Sichuan · noodle
Sweet Water Noodles
甜水面 · Tiánshuǐ Miàn
Thick chewy hand-pulled wheat noodles in a sweet-sour-spicy chilli-oil sauce. Chengdu street snack.
Sweet water noodles are a Chengdu street-food staple — thick chewy wheat noodles dressed in a sauce of chilli oil, garlic, sweet soy and a touch of sugar. The unusual sweet-sour-spicy balance is distinctive. Eaten as a snack or starter rather than a full meal.
Where to try
Chengdu street stalls, particularly in Jinli and the streets around the Wenshu Monastery.
Dietary notes
Vegetarian. Wheat (gluten).
Cities to try Sweet Water Noodles
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.