- Today I'm in Chengdu, Sichuan
and we're gonna go for
a full-on comprehensive
street food tour of this city.
All my favorite street foods.
We're gonna check it out, all right?
Sichuan is a street food heaven.
As soon as you step out the door
you can find a huge variety of street food
that will please your cravings
for adventure and novelty.
Visiting a market or a local neighborhood
is the best option.
I'm using some of my favorite locations,
along with some impromptu food
that I find along the way.
Some of the stuff I found near the end,
if it was a little out of your
comfort zone, let me know.
This is just part one.
There's a lot more than this.
(speaking Mandarin)
- So, you've gotta try baozi.
This is one of the
first things you can try
here in China or in Chengdu.
Check this out.
Basically like a steamed
bun full of juicy,
fatty, oily meat.
(speaking Mandarin)
It's cheap and delicious and
a good way to start the day.
(speaking Mandarin)
Look at that.
Whoa!
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See in there.
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That's cow peas and it's really juicy.
You can see the oil has saturated the bun.
(speaking Mandarin)
Morning markets like this
are completely crazy,
bustling, full of life,
and you've gotta come check them out,
but today, I've actually got my bike
and we're gonna go tour the city
and try some of the best food, all right?
Let's take a look.
Next, I biked up to my favorite intestine,
sweet potato starch, noodle joint,
a super-famous spot in
Chengdu that's worth a try
if you're into intestines.
(speaking Mandarin)
Look at that.
Oh, look at that sliced intestine
and the super spicy broth.
We're gonna sit down and try it out.
It's basically in a super spicy broth.
You can smell it.
It smells almost like char-y.
It's a little smokey.
Mmm!
Oh!
Wow!
That's actually pretty nice.
There's nothing gross about it.
The intestine's a little fatty
and it just sort of melts into your mouth.
These sweet potato noodles are gooey.
Slimy, almost.
And the broth is really spicy.
Whoa.
And the next thing you've gotta try
are the tián shuǐmiàn
and one liangfen noodles
right across from the most famous
Buddhist monastery in
the city, Wenshuyuan.
(speaking Mandarin)
Okay, so there was no spot to sit inside,
so I'm outside now.
I've got two classic Sichuan
snack foods you gotta try.
One here is the tián shuǐmiàn,
literally translated
as sweet water noodles.
It's covered in this super oily,
super spicy chili sauce
and then this plum, sort of sweet, sauce
with sugar and a little
MSG on there for the kick.
Now, this one over here is a one liangfen
and basically it's sliced
cold mung bean jelly
covered in a chili oil as well
with a little bit of doubanjiang,
fermented broad bean paste.
Sichuan specialty.
And a lot of chilies
garnished with a little
bit of green onions.
First thing we're gonna
try is the one liangfen.
Let's just try a bit here.
Oh, wow.
I just got a hit of szechaun peppercorn.
I think you really gotta mix that up
'cuz there is raw szechaun
peppercorns in there.
That is salty, oily, spicy,
and this one definitely has its fair share
of szechaun peppercorn.
You will have a numb
mouth after eating this.
Look at that.
Mix those noodles up.
It's just like a beautiful snack food.
Let's try that out.
Mmm!
(speaking Mandarin)
That's really nice and sweet and spicy.
There's a little bit of
hua jiao fen in there.
As usual, in Sichuan,
it's a little prickly,
a little numbing,
but the best part is how
it's slightly fruity.
Okay, so next up is the
Chinese dan hong gao,
which is like a street crepe.
Really cool.
We're in a local area, here. Super local.
There's a lot of people
hanging out playing Mahjong.
Chilling.
There's so much to explore here
and one of the things that
I've been dying to try here
is the dan hong gao Chinese street crepe.
Let's take a taste.
(speaking Mandarin)
25 years at this place.
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Look at all these
different dan hong gao here
and I have this tóng thanh binh fen here,
which is like this super
sweet, cold, jelly-like soup.
(speaking Mandarin)
It almost tastes like Chinese medicine
mixed with Coca Cola,
licorice, and brown sugar
with these jelly blobs.
Next, I stumbled on a little noodle joint
in a back alley, run by a lady
who generously mixed my noodles up for me.
(speaking Mandarin)
Full service here.
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Oh, look at that.
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Look at those dried chilies.
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Oh, and some pickled vegetables, too.
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Let's get some dòufu, here.
(speaking Mandarin)
Oh, yeah. So, this is dòufu.
Basically, like a bowl of mushy tofu.
Mmm!
Wow!
(speaking Mandarin)
That's a very core flavor here in Sichuan.
Basically, your mouth starts to water,
you get this feeling like your tongue
is sort of curling up,
it's watering, it's prickly,
and then, mixed with spicy.
This is really nice because it's soft,
but the soy beans are also crunchy.
So, one of the things
that's almost as good
as eating the food,
is to explore the markets.
There's so much to try,
just like this here.
I'm at a local bakery.
(speaking Mandarin)
Take a look here. Tangyuan.
Little sticky rice balls
covered in red sugar on the outside,
white sugar on the inside.
We're gonna try it out.
Mmm!
(speaking Mandarin)
That's unbelievably chewy.
Look at that.
You can see that thick layer
of sticky rice on the inside.
It's sweet, covered in white sugar,
and that is just heaven.
That is pure fatty, oily,
deep fried sticky rice heaven.
Another thing you must try in Sichuan
is the stuffed and deep
fried beef guo kui flatbread.
It's sold with either beef or pork
and after it's deep fried,
it's put in the oven to crisp.
So, you're left with an oily
and crispy stuffed flatbread
that will leave you satisfied.
It's absolutely to die for.
Mmm!
Whoa!
Mmm!
Wow!
That is magic.
It's like saturated with oil,
yet crispy at the same time.
So, when you bite into it,
you get this juicy, oily texture
that's really satisfying.
And the beef, actually,
it's just slightly sprinkled
with ground beef throughout,
but the best part is
that it's, like, prickly.
(speaking Mandarin)
So, next up, here is the--
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So, the blood soup on the street here.
Look at all that--
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Look at all that pig blood!
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Wow. Look at that.
Huge bowl of pig blood.
(speaking Mandarin)
This is all pig blood.
Got a deep piece there.
Pig blood in a bunch of oil.
Chili oil, got some cilantro on there.
Oh!
(speaking Mandarin)
It's actually not bad.
It tastes like pig blood
in really spicy oil.
(speaking Mandarin)
So, this is another one of those things
you can try in Chengdu.
So, there's so much Sichuan street food
you've gotta try here.
This is just part one.
Please, leave me a comment down below.
Let me know exactly what
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