FAQ

How about the cuisine of Chongqing?

Chongqing food is largely a hybrid of Sichuan cuisine and local specialty dishes. Chongqing's city centre has many restaurants and food stalls where meals often cost less than RMB10. Local specialties here include dumplings and pickled vegetables and, different from many other Chinese cuisines, Chongqing dishes are suitable for the solo diner as they often served in small individual sized portions. Among the delicacies and local specialties are these dishes:

Hot pot - Chongqing's local culinary specialty. Tables in hotpot restaurants usually have a central vat, or pot, where food ordered by the customers is boiled in a spicy broth. As well as beef, pork, lotus and other vegetables, items such as pig's kidney, brain, duck's bowels and cow's stomach are often consumed.

Jiangtuan Fish - since Chongqing is located along Jialing River, visitors have a good opportunity to sample varieties of aquatic products. Among them, is a fish local to the region, Jiangtuan fish: Hypophthalmichthys nobilis although more commonly known as Bighead Carp.The fish is often served steamed or baked.

Pork leg cooked with rock candy - A common household dish of the Chongqing people, the finished dish, known as red in colour and tender in taste, has been described as having strong and sweet aftertaste.

Qianzhang (Skimmed Soy Bean Cream) - Qianzhang is the cream skimmed from soybean milk. In order to create, this several steps must be followed very carefully. First, soybeans are soaked in water, grounded, strained, boiled, restrained several times and spread over gauze until delicate, snow-white cream is formed. The paste can also be hardened, cut into slivers and seasoned with sesame oil, garlic and chili oil. Another variation is to bake and fry it with bacon, and is described as soft and sweet.