Szechuan Cuisine

Szechuan cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, or Szechwan cuisine (Chinese: 四川菜; pinyin: Sìchuān cài or Chinese: 川菜; pinyin: chuān cài) is a style of Chinese cuisine originating from Sichuan province in southwestern China. It has bold flavours, particularly the pungency and spiciness resulting from liberal use of garlic and chilli peppers, as well as the unique flavour of the Sichuan pepper. Peanuts, sesame paste, and ginger are also prominent ingredients in Szechuan cooking. Although the official pinyin romanisation now is Sichuan, the cuisine is still often spelled Szechuan or Szechwan in North America. There are many local variations of Szechuan cuisine within Sichuan province and the Chongqing municipality, which was part of Sichuan until 1997. The four regional sub-styles include Chongqing, Chengdu, Zigong, and Buddhist vegetarian style. UNESCO declared Chengdu to be a city of gastronomy in 2011, due to the sophistication of its cooking.