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Sichuan Hot Pot
四川火锅 · Sìchuān Huǒguō
Sichuan-style hot pot with a heavy-mala broth. The most famous of China's regional hot pots.
Sichuan hot pot uses a deep broth of beef tallow, dried chillies, Sichuan peppercorn, ginger, garlic and rock sugar. Diners cook thinly sliced meats, organs, vegetables, mushrooms and tofu in the bubbling broth. The yuanyang (mandarin-duck) divided pot — half mala, half clear — is the standard option for groups with mixed heat tolerance. Chongqing-style is heavier and oilier than Chengdu-style.
Where to try
Haidilao (the international chain), Liuyishou, Xiao Tian E, plus countless local houses.
Dietary notes
Vegetarian-friendly with vegetable-broth side. Halal hot pot exists in northern China.
Cities to try Sichuan Hot Pot
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.
- Bang Bang Chicken棒棒鸡
Cold poached chicken shredded by hand, dressed in chilli oil, sesame paste and Sichuan peppercorn.
- 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.