{"id":52281,"date":"2026-05-14T14:04:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T06:04:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=52281"},"modified":"2026-05-14T14:04:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T06:04:40","slug":"what-to-eat-in-chinas-chengdu-from-fiery-hotpot-to-the-original-mapo-tofu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=52281","title":{"rendered":"What to eat in China\u2019s Chengdu, from fiery hotpot to the original mapo tofu"},"content":{"rendered":"


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It is 10 in the morning and I am handed a shot of baijiu<\/em> at the Yulin Comprehensive Market, in Chengdu\u2019s Wuhou district. The woman who poured the strong, clear spirit eyes me uncertainly. \u201cThis is 52 per cent,\u201d she warns.<\/p>\n

My guide, chef Steven Tang of the one-Michelin-star Mi Xun Teahouse at Upper House Chengdu, provides some background.<\/p>\n

\u201cSichuan has a long history of baijiu<\/em><\/span> brewing, with countless small distilleries each unique,\u201d he says. \u201cThis time-honoured brand [you are drinking] from Qionglai, 70 kilometres [43 miles] southwest of Chengdu, is all handmade and wonderful for cooking.\u201d<\/div>\n
Baijiu<\/em> \u2013 a clear spirit distilled from sorghum<\/span> that is usually between 40 and 60 per cent ABV \u2013 is a fixture at Chinese weddings and new year celebrations, yet its most important work happens quietly in Sichuan kitchens.<\/div>\n

\u201cIt removes gamey smells from meat, especially organs,\u201d Tang says. \u201cAdded to chilli oil, it boosts aroma, colour and shelf life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baijiu<\/em> also works magic on sun-dried waxed meats like Sichuan sausages, inhibiting bacteria while infusing the items with flavour. Above us, cured meats hang like edible chandeliers. It is late winter, and the curing season is now behind us.<\/p>\n

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\"Containers<\/div>
Containers full of baijiu are lined in rows at the Yulin Comprehensive Market in Chengdu. Photo: Pin Yen Tan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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It is 10 in the morning and I am handed a shot of baijiu at the Yulin Comprehensive Market, in Chengdu\u2019s Wuhou district. The woman…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[7747,6292,572,22650,4665,21203,2443,6489],"class_list":["post-52281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bored-interesting","tag-chengdu","tag-chinas","tag-eat","tag-fiery","tag-hotpot","tag-mapo","tag-original","tag-tofu","wpcat-33-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=52281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/52282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=52281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=52281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=52281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}