Sichuan Food

Chinese Food Map › Sichuan Food

Sichuan Food (四川美食) is Chinese Food Wiki's hub for the food of Sichuan Province in south-west China: its cooking, dishes, snacks, noodles, condiments, teas, liquors, protected local products and food heritage. The province's cooking system, Sichuan cuisine (川菜; pinyin: Chuāncài), is shared with neighbouring Chongqing and is described in its own article, Sichuan Cuisine. Dishes that grew up in Chongqing are covered on Chongqing Food.

Sichuan cuisine is usually counted among China's "Eight Great Cuisines". Its cooking techniques were added to the national list of intangible cultural heritage in 2021. Chengdu, the provincial capital, joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2010 as a City of Gastronomy.

Sichuan Cuisine
Flavours and techniques

Cities and regions
Local specialties across 21 prefectures

Famous dishes
Classic regional dishes

Snacks and noodles
Street food and local varieties

Hot pot
Hot pot and skewers

Ingredients
Seasonings and preserved foods

Tea and drinks
Tea culture and local drinks

Local recognition
GI products and heritage

Food geography

Sichuan has 21 prefecture-level cities and autonomous prefectures, each with local food traditions. The province's "Tianfu tourism food" list (天府旅游美食名录), published in July 2021 after approval by the city and prefecture governments, names 809 local dishes, snacks and drinks; Chengdu (100 entries), Leshan (86) and Yibin (61) contributed the most. Traditional Sichuan cooking is also often divided into river-based "schools" (帮), for example the refined Chengdu style, the river-fish cooking of Yibin, Luzhou and Leshan, the Jialing River cooking of north Sichuan and the Zigong–Neijiang style. These labels are informal, and scholars do not agree on one scheme.

• Chengdu – the provincial capital and a UNESCO City of Gastronomy since 2010. Its officially recognised "China time-honoured brands" (中华老字号) include the shops behind Long Chao Shou, Zhong Dumplings, Lai Tangyuan and Fuqi Feipian.
• Leshan – known for Xiba tofu, Qiaojiao beef, sweet-skin duck and snow konjac. Leshan has municipal standards for its sweet-skin duck and bobo chicken.
• Zigong – the salt city. Its salt-merchant cooking (盐帮菜) earned it the title "Hometown of Chinese Salt-Gang Cuisine" from the China Cuisine Association in February 2019. Local classics include Fushun douhua and Rongzhou mala chicken.
• Yibin – Yibin ranmian, Lizhuang white pork, Shuanghe liang'gao, Yibin yacai and Nanxi dried tofu. Yibin is home to Wuliangye, and the provincial liquor gazetteer calls it the "liquor capital" (酒都).
• Luzhou – called the "liquor city" (酒城), home of Luzhou Laojiao and Langjiu. Local dishes include Gulin mala chicken, Hejiang red-soup mutton and Xuyong bean-soup noodles.
• Deyang – its list includes tianshui noodles, Mianzhu chuan chuan xiang and Lianshan twice-cooked pork. Jiannanchun liquor is made in Mianzhu.

▾ Show all 11 cities (5 more)

• Mianyang – known for Mianyang rice noodles and Jiangyou pork intestines, both added to the provincial heritage list in 2025.
• Neijiang – the "sweet city" (甜城), where candied fruit (蜜饯) is the signature product; Neijiang beef noodles are its best-known everyday dish. Dry-braised fish associated with the painter Zhang Daqian is also claimed by Neijiang.
• Nanchong – north Sichuan; Chuanbei liangfen and Shunqing mutton rice noodles, plus Baoning vinegar from Langzhong.
• Meishan – Dongpo pork knuckle and paocai (Sichuan pickles). "Dongpo paocai" is one of Sichuan's leading geographical-indication brands.
• Ya'an – casserole Ya fish, Yingjing tata noodles and bang bang chicken. Ya'an is also tea country, the home of Mengding Mountain tea and of Nanlu border tea made for Tibetan areas.

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Food traditions in western Sichuan

In parts of western Sichuan, especially Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, local food traditions vary across communities and ways of life. The Aba Prefecture Local Chronicles Office distinguishes Amdo and Gyalrong Tibetan foodways: its account lists foods such as tsampa, meat, dairy products and breads, with different local combinations in the two areas. It also records Qiang staples including maize, wheat, highland barley, buckwheat, tubers and home-pickled vegetables. These are examples documented in Aba, not a single menu that represents all Tibetan or Qiang communities.

A study in the Journal of Xihua University identifies yangyu ciba (洋芋糍粑), a potato dish, as a Qiang specialty of northwestern Sichuan.

Sichuan Cuisine

Main article: Sichuan Cuisine

Sichuan cuisine is the cooking system of Sichuan and Chongqing, and its influence reaches parts of Yunnan, Guizhou, Hubei and Shaanxi. The national heritage record counts 27 common compound flavours, including numbing-hot (麻辣), fish-fragrant (鱼香), strange-flavour (怪味) and red-oil (红油), and more than 50 common cooking methods. It singles out quick stir-frying (小炒), dry-frying (干煸), steaming in rice meal (粉蒸) and pickling (泡制) as particular strengths. Other sources give different flavour counts, such as 24 or 28. Not every dish is hot: about 40 of the 116 provincial "Tianfu famous dishes" named by the Sichuan Department of Commerce in 2021 are neither numbing nor spicy.

Chongqing dishes that belong to the same tradition, such as Chongqing hot pot and Laziji (Chongqing chilli chicken), are listed on Chongqing Food rather than below.

Famous dishes

In 2018 the China Cuisine Association's "Chinese Cuisine" (中国菜) project chose ten classic dishes for Sichuan: Daqian dry-braised fish, fuqi feipian, kung pao chicken, Sichuan twice-cooked pork, chicken douhua, kaishui baicai, mapo tofu, steamed jiangtuan, casserole Ya fish and yuxiang shredded pork.

• Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐) – tofu in a spicy bean-paste sauce. The Chen Mapo Tofu brand dates its founding to 1862 and is a China time-honoured brand.
• Twice cooked pork (回锅肉) – boiled pork that is sliced and stir-fried again. The provincial gazetteer traces a similar dish back to the Ming dynasty.
• Kung Pao Chicken (宫保鸡丁) – diced chicken with a sweet, sour and hot flavour. The dish is commonly credited to the late-Qing governor-general of Sichuan, Ding Baozhen.
• Yuxiang Shredded Pork (鱼香肉丝) – shredded pork in the fish-fragrant (鱼香) compound flavour.
• Fuqi Feipian (夫妻肺片) – braised beef and offal, sliced and dressed with chilli oil. It was created in Chengdu in the early 1930s by Guo Chaohua and Zhang Tianzheng.
• Sichuan Boiled Beef (水煮牛肉) – beef poached in a chilli broth, associated with the Zigong–Neijiang style.

▾ Show all 16 dish entries (10 more)

• Water Boiled Pork (水煮肉片) – the pork version of the "water-boiled" method, seasoned with Pixian doubanjiang.
• Kaishui Baicai (开水白菜) – cabbage in clear broth, often cited as a classic Sichuan dish with no chilli heat.
• Daqian Dry-Braised Fish (大千干烧鱼) – dry-braised fish associated with the painter Zhang Daqian.
• Chicken Douhua (鸡豆花) – a chicken dish named after douhua (tofu pudding), on the 2018 Sichuan top-ten list.
• Steamed Jiangtuan (清蒸江团) – steamed jiangtuan catfish, a river fish long valued in the region.
• Casserole Ya Fish (砂锅雅鱼) – a Ya'an fish casserole whose technique joined the provincial heritage list in 2025.
• Dongpo Pork Knuckle (东坡肘子) – Meishan's braised pork knuckle, which bears the name of Su Dongpo.
• Lizhuang White Pork (李庄白肉) – very thinly sliced boiled pork from Lizhuang in Yibin.
• Sichuan Boiled Fish (水煮鱼) – fish cooked in a chili-seasoned broth. It is also included among Chongqing’s 2018 classic dishes, illustrating the overlap between Sichuan and Chongqing food traditions.
• Suan Cai Yu (酸菜鱼) – fish with pickled mustard greens; it was also named among Chongqing’s 2018 classic dishes.
• Other Sichuan-style dishes with pages on this wiki: Tea-Smoked Duck, Saliva Chicken, Bang Bang Chicken, Crispy Fragrant Duck, Suan Ni Bai Rou, Fish-Fragrant Eggplant, Mapo Eggplant, Ants Climbing a Tree, Dry-fried Green Beans, Hot and Sour Potato Strips, Tiger Skin Peppers and Kong Fan.

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Snacks and street food

Chengdu's snack culture is represented by several time-honoured brands on the national list. The provincial heritage list has a "Sichuan snack-making" entry, which was extended to the Long Chao Shou technique in 2025.

• Long Chao Shou (龙抄手) – Chengdu wontons. It became a China time-honoured brand in 2007 and its technique was added to Chengdu's municipal heritage list in 2010.
• Hong You Chao Shou (红油抄手) – wontons dressed with red chilli oil.
• Zhong Dumplings (钟水饺) – Chengdu boiled dumplings. The Zhong brand was founded in 1893.
• Lai Tangyuan (赖汤圆) – Chengdu glutinous-rice balls. The business began as Lai Yuanxin's street stall in the Guangxu period of the late Qing, and its technique joined the provincial heritage list in 2011. See also Tangyuan.
• Guokui (锅魁 / 锅盔) – baked flatbread, which the Chengdu municipal gazetteer describes as an everyday food of the city with many varieties.
• Liangfen (凉粉) – cold starch jelly with a spicy dressing.

▾ Show all 13 snacks (7 more)

• Chuanbei Liangfen (川北凉粉) – Nanchong pea-starch jelly dating from the late Qing. It is on the provincial heritage list (2011) and is a China time-honoured brand.
• Douhua (豆花) – soft tofu pudding; Fushun douhua is a Zigong speciality.
• Bo Bo Chicken (钵钵鸡) – skewered cold chicken and vegetables. The Leshan style is covered by municipal standard DB5111/T 26-2022.
• Leshan Sweet-Skin Duck (乐山甜皮鸭) – braised duck with a sweet, crisp skin. It is covered by a Leshan standard, and its technique joined the provincial heritage list in 2025.
• Cold-Eating Rabbit (冷吃兔) – Zigong's spicy rabbit served cold, a dish with nearly a century of history. It became a national geographical-indication protected product in 2014.
• Qiaojiao Beef (跷脚牛肉) – Leshan beef soup cooked in a long-simmered stock.
• Jiangyou Feichang (江油肥肠) – pork intestines from Jiangyou in Mianyang; provincial heritage item since 2025.

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Noodles

Sichuan has many local noodle and rice-noodle styles, and some of them are now on the provincial heritage list.

• Dan Dan Noodles (担担面) – Sichuan-style noodles, which Shanghai-style Sichuan chefs later adapted into new dishes.
• Tianshui Mian (甜水面) – "sweet-water" noodles, listed among Deyang's local foods.
• Yibin Ranmian (宜宾燃面) – Yibin's "burning noodles", a local breakfast, and listed among the representative foods of the southern "great river" (大河帮) style.
• Neijiang Beef Noodles (内江牛肉面) – Neijiang's signature beef noodle soup.
• Mianyang Rice Noodles (绵阳米粉) – provincial heritage item since 2025.
• Shunqing Mutton Rice Noodles (顺庆羊肉粉) – Nanchong rice noodles in mutton soup, known since the Qing dynasty.

Hot pot and skewers

The provincial gazetteer describes how hot pot rose from humble street food to a signature of the region. It also notes that Chongqing hot pot traditionally used more beef tallow, while Chengdu versions used more vegetable oil.

• Sichuan Hot Pot – Sichuan (Chengdu-style) hot pot.
• Chongqing Hot Pot – Chongqing's tripe hot pot tradition; see Chongqing Food.
• Chuan Chuan Xiang (串串香) – skewers cooked in a hot-pot broth; Mianzhu chuan chuan xiang is on Deyang's food list.
• Mao Cai (冒菜) – ingredients cooked in a spicy broth and served by the bowl.
• Malatang (麻辣烫) – the Niuhua malatang of Wutongqiao, Leshan, joined the provincial heritage list in 2025.
• Hot Pot Sauce and Hot Pot – general pages.

Condiments and local ingredients

Before chillies arrived, the people of Shu seasoned with Sichuan pepper, evodia (茱萸) and ginger. Chillies spread into Sichuan with the early-Qing migrations and suited this existing taste for pungent flavours. Fermented and preserved foods are central. The heritage record highlights curing, salting and air-drying (酱腌风腊) and quotes a saying that without cured pork and sausages there is no New Year.

• Pixian Doubanjiang (郫县豆瓣) – fermented broad-bean and chilli paste from Pidu, Chengdu, called "the soul of Sichuan cuisine". It is a national heritage item (2008) and a geographical-indication product (2005).
• Doubanjiang – the general page on fermented bean paste.
• Sichuan Peppercorn (花椒) – the numbing spice, used in Sichuan long before chillies.
• Hanyuan Sichuan Pepper (汉源花椒) – pepper from Hanyuan in Ya'an, one of Sichuan's leading geographical-indication brands.
• Chili Oil (红油 / 熟油辣椒) – the base of red-oil cold dishes such as fuqi feipian.
• Baoning Vinegar (保宁醋) – vinegar from Langzhong (historically Baoning); national heritage item (2021).

▾ Show all 13 condiments and ingredients (7 more)

• Xianshi Soy Sauce (先市酱油) – soy sauce from Hejiang in Luzhou; national heritage item (2014).
• Tongchuan Douchi (潼川豆豉) – fermented soybeans from Santai; national heritage item (2008).
• Yibin Yacai (宜宾芽菜) – preserved mustard greens; a protected geographical indication on the China–EU list.
• Sichuan Paocai (四川泡菜) – Sichuan pickled vegetables. It is an agricultural geographical indication on the China–EU list, and the Xinfan paocai technique joined the provincial heritage list in 2025.
• La Rou (腊肉) – cured pork, a New Year staple.
• Sichuan Sausage (香肠) – cured sausage, paired with la rou in New Year food.
• Zigong Well Salt (自贡井盐) – salt from deep brine wells. The drilling and extraction technique is a national heritage item (2006).

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Tea and drinks

Sichuan is one of China's old tea regions. Mengding Mountain tea was sent to the court as tribute from 742, and in 1386 the Ming set up a tea-and-horse office at Mingshan in Ya'an. In Chengdu teahouses, tea is traditionally served in a lidded bowl on a saucer (盖碗茶). "Chengdu teahouse customs" joined the provincial heritage list in 2025.

• Tea – general page.
• Mengding Tea (蒙顶山茶) – green tea from Mengding Mountain in Ya'an, including Mengding Ganlu. It is a geographical-indication product and a national heritage item (2021).
• Ya'an Tibetan Tea (南路边茶 / 藏茶) – dark tea made in Ya'an for Tibetan areas, where it is used for Butter Tea; national heritage item (2008).
• Emeishan Tea (峨眉山茶) – geographical indication (2009).
• Pujiang Queshe (蒲江雀舌) – green tea from Pujiang, Chengdu; geographical indication (2008).
• Naxi Early Tea (纳溪特早茶) – extra-early spring tea from Naxi, Luzhou; agricultural geographical indication.
• Qianwei Jasmine Tea (犍为茉莉花茶) – jasmine tea from Qianwei, Leshan; provincial heritage item since 2025.
• Chengdu Teahouse (成都茶馆) – Chengdu's teahouse culture and gaiwan tea service.

Alcohol

Sichuan is one of China's great baijiu provinces. The provincial liquor gazetteer calls Wuliangye, Luzhou Laojiao, Jiannanchun, Quanxing, Langjiu and Tuopai the "six golden flowers" (六朵金花) of Sichuan liquor, a reputation built on China's national liquor appraisals between 1952 and 1989. The same gazetteer calls Luzhou the "liquor city" and Yibin the "liquor capital", and describes Qionglai as a base for bulk base liquor.

• Baijiu and Chinese Alcohol – general pages.
• Wuliangye (五粮液) – Yibin; brewed from five grains. National heritage item (2008) and geographical indication (2001).
• Luzhou Laojiao (泸州老窖) – Luzhou. National heritage item (2006); four of its fermentation pits are over 400 years old and are protected as a national key cultural relic.
• Jiannanchun (剑南春) – Mianzhu, Deyang. National heritage item (2008) and geographical indication (2005).
• Langjiu (郎酒) – Erlang town, Gulin County, Luzhou; national heritage item (2008).
• Shuijingfang (水井坊) – Chengdu, on the site of a Ming–Qing distillery on Shuijing Street; national heritage item (2008).
• Quanxing Daqu (全兴大曲) – Chengdu; one of the "six golden flowers".
• Tuopai (沱牌曲酒) – Shehong, Suining; national heritage item (2008).

Geographical indication products

By the end of 2023 Sichuan had 296 geographical-indication (GI) protected products, the most of any province. This count is distinct from the 592 GI collective or certification trademarks and 201 registered agricultural GIs reported separately. Twenty-eight Sichuan products are on the China–EU GI agreement list. Food and drink GIs confirmed in official records include:

• Pixian Doubanjiang – GI product (AQSIQ announcement 2005 No. 212); China–EU list.
• Anyue Lemon (安岳柠檬) – GI product (AQSIQ announcement 2004 No. 1); China–EU list.
• Yibin Yacai – GI certification trademark; China–EU list.
• Sichuan Paocai – agricultural GI; China–EU list.
• Cangxi Red Kiwifruit (苍溪红心猕猴桃) – GI certification trademark; China–EU list.
• Hanyuan Sichuan Pepper – named by the provincial government among Sichuan's leading GI brands.

▾ Show all 11 GI entries (5 more)

• Mengding Tea – origin protection in 2001, converted to a GI product in 2005.
• Emeishan Tea, Pujiang Queshe and Naxi Early Tea – China–EU list.
• Wuliangye and Jiannanchun – China–EU list.
• Cold-Eating Rabbit – "Zigong cold-eating rabbit" became a GI protected product in 2014.
• Nanxi Dried Tofu (南溪豆腐干) – Yibin; cited by the provincial government as a GI-based local industry.

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Intangible cultural heritage

These Sichuan food and drink items are on China's national list of intangible cultural heritage (year of inscription and list number in brackets):

• Sichuan cooking techniques (川菜烹饪技艺) – 2021, Ⅷ-272; see Sichuan Cuisine.
• Luzhou Laojiao liquor brewing – 2006, Ⅷ-58; see Luzhou Laojiao.
• Zigong well-salt deep drilling and extraction – 2006, Ⅷ-64 (Zigong and Daying).
• Traditional distilled-liquor brewing of Wuliangye, Shuijingfang, Jiannanchun, Gulin Langjiu and Tuopai Qujiu – 2008, Ⅷ-144.
• Nanlu border tea (dark tea) – 2008, Ⅷ-152; see Ya'an Tibetan Tea.
• Pixian doubanjiang – 2008, Ⅷ-155; see Pixian Doubanjiang.

▾ Show all 11 heritage entries (5 more)

• Tongchuan douchi – 2008, Ⅷ-156; see Tongchuan Douchi.
• Chengdu sugar painting (糖画), listed as a traditional art – 2008, Ⅶ-88; see Chengdu Sugar Painting.
• Xianshi soy sauce – 2014, Ⅷ-154; see Xianshi Soy Sauce.
• Baoning vinegar – 2021, Ⅷ-61; see Baoning Vinegar.
• Mengshan tea (green tea) – 2021, Ⅷ-148; see Mengding Tea.

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At provincial level, the seventh batch (December 2025) added Qianwei jasmine tea, Kaijiang Fugui tea, Niuhua malatang, Leshan sweet-skin duck, Jiangyou pork intestines, Mianyang rice noodles, casserole Ya fish, potato ciba (洋芋糍粑) and a Sichuan fermented-seasoning technique. It extended existing entries to Long Chao Shou, Xinfan paocai, Junlian black tea, Zizhong catfish, Jianmen ham and west-route border tea, and added Chengdu teahouse customs. Lai Tangyuan and Chuanbei liangfen were listed in 2011.

Food culture

• Teahouses – Chengdu's gaiwan tea is served in a three-piece set of bowl, lid and saucer. A widely repeated story, recorded in a Tang-dynasty text, credits the saucer to the daughter of the Tang official Cui Ning. See Chengdu Teahouse.
• Banquets – in Guanghan, the traditional "nine big bowls" (九斗碗) banquet of eight dishes and a soup was served at weddings, birthdays and festivals from at least the Qing dynasty. See Jiu Dou Wan.
• New Year cured meats – curing pork and making sausages for the New Year is a household custom; a local saying holds that without them "there is no taste of New Year".
• Salt-city cooking – Zigong's prosperous salt trade supported a large restaurant trade, remembered in the saying "eat in Sichuan, taste in Jinghe" (吃在四川，味在井河), where Jinghe refers to Zigong.

History

Documented history

• Sichuan's food tradition goes back to the pre-Qin states of Ba and Shu. In the Han dynasty, Yang Xiong's Shu Capital Rhapsody (蜀都赋) already praised a "harmony of sweet flavours".
• Chang Qu's Huayang Guozhi (华阳国志), compiled in the Eastern Jin (348–355) and the oldest complete local gazetteer to survive in China, describes the people of Shu as "valuing flavour" (尚滋味) and "fond of pungent spice" (好辛香).
• In the Northern Song, the Dongjing Meng Hua Lu records "Sichuan rice shops" (川饭店) in the capital, Kaifeng.
• In 1782 Li Tiaoyuan printed Xingyuan Lu (醒园录), his father Li Hualan's collection of more than 120 recipes and food items.
• Chillies, native to the Americas, reached China in the late Ming or early Qing and came to Sichuan with the early-Qing migration known as "Huguang fills Sichuan" (湖广填四川).
• By the late Qing the cuisine had matured; the late-Qing Chengdu Tonglan (成都通览) records more than 1,000 Sichuan dishes.
• One gazetteer article argues that Sichuan cooking reached full maturity during the war years, when Chongqing was the wartime capital and chefs from across China gathered there.

Legends and brand stories Several popular origin stories are traditions rather than documented history. Examples include the Chen family's accidental invention of Pixian doubanjiang, Wu Lizhen planting the first tea on Mengding Mountain in the Western Han, and Zhang Fei's fondness for Nanchong liangfen.

See also

• Sichuan Cuisine
• Chongqing Food
• Chinese Food Map
• Types Of Taste
• Hot Pot
• Lou Mei
• Jiuniang
• Liang Mian
• Grilled Fish
• Hot and Sour Soup
• Dry Pot
• Spicy Crayfish
• Chinese Alcohol