Cold tofu drenched in red hot chili pepper oil; I could feel the heat just as soon as I had the first bite.
A plateful of even more red hot chili pepper with some hidden fried chicken bits.
Alluringly tongue-numbing and lips-tingling, my body was working up a sweat. This dish was blatantly addictive and downright incendiary.
Finishing off my cold night with a heap of shrimp tossed with preserved vegetables and peanuts.
My gastronomic way of staying warm, ala Sichuan style.
P.S.: Meena of Hooked on Heat…my title was inspired by your beautiful blog.
Get new recipes via RSS and reader or subscribe via email
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
Chilli oil, szechuan peppers, chilli padi…that’s a good way to keep yourself warm inside. Looks like the 2nd dish is entirely chili pepper and just garnished with chicken bits, arh? (You need to zoom in then can see the chicken ;p)
Did you transit in SIN for jus few hrs? Still got chance to eat Sri Lankan crabs 你真行!
Reply
mmm…the shrimp dish looks mouth watering…
Luckily we do have pretty good Sichuan restaurants here in the NW. Lots of immigrants from China…I think it’s because of Microsoft…so lots of good, authentic chinese food.
I would love to visit China some day…my dad actually lives in Shanghi…should probably visit him. :)
Reply
Bee….It all looks so good. Enjoy! David
Reply
The shrimp dish looks really good. Even if I’m a chilli fan, that dish of chilli pepper would be better if the ingredients were the other way round; more chic, less chilli!
Reply
My tongue is watering just thinking of those chilis. Must get myself to Chung King. I’ve been craving Sichuan for a while now…
Reply
woman, those beijingnese eats like szechuanese one harr ? that chickeny thingy got countable biji of chickens aiyo, am salivating at that shrimp dish though :) what kinda sauce they use for that, u sense ?
Reply
I never knew the Chinese have such hot taste bud. I can just imagine the stomach burning!
Reply
Give me some water, because my eyes are on fire after looking at all of those chilies!
Reply
Wow…hot and spicy..my kind of food!! More chillies than chickens..hahaha!
Reply
Tiga - I actually stopped over in SIN for one night so how could I not eat the crab? :P
The second dish is the best. The 香味 from the chili pepper and Sichuan pepper corn really infused the fried chicken bits. This is the right way to make it…those served in CA are more chicken than chili pepper, which is wrong.
Mina - great you have good Sichuan restaurants in NW…Sichuan food is so addictive I can eat it every day. Shanghai food is very very good, you have to go!
David - Chinese food is very varied, especially those found in China…yes, they were fanstastic.
WMW - read my comment above. This is the right way, more chili and less chicken. :P
WC - where is Chung King? You mean a restaurant in CA or the real Chung King city in China? ;)
MW - there are many great Sichuan restaurants in Beijing…I think Sichuan food is popular in colder places in China…
PE - My mouth and lips were on fire when I was eating these dishes, but I tell you, the satisfaction you get out of it, priceless. :)
Precious - yes, it should be more chili than pepper. ;)
Pablo - no, your stomach won’t burn. You have to make a trip to Sichuan in China…they do know how to cook with chili. Once you try Sichuan food, there is no turning back…;)
Reply
Just show world cuisine is now really global, this wouldn’t be enjoyed right here in Peking if u did say so ! One would have thought they r all in a hot rest in Thailand !
Reply
great pics, as always. amazing amount of chillis. who would have thought!
Reply
Salut,
The picture with all the red hot chili pepper (;-)) is to nice but lethal for me…I could not imagine event taste one of these…to strong for my european thong… but the color and contrast are so nice !!!
Cheers
Claude
Reply
Sichuanese really know how to cook with their chiles. But sometimes all you taste is chile and your mouth gets numb to any other flavor.
Reply
aha, so these are the few dishes you told me huh??? great to keep you warm, right?
Reply
RM,
I can’t afford to go to the real Chung King. So I just go to the restaurant in San Gabriel when I have a Sichuan food craving. It’s good. I can actually smell the peppercorns on their spareribs.
Reply
That’s what I’m talking about!!! Your photos show the reason I don’t eat Chinese food in the UK anymore. None of my friends that haven’t been to Beijing understand. They just can’t comprehend the sight and taste of such food.
Your photos have left me salivating. I WANT SOME OF THAT FOOD!!!!!
With some of the comments though… I’m left wondering, like always, is it Sichuan, or Szechuan? Is it just due to the different two main transliteration methods that there always seems to be two versions of this region?
Also, as much as I’ll hate you for it, you should got a take similarly good photos of a really decent Sichuan hotpot while you’re there!!! ;-)
Reply
The shrimp dish looks good but I don’t like peeling my own shrimp. :-)
I know, I know! I’m spoilt and lazy. I prefer my shrimp peeled. Or as my mom does it, she split the shrimp on the shell into half so it’s easy to extract the meat without getting the fingers dirty.
Reply
*sniff* I miss New Shanghai.
Reply
Hi Rasa, I’m heading to Beijing for the first time next week. I’ll be there for 3 nights. If you had to choose, which places/dishes would you recommend that I do not miss ? Rgds, Rick
Reply
Man, that looks awesome!
Reply
Wow, Bee, everything looks hot and mouthwatering. I can feel my salivary glands going into overdrive. I can’t wait! :) Thank you for sharing your experience in Beijing and all the photos.
Reply
Hi There!
What is the name of the dish with more chili than chicken bits? That is soooo delicious! I had that one time I visited Beijing, but I do not recall what is the name of the dish.
Do you have a recipe for that here in the site?
I’d like to try to cook that by myself!:)
Reply