10 Dishes You Must Try at a Szechuan Restaurant

Hey guys, Mike Chen here. Now, I go out to eat a lot, and one of my favorite places to eat are Sichuan restaurants. For those of you who don't know, Sichuan is a province in China, and Sichuan dishes are typically spicy and numbing. The numbing is achieved through the use of peppercorn, and just a fair warning, never put those things in your mouth. Like I said, I go to Sichuan restaurants a lot, and I'm talking about authentic Sichuan places. Now, just a hint, if you see this photo set up as soon as you step into the restaurant, it's probably not authentic. Anyways, when I go to authentic Sichuan restaurants, I always see this phenomenon. People, typically non-Asians, will be eating dishes such as General Tso's chicken, or chicken and broccoli, or fried rice. I mean, come on guys, if you really want to just order General Tso's chicken or fried rice, then just head to the local Panda Express down the street. The next time you go to an authentic Sichuan restaurant, order any of the following dishes I'm going to be talking about. You will be doing yourself and your eating companions a huge favor, and you might even be crowned the official orderer for your table, a title that I have proudly held for over a decade now. Okay guys, here we go. Number one, Fu Qi Fei Pian. The literal translation of this dish will have you thinking the worst case scenario. Fu Qi Fei Pian literally means slices of husband and wife's lungs. Eww. It got this name because when the dish first originated, it used Fei, or unwanted meats from cows like cow tongues and lungs, and the dish was made best by a husband and wife duo. One day, a customer loved the dish so much, he bought the couple a plaque that said Fu Qi Fei Pian on it. As time passed, the Fei became Fei as in lung, and that is how this dish came to be. This is a must-get appetizer dish. This is a cold dish and mainly consists of cow tongues and tripe. So if you can get over the thought of eating cow tongue and stomach lining, and also if you can handle the heat, you will love this dish. Number two, Hong You Chao Shou. You guys like dumplings? Yeah, of course you do. Come on. And you know I love dumplings. How about dumplings soaked in numbing hot oil? Yeah, now you're talking. Get this dish. You'll love it. Number three, Water Braised Fish or Beef. This is a must-get dish. Either beef or fish is boiled in a stew of vegetables, mainly napa cabbage. Then the dish will come to you with hot chili peppers, garlic, and onions on top. And the whole thing is stewed in super spicy numbing sauces. And make sure you mix it all up before you start eating this dish. Number four, Dan Dan Noodles. If done right, this dish is just the best. Thin noodles sitting on top of spicy numbing sauce combined with beef or pork. All you gotta do is to make sure to mix the noodle and sauce well before you eat. Number five, Mapo Tofu. This is probably one of the most famous Sichuan dishes ever. It's probably one of the most famous Chinese dishes ever. Mapo Tofu was created by an old woman with pockmarks or blemishes all over her face. And the Mapo in Mapo Tofu literally means an old woman with pockmarks or blemishes all over her face. This dish is made with ground pork or beef mixed with tofu. The spicy numbing sauce is thick and gooey. You absolutely must try this dish. Number six, Lazi Ji or Chongqing Spicy Chicken. This dish is either really awesome or a complete rip off depends on which restaurant you go to and how good their chef is. This dish is filled with whole red chili pepper and chunks of chicken. At some restaurants they give you too much pepper and not enough chicken which causes everyone at the table to dig through the peppers looking for precious chicken chunks. The good restaurants will give you plenty of chicken and won't make you have to dig for it. This is also a good dish to play a practical joke on your friends. Here's how it goes. Because there are so many chili peppers, tell your friends that they are part of the dish and they must be eaten along with the chicken. And then just watch them sweat. Mwahahaha. Okay, I know it works because I kind of fell for this trick a long time ago. Number seven, Hui Guo Rou or Twice Cooked Pork. If you like bacon, who doesn't, then get this dish. It's basically bacon cooked with some assorted vegetables but really, no one cares about the vegetables. Just focus on the awesome pork belly. Number eight, Stir Fried Potatoes. Not a lot of people know of this dish and I will tell you right now, it is completely a hundred percent underrated. So ask for stir fried potatoes in vinegar and you will probably get the best potato dish you will ever have and the only potato dish that goes good with rice. One of my white friends loved it so much, he calls this dish Chinese French Fries. And trust me, my friend loves his French Fries. Number nine, Stir Fried Green Beans. Okay, whether you like green beans or not, you will like this dish. The green beans are fried and then stir fried with ground pork or beef. You will never feel so good about eating vegetables in your life. Number ten, Sichuan Fish Fragrant Eggplant. Or I like to translate it as, fish smell good eggplant. Even if you hate eggplant, you will like this dish. The dish uses a Sichuan style of seasoning called fish fragrant or yu xiang. The seasoning contains soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and chili balanced with ginger, garlic and green onions which gives you a subtle and deep salted sweet sour flavor with a hint of spiciness and a lot of happiness. So there you go guys, if you go to an authentic Sichuan restaurant, make sure you order one of those dishes. But better yet, just get them all. Also I'm going to give you a couple more tips about eating at Sichuan places. Never go by yourself or even two people because you want to try a lot of different dishes. So definitely the more the merrier. And also most dishes in Sichuan restaurants are pretty spicy so make sure whoever goes with you, they can handle their heat. There's nothing worse than going to a Sichuan restaurant and saying the words, yeah I want water braised beef but no spice please. And I have said that. And it makes me sad. And it makes the chef angry. And I'm really serious about that whole phenomenon where people go to authentic Sichuan restaurants and order just like the most Americanized dishes ever. When I was in college in Missouri, I had a couple friends who over winter break, they drove to New York City. So after they got back, they came to me and they were like, hey Mike, we drove to New York City and we ate at Chinatown. First of all, of course, you have to tell your New York City Chinatown story to the Chinese guy. So anyway, I was like, what did you guys eat over there? And she's like, oh we had chicken and broccoli and you know, pork fried rice. It was so good. You drove all the way from Missouri to New York City and you ate chicken and broccoli and fried rice. You know you could have went to the Iron Walk down the street from campus and got literally the same thing. Alright guys, hope you liked that video. Let me know in the comments below what other authentic Sichuan dishes you love. And if you haven't done it already, please subscribe to my channel. That would make my day. And don't forget to check me out on Facebook. Thanks for watching. I'll see you guys again next time.