Speaking of Sichuan cuisine.
That's really a household name, so to speak.
Sichuan cuisine has many famous dishes, such as twice-cooked pork, Dongbo pork elbow, couple's lung slices, Mapo tofu and so on.
My favorite Sichuan dish is Mapo Tofu.
It has the characteristics of numbing, spicy, hot, fragrant, crispy, tender, fresh and lively. It is regarded as a classic of Sichuan cuisine and is a famous Sichuan dish famous at home and abroad.
Mapo Tofu was created during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty. It was originally created by Chen Liu, the founder of the Chinese time-honored brand "Chen Mapo Tofu". Because she had a few pockmarks on her face, it was called Mapo Tofu.
The tofu cooked by Chen is bright red in color, the beef cubes are crispy and fragrant, spicy, fragrant, crispy, tender, blanched and well-shaped. It is full of Sichuan flavor. In the late Qing Dynasty, Chen Mapo Tofu was listed as a famous food in Chengdu.
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Mapo Tofu became a famous dish in China in 1999 and was selected into Chengdu's "Intangible Cultural Heritage" list in 2010.
Mapo Tofu was selected as one of the top ten classic Sichuan dishes of "Chinese Cuisine" by the China Cuisine Association.
In the past, Mapo Tofu was made with vegetable oil and yellow beef.
The cooking method is to first fry a large spoonful of vegetable oil in a pot, then add a large amount of minced chili pepper, then add beef, and cook until dry and crispy, then add black bean sauce.
Then add the tofu, add a little water and shovel a few times to mix thoroughly. Finally, cover the pot and use low heat to drain the soup. Sprinkle with minced Sichuan peppercorns before serving.
Nowadays, when making Mapo tofu, peanut oil must be used as oil, and the meat is not restricted to beef or pig.
After the meat is fried, add bean paste, tempeh, red pepper powder, soy sauce, salt, and sugar. Saute until fragrant, then add tofu slices and stock. After boiling, add onions, ginger, and garlic. Thicken with water and cornstarch. Remove from the pot.
Add pepper powder and sesame oil before.
The ingredients and procedures have changed somewhat, and the taste emphasizes numbing, spicy, hot, and salty.
I stayed in Yangzhou for 6 days and ate at 5 teahouses. Let me share my experience.