2 posts tagged “yunnan”

I really enjoy regional Chinese food, and Yunnan and Sichuan food are my favorites.  Here are some samples of what I am talking about:

 

 

 

 

These are two different plates of Chonqing chicken, a dish of fried chicken bits, scallions, Sichuan pepper corns, and lots and lots of chillies.

 

 

 

In Sichuan wonton (or chaushau) are served with a hot chilli oil with lots of scallions and Sichuan peppercorns.  The first picture shows the dish as it arrives on the table; the second shows it after I've spooned the oil over everything.

 

Dan dan noodles: fresh wheat noodles with a savory pork sauce (with a hint of peanut).

 

 

 

Yunnan and Sichuan food is accompanied by various side dishes -- something you wouldn't see in a Cantonese restaurant.  Many of them are vegetarian, but others include cured meats (pork and beef), dried bean curd, and sea weed. 

A few years ago I bought a guide to Chinese food in LA. One of the places listed was Yunnan Garden on Garfield. It was my first introduction to Yunnan and Sichuan food in LA.  I've been back lots of times -- it's now called Yun Chuang Garden (I think it's the third name change that I can remember). 

I went there on Thanksgiving.  Here's what I got:

 

 

There is a nice selection of cold appetizers/sides available. I guess the standard is to order three sides -- so here are mine.  At the top is a pickled cabbage dish. At first glance it doesn't look like much -- but it was very tasty and flavored with chilies and Sichuan peppercorn. The second is a seaweed dish and the third is cucumbers drizzled with sesame oil. 

 

 

I really love wonton (or chao shao as they're called here). These are dipped in a chilli oil that's heavily laced with Sichuan peppercorn. My lips went numb from eating this -- in a good way, I promise.

 

 

Dandan noodles brings together a really random set of ingredients: peanuts, sesame paste, green onions, pork, and preserved vegetables.

 

This is Chonqing chicken. It consists of small pices of chicken that are breaded and deep fried, tossed with lots and lots of chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and green onions.

I didn't order any of the signature Yunnan dishes this time: "crossing the bridge" noodles and Yunnanese stewed chicken with broth. I also didn't order two mysterious dishes on the menu: "mother's chicken" and "mother's frog." Next time I have to get the frog.