| |
|
| Chongqing
Local Flavors and Snacks(2) |
Chongqing
Hot Pot:
Hot pot - is the most famous and favorite dish in Chongqing. Chongqing
local people consider the hot pot a local specialty, which is noted
for its peppery and hot taste, scalding yet fresh and tender. People
gather around a small pot boiled with charcoal, electric or gas filled
with flavorful and nutritious soup base. You have a choice of spicy,
pure and combo for the soup base. Thin sliced raw variety meat, fish,
various bean curd products and all kinds of vegetables are boiled
in the soup base. You then dip them in a little bowl of special sauce.
Be careful since the spicy soup base is burning hot.
First eaten by poor boatmen of the Yangtze River in Chongqing area
and then spread westwards to the rest of Sichuan. Now is a very popular
local flavor and can be found at every corner of the city. There are
a great variety of hotpots, including Yueyang Hotpot, Four Tastes
Hotpot, Yashan Hotpot and Fish Head Hotpot. If you are adventurous
enough, you can basically cook anything with hot pot, e.g., pig's
brain and duck's kidney.
Chongqing people love their hotpot, especially when the weather is
steamy. The fire dances under the pot, the heavily oiled and spiced
soup boils with hazy steam, and the people are bathed in sweat. Although
hotpot can be found wherever there are street vendors or small restaurants,
chongqing Hot pot has the greatest variety and is known for its delicious
soup base and dipping sauce. |
 |
 |
| |
Chongqing
Malatang:
The other famous local food is hot and spicy Mala Tang. Literally,
"ma" means numbness in the mouth, "la" is chili
hot and "tang" means piping hot. Mala Tang, with various
raw ingredients cooked in a communal pot of steaming stock blended
with spices, originated in Sichuan's largest city, Chongqing. The
double-sided soup pot, placed on a central table burner, is the focal
point of the meal. Powerfully hot Mala Tang soup and fresh tasting
chicken broth, side by side, are popular. Ingredients include fresh
sliced abalone, sea cucumber, hog tendon, Beijing cabbage and beef
dumpling, prawns, carp fish fillet, bean curd, chicken fillet and
vegetables. The excellent dipping mixture of sesame oil, chili sauce,
peanut sauce, chopped chilies and garlic combine to make magic. Savory
tidbits are appetizingly tasty - egg coated glutinous square, crispy
spring roll, fried buns, eight treasure black rice and water chestnut
jelly. |
| |
|
 |
Green
vegetable with chick broth:
This dish's main ingredient is rape plants. It is cooked with clams,
mushrooms and meat stock. It has a wonderful green color and a crispy,
yet tender texture |
| |
|
Double
cooked Pork:
Thinly sliced pork boiled first and then stir-fried with garlic and
chili paste, with spring onion scattered at the end. This dish smells
fragrant, tastes delicious, savory and spicy with a bit sweetness. |
 |
| |
|
 |
Green
vegetable with chick broth:
This dish's main ingredient is rape plants. It is cooked with clams,
mushrooms and meat stock. It has a wonderful green color and a crispy,
yet tender texture |
|
|
