Welcome to the land of “flower pepper” and “facing-heaven” chilies.
The two make up Sichuan’s spice signature, with the Sichuan “flower pepper” adding a mouth- and tongue-numbing feeling and the long, red, dried “facing-heaven” chilies adding heat.
Sichuan cuisine has a dry, numbing heat, which helps balance the body’s constitution against the dampness of the region. But it also offers an adventurous culinary experience full of bold flavors.
Sichuan Dishes You Should Try
1. Chong Qing spicy dry chicken: Small morsels of tender dark-meat chicken arrive, with golden slivers of garlic, sesame seeds, and a mass of glistening dried red chilies.
Chong Qing spicy dry chicken. Samira Bouaou/Epoch Times
