zigong style, and Buddhist vegetarian style.

Szechuan cuisine often us food preservation technics such as pickling, salting, drying and smoking, and is generally spicy. The Sichuan peppercorn is commonly used which it is an indigenous plant producing peppercorns with a fragrant, numbing and is almost a citrusy flavor. Also common are chili, ginger and other spicy herbs, plants and spices. Broad bean chili paste (simplified Chinese: 豆瓣酱; traditional Chinese: 豆瓣醬 or d²ub nji ng) is also a staple seasoning in the Sichuan cuisine. The Sichuan cuisine has also been the originator of several other Chinese spices including yuxiang (魚香) and mala (麻辣).

Common preparation techniques in the Szechuan cuisine include stir frying, steaming and braising, but a complete list would include more than twenty distinct techniques. Historically Beef is much more common in Szechuan cuisine than it is in other Chinese cuisines, which could be because of the widespread use of oxen within the region. Stir fried beef is often cooked until chewy, while steamed beef is sometimes coated with rice flour to produce a nice rich gravy.

Some well known Szechuan dishes include Kung Pao chicken, Twice Cooked Pork and Bean Curd. Many dishes live up to their spicy reputation, often ignored are the large number of recipes that use little or no hot spices at all, including such dishes such as Tea Smoked Duck.