Editor's Note:
The reason why Sichuan cuisine has a large number of diners is that it does not conform to the rules, is good at absorbing the advantages of national cooking technology, and strictly maintains its own Sichuan cuisine characteristics.
The Sichuan Basin, home to most of the population of Sichuan and Chongqing, is one of the most densely populated regions in China and the world, and is also the cradle of Bashu culture. Sichuan-Chongqing region has always been rich in high-quality ingredients, and the catering industry has also emerged many dishes with local characteristics, which are divided by region, and in history, there are five gangs of Chengdu Gang, Chongqing Gang, Dahe Gang, Xiaohe Gang, and Zi Nei Gang, each of which has several unique delicacies.
NO.1 Chengdu Gang
Pictured: Back pot meat Source: Cultural Tourism Chengdu
Because it is in the uppermost section of the Chuan River in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, it is also known as the Upper River Gang in history. Sichuan cuisine is the most famous in Chengdu, the main features are clear, fresh, fermented, thick and heavy, mapo tofu, husband and wife lung slices, with river caotang fish and other famous worldwide. Chengdu Bangchuan cuisine is made in a variety of ways, using frying, stir-frying, roasting, sautéing and other cooking methods, and selecting a wide range of ingredients and poultry eggs and fresh vegetables. Each thing offers one sex, and each plate has a taste. Concentrate on the main flavor with the taste, collect the juice and strong taste, maintain the original taste, supplemented by the flavor, and the dish is heavy. For different dishes, different processing methods are used to ensure that the color, aroma, taste and shape are excellent.
NO.2 Chongqing Gang
Pictured: Chongqing hot pot Source: Chongqing release
Because it is relative to the upper river gang, it is located in the lower section of the River River, so it is also known as the lower river gang. Chongqing cuisine can compete with Chengdu Mapo tofu popular food first promote hot pot, in Chongqing, almost everywhere hot pot restaurants. Chongqing's cuisine is known for its spicy flavor, which is heavier than chengdu's gang cuisine. Such as boiled meat slices, dry roasted rock carp, ant on the tree, Mao Blood Wang, spicy chicken, etc., are spicy. However, during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, a large number of outsiders moved to Chongqing, which affected the Chongqing gang and innovated in quality, color and shape, thus paying more attention to the blending of taste. Such as home-cooked, fish flavor, watercress flavor, lychee flavor, sour and spicy taste, five-spice flavor, ginger juice flavor, etc., up to more than 20 kinds, to cater to the taste of xiajiang people. At the same time, pay attention to the change of taste, comprehensive use of taste and highlight the main taste, cook a dish, you can put hemp, spicy, sour, sweet, salty five flavors into it, only grasp the number of how much, you can modulate a variety of flavors. Such as strange chicken, fish flavored meat shredded, watercress fish, the taste is not the same.
NO.3 Big River Gang
Pictured: Leshan Sweet Skin Duck Source: Leshan Release
Dahe Gang refers to the southern Sichuan area of the Yangtze River in the area of Amusement Mountain, Yibin, Nanxi, Jiang'an and Luzhou, and in terms of cooking means, frying, frying, frying, steaming, burning, and boiling are equally important, and are known for small frying and small stir-frying. In terms of taste, he is good at using red oil, and the style is both sour and sweet. The most famous dish is the Dongpo elbow in Su Dongpo's hometown of Meishan, and many foreigners have gone there. Leshan's Zhou chicken, sweet-skinned duck, Jiajiang's bitter bamboo shoot meat slices, garlic field chicken, Yibin's burning noodles, oil-rich yellow rice dumplings, Leaf Erzhu, Jiangjin meat slices, Jiangjin sauerkraut fish, etc. are all well-known representatives of the Dahe Gang.
NO.4 Little River Gang
Pictured: Zhang Fei beef Source: Sichuan Intangible Cultural Heritage
It mainly refers to the middle reaches of the Jialing River Basin and the fujiang, qujiang and northern sichuan rivers, especially the langzhong area of the Sichuan River. It is famous for its hibiscus eggs, steamed pork with bean skin, lump meat, button meat, stir-fried miscellaneous food, and original soup crispy meat in the folk dish "Nine Bowls". There are many beef and mutton dishes and more influential, such as Shunqing mutton, Langzhong Zhangfei beef, Daxian Dengying beef and so on. In addition, Nanchong's Shunqing lamb, Northern Sichuan cold powder, Santai's tempeh salt fried meat, and Suining's red amaranth puree are all unique flavors of Xiaohebang. Overall, the cooking in this area is also north and south, the Sichuan flavor characteristics itself is not distinct, and the spicy index is obviously lower than the inner gang in southern Sichuan, and it is also slightly lower than the upper river and lower river gangs.
NO.5 From within
Pictured: Zigong cold eating rabbit Source: Zigong network
The name of this gang is best remembered, which is the abbreviation of "Zigong + Neijiang", which covers the central Sichuan region of the Tuojiang River basin such as Zigong, Neijiang, and Ziyang. Zigong cuisine is notoriously "spicy". Therefore, the characteristics of the self-help are also "easy to go to the extreme", pay attention to "fragrant, fresh and spicy", have a strong taste, and challenge the taste bud limits of diners. However, unlike the Chongqing cuisine of the Xiahe Gang, which is biased towards spicy, Zigong cuisine pursues fresh spicy and spicy cuisine. As for the dishes, huobian beef, Zigong cold rabbit, Zizhong and Neijiang watercress fish, Qiuxi silver carp, Fushun bean blossoms, etc., are all representative dishes of the Zinai Gang.
The reason why Sichuan cuisine has a large number of diners is that it does not conform to the rules, is good at absorbing the advantages of national cooking technology, and strictly maintains its own Sichuan cuisine characteristics. No matter which gang, if you want to be invincible, you must start from high-quality ingredients, pay attention to taste and taste, and constantly bring people more surprises and enjoyment on the tip of the tongue.
Big data advocates that the Sichuan-Chongqing cuisine that radiates the five major schools of the economic circle of the two cities will cook the spicy and fresh flavor four words to the fullest. This taste is not only a interpretation of the unique taste of Sichuan and Chongqing, but also a microcosm of the Chinese taste of the hundred rivers returning to the sea. In this pot on the blueprint of the Twin Cities, The Twin Circles, and the Gemini Stars, the aesthetics of game, synergy, axis, and circle group are boiling!
Author: Xu Nuo
Editors: Ding Lu, Han Yi
Some of the materials are collected from: Baidu Encyclopedia, CITIC College, and National Humanities and History