Geographic Map of Famous Chongqing Courses: A Culinary Trip with Your Buds

□　Written by Yang Yan　Photo by Chongqing Tourism Administration

Geographic Map of Famous Chongqing Courses: A Culinary Trip with Your Buds

□Written by Yang YanPhoto by Chongqing Tourism Administration

There are a lot reasons that one falls in love with a city. It may be a line of scenery， a building， a story of the past， and even just a cup of coffee. A fi ne taster will search around using his tongue only to encounter a bud-pleasing café， while some other will fi nd what he love with his eyes and his senses—the fragrance of baked cocoa beans pervading in the air， the oak desk and chair， the soft lights or an old book. When the sun rays fall through the window to let you feel the warmth， it gives you every reason to relish in the cozy afternoon. Isn't it wonderful to fi nd a tranquil café amid the hustle and bustle of the city， sitting there and watching the ever-changing city as time fl ows away.

Pickles Feast

There is a widely known proverb in Fuling： “A fi ne face needs no powder but a good meal needs pickles to taste better.” The pickles feast， obviously， takes pickles as its raw material and mix in other nutritious fresh food materials to make a unique feast of pickles that please your eyes， buds， and nose. The pickles in this course are not only appetizer but also gourmet to let more people to have a bite of organic and ecological product.

Location： Fuling， Chongqing

Tai'an Fish

The dish dating back to the 70s originates from Tai'an Town， Tong'nan District of Chongqing. It belongs to folk cuisine. The f ish with fi ne meat quality tastes spicy and numb， yet fresh and palatable. Owing to the picky food material， the fi sh meat melts in your mouth as you relish in the succulent but not greasy， soft and tender， and pleasingly hot flavor that makes its fame travel fast and wide， across Bayu to the whole world. The fi sh is cooked with special cooking skills and ingredients made of local high quality sweet potato noodles， organic farmhouse pickles. That is why it has a rich fl avor that you can never have it enough. To describe the fl avor with a line in a Kungfu story， if I may， it would be like “it will give you a varying taste each time you chew it in your mouth. Now it is tender and juicy， now it is crispy and refreshing. The ever-changing tastes are just like two Kungfu masters exchanging blows—you can never know what you are going to get.”

Location： Tong'nan， Chongqing

Hechuan Sliced Pork

Hechuan Sliced Pork has more than 100 years of history. It is said that the course was created by chance by a local cook. One day the cook wanted to make a meal for himself after the restaurant was closed. He used the left sliced pork meat coated with eggs and starch， frying it to golden brown on each side with a small amount of oil and a variety of ingredients. To his surprise， the dish was really appetizing. Since then， he has cooked it again and again with the same method and the carroty pork meat， a mixture of sour and sweet， crispy outside and tender inside， has gradually become a specialty of Chongqing cuisine and gone infl uentially popular nationwide.

Location： Hechuan， Chongqing

Course of Fancy

The Course of Fancy which dates back to 1940s uses goat meat from Liangping County as the main material. Coupled with more than 10 Chinese herbs and spices， the course is cooked on a bamboo steamer made of f local mottled bamboos canes. You can feel the smell of goat meat fi lter through the layers until it is fully steamed. After that， the course is fi nished after sprinkling a little pepper powder， coriander and some sesame oil. It will be a good dish when you need a drink or to go with rice.

Location： Liangping， Chongqing

Jinyun Liquor-fried Chicken

The Jinyun Liquorfried Chicken is a big specialty of the Mt.Jinyun in Beibei District. The course full of liquor aroma tastes fresh and tender， yet unforgettably chewy. According to legend， one day Emperor Huang made an inspection tour to Bashan. It was getting dark so he had no choice but took a rest in an offi cer's home. On hearing that Emperor Huang was coming， the officer named Jinyun hurried to kill several homeraised chickens of his own to cook a dinner for him. But he was so careless that he mistaked the rice wine as seasoning during the cooking. At once the aroma of liquor and chicken smell mixed together. However， when the course was done， the chicken meat was emitting so tempting and appetizing an odor that the Emperor could not help praised it loudly after a bite， “Rice wine plus chicken. What a wonderful meal！” Since then， the Jinyun Liquor-fried Chicken met the world and has been passed down till now.

Location： Beibei， Chongqing

Qianjiang Chicken Giblets

The Qianjiang Chicken Giblets is a typical course that belongs to the Qianjiang simmering pot. With primitive cooking method the course uses visceral organs of Chicken like intestine， liver， and heart as raw materials. The course is made of chicken meat sliced into thin pieces， potato lumps， pickled pepper， and fresh green onions， which gives it beautiful color， mellow and spicy fl avor. The pickles used in this course are really special. They are soaked in decades' old crocks which much function like leaven pools whose water is never changed each year. The only thing to do is just clean the sediment of plant-root spice which covers more than 10 spices. Besides， there are sesame sugars in them to make the pickles crispier. The authentic Qianjiang Chicken Giblets， crispy and appetizing， relies much on the unique favor of the pickles.

Location： Qianjiang， Chongqing