A parent grouping rather than a style in its own right. The regional traditions diverge far enough that Cantonese, Sichuanese, Hunanese and northern cooking share technique vocabulary and a pantry logic more than they share a palate.
Sichuan dry-fried green beans with a crisp pork and shiitake crumble, and chilli and Sichuan pepper fried to hu la
Green beans are dry-fried in oil until the skins wrinkle and blister. Pork mince, fresh shiitake and suimiyacai are fried together until the crumbs are crisp.
Sichuan architecture on a Japanese noodle, bound in a cold silken tofu emulsion
Hard-fried pork with bloomed dried chilli, garlic, ginger and Yibin suimiyacai, on udon. A cold sauce of blended silken tofu and peanut satay binds the bowl.