Ma Po tofu

Ma Po tofu (麻婆豆腐 Mápó dòufǔ ‘Pockmarked Granny beancurd’) is one of the most famous dishes in Chuan Cuisine (Sichuan food) with a history of more than 100 years. It consists of beancurd along with some minced meat (pork or beef) in a spicy sauce. The sauce is made from fermented black beans and chili paste (douban/douchi).

Twice-cooked pork

Twice-cooked pork or double-cooked pork (回锅肉 huíguōròu) is one of the most famous Sichuan pork dishes. Its Chinese name is huiguorou, which means ‘returned-to-the-pot meat’. Pork is boiled in the pot first. Then it is cooked again with other ingredients, including broad bean paste (doubanjiang), fermented black soybeans (douchi), garlic, ginger, and so on.

It was said that the dish was created by a Chinese poet called Su Dongpo (a.k.a. Su Shi) in the Song Dynasty era (960–1279).

Poached beef slices’

Poached beef slices’ (水煮肉片 shuǐzhǔ ròupiàn), is a famous Sichuan cuisine dish. Beef, with a coating made from egg-white and starch to preserve its freshness and tenderness, is boiled in broth. The meaty broth is typical Sichuan cuisine, featuring a peppery and spicy taste. When eating, you’ll find each piece of meat contains abundant juices with a fresh and fragrant spicy aroma.

Dumplings

Dumplings (饺子 jiǎozi) are a traditional food type that is widely popular, especially in North China. Chinese dumplings consist of minced meat and/or chopped vegetables wrapped in a thin dough skin. Popular fillings are minced pork, diced shrimp, ground chicken, beef, and vegetables. Dumplings can be cooked by boiling, steaming, or frying.

Char Sui

In Cantonese, char means ‘fork’ and siu means ‘to roast’, so char sui (叉烧 chāshāo) means “fork roasted”. It is a kind of Cantonese roast pork. It is eaten with rice or noodles. It is also used as a filling in baozi (a kind of steamed stuffed bun).