Sichuan · main
Bang Bang Chicken
棒棒鸡 · Bàngbàng Jī
Cold poached chicken shredded by hand, dressed in chilli oil, sesame paste and Sichuan peppercorn.
Bang bang chicken (named for the 'bang' of the wooden mallet used to tenderise the chicken before shredding) is a classic Sichuan cold dish. Poached chicken breast is shredded into long fibres and tossed with chilli oil, sesame paste, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, ground Sichuan peppercorn and chopped scallion. Served chilled as a starter or summer main.
Where to try
Sichuan restaurants, particularly Chengdu and Leshan houses.
Dietary notes
Sesame, peanuts; check for allergens.
Cities to try Bang Bang Chicken
Other southwest dishes
- Baba Flatbread粑粑
Yunnan's daily flatbread — a thick wheat or rice-flour round cooked on a griddle and eaten plain or stuffed.
- Boiled Fish in Chilli Oil水煮鱼
Fish slices submerged in a deep pool of chilli oil and Sichuan peppercorns. Served bubbling.
- Chongqing Hotpot重庆火锅
The original mala hotpot — a simmering cauldron of beef tallow, Pixian doubanjiang and Sichuan peppercorn for communal dipping.
- Chongqing Small Noodles (Xiaomian)重庆小面
Chongqing's signature breakfast noodle — wheat noodles in a fierce chilli-oil-and-pepper soup.