Sichuan Cuisine Encounters Michelin-Starred Restaurants

Sichuan,a treasure trove on 30 degrees north latitude,is abundant in natural resources and endowed with favorable natural conditions, bringing up endless ingredients and delicacies.

After thousands of years of development and inheritance, Sichuan cuisine has become a very appealing card and is famous all over the world, which holds a reputation for its variety of flavors, and almost every dish has its own unique taste. Nowadays, Sichuan is embracing the world with an open and tolerant attitude, and Sichuan cuisine is warmly sought after by global food lovers.

What will they look like when Sichuan cuisine encounters the world? From now on, Sichuan International Communication Center (SICC) launches a new original bilingual video program "Sichuan Cuisine Encounters", aiming to explore the charm of Sichuan cuisine. Let's start a culinary journey and meet more unknown surprises together.

Chengdu, Sichuan’s capital city, had become the first Asian city to win the honor of City of Gastronomy from UNESCO since 2010. Earlier this year, the Michelin Guide Chengdu 2022 has been published, making Chengdu the fourth city in Chinese mainland to have the Michelin-Starred Restaurants after Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing. To date, Chengdu has 9 Michelin-Starred Restaurants including 1 two Michelin Star, 8 one Michelin Star and 13 Bib Gourmand restaurants. With two stars and above, it is worth a special trip to try according to the "Michelin Star Rating".

Taste is the cultural symbol of a city. Sichuan with the Michelin awards is sending a food invitation to the world: come to Sichuan to go on a culinary journey. With the heritage of thousands of years of Sichuan cuisine culture, Sichuan will show its "Rhythm" and "Taste".

SICC takes you into the Michelin restaurants in Chengdu to explore the classic flavors of Sichuan cuisine inherited to this day, introduce its innovation cooking skills, and share Sichuan delicacies with more global food lovers.

In the first episode, SICC visited the Mi Xun Teahouse in The Temple House, noted for its Sichuan vegetarian food, and invited the chef Tony Xu to show the cooking of the well-known Sichuan dishes - Handmade Spinach Dandan Noodles and Braised Mapo Tofu in Wild Mushroom Sauce.

Dandan noodles and Mapo Tufu are local's most profound memories of Sichuan cuisine. Noodles and tofu, as food materials, tastes chewy and tender respectively.

The Chengdu Dandan Noodles is popular with its seasonings and condiments and the new cooking style of this dish is covered with chopped nuts, adding another kind of flavor. The famous Mapo Tofu has a characteristic of numb, spicy, crispy and tender, and now the cook has adopted the wild mushroom to replace its original diced meat sauce, retaining the spicy flavor without losing the fresh and umami flavour. The new style of Sichuan cuisine with vegetarian cooking skills has been improved and innovated to bring new flavors.

Recipe

·Handmade Spinach Dandan Noodles

Spinach Noodles (100g), Sesame Paste (10g), Peanut Paste (16g), Mushroom Soup (24g), Chili Oil, Sesame Oil, Mustard Green Stems, Light Soy Sauce,Chopped Nuts, Salt

1. Mix the sesame sauce, peanut paste, sesame oil, pepper oil and chili oil with mushroom soup to make the sauce

2. Stir-fry the mustard green stems

3. Cook the spinach noodles in boiling water for about 2 minutes

4. Add the ready-made sauce, chopped nuts and mustard green stems in order.

·Braised Mapo Tofu in Wild Mushroom Sauce

Tofu (400g), Dried Wild Mushroom (50g), Vegetable Oil, Thick Broad-bean Sauce, Sichuan Peppercorn Oil, Rock Sugar, Light Soy Sauce, Dark Soy Sauce, Sichuan Pepper, Dried Chili Pepper, Starch, Fermented Soybeans, Cinnamon, Star Anise

1. Stir-fry the thick broad-bean sauce with oil, cinnamon and star anise, and then add rock sugar and torn mushrooms to stew for at least one hour.

2. Cut tofu into cubes, and boil them with soy sauce and salt for about 1 minute.

3. Stir fry the thick broad-bean sauce with fermented soybeans and vegetable oil, add the mushroom soup to boil, and then add Tofu to stew for five minutes. Finally add starch in three times to thicken the sauce.

4. Dish up the Tofu and sprinkle with Sichuan peppercorn, wild mushroom and a little chopped garlic in order.