- Coming up for all you food rangers we're exploring
along the ancient Tea Horse Road in southern China
in Sichuan's spiciest city, Zigong.
You're gonna love the crazy selection of dishes here.
From finding spicy pig brain, frog, fish eggs,
and rabbit, to exploring the back markets of Sichuan.
So deep in the market.
And getting into the back kitchens, we're going deep.
So make sure to watch until the end
because you're not gonna want
to miss these five Sichuan street food delicacies.
Alright so check it out, it's Trevor James.
We just got into Zigong, we're deep in Sichuan.
This is the spiciest food in all of Sichuan here
and we're going for a full on street food tour today.
I'm so pumped, let's go check it out.
(upbeat music)
To start the day off we found a little hole-in-the-wall
breakfast joint serving up a unique specialty that
you need to try.
Whoa, look at that guys.
Wow, that looks dark.
That oil is so dark.
But there we go.
This is crazy, we got a classic Chinese breakfast
in the deep back streets of Zigong here.
So this is youtiao
which is like deep fried Chinese breadstick.
You dip the youtiao
into your doujiang
These are pickled veg here and you can eat that
along with it.
Dip it deep and there's a little sugar on the bottom.
Oh yeah, classic Chinese breakfast.
It's almost like a churro,
except not sweet.
We've also got some xifan
which is like a rice porridge here,
look at that guys,
that was fried in an extremely dark oil
but you never know, maybe it's good.
Look at that guys,
you can see the sugar there on the bottom.
That is gooey and so hot.
You can taste that sesame.
It is super crispy on the outside,
that oil definitely gives it some flavor
and gooey and soft on the inside.
Nice.
(traffic beeping)
So they're just making me another one as a gift.
So friendly.
And people are all asking for them
but they're sold out.
It's a famous morning snack.
Wow.
- This is just a nice start to the day here guys,
classic Chinese breakfast
with youtiao, soy bean milk,
rice porridge, boiled eggs and their specialty
white sugar bing.
They've been open here 40 years
and that's just full of that gooey white sugar
with sesame flavor, it's crispy.
Bye bye, bye bye.
So friendly, that's one family
and that bing there,
that white sugar bing when I first saw it,
honestly it looked like the oil was so dark
and I was a little hesitant
but when you first taste it, wow.
That was good.
After that surprisingly super delicious
white sugar bing,
we went for a quick walk through the morning market
taking a look at the Sichuan spices
before making our way out to an old village
for early lunch.
We had this the other day.
The further we go into Sichuan, the crazier it gets
and I can't wait to find some good food
to share with you guys.
That was an awesome breakfast,
awesome porridge.
Just found this beautiful old neighborhood
in the back area of Zigong
and that is the theme of this trip,
we're gonna be finding ancient areas with delicious food,
all along the Tea Horse Road,
the Southern Silk Road from Sichuan down to Yunnan.
After taking a quick walk around the market
we made our way out to an old village
to go food ranging for lunch
and found an amazing lamb soup place
and an incredible place serving spicy pig brain,
fish eggs and frog all Sichuan style.
So we found this old, traditional Chinese neighborhood
in this village.
You can see traditional courtyard style,
old style roofs, gardens, veg growing out in the front.
It's a little rainy now
so we're gonna go try and get some food
and take some shelter
but this is so cool.
Awesome, look at this guys.
We've found a little hole in the wall.
Let's see what they've got.
The sign here says yangroutang
lamb soup.
Let's see what they've got here.
He's just weighing up the lamb here.
That is a mixture
of fatty sliced lamb.
Aw, there's intestines, there's tripe,
it's all in there.
Oh that is a rich lamb stock
made with lots of bones.
Oh, you smell that right away,
oh it's rich and thick,
you can definitely tell.
Apart from the classic lamb soup
you can also eat their (speaking foreign language)
AKA lamb slices spiced with fermented broad bean paste,
chilies and rice flour.
As soon as they put these down to steam,
you have to order one up.
Awesome guys, so we're gonna get one of those over there
of steamed lamb as well.
This is so cool, deep in an old village
and we just got (sighs with delight).
That is thick broth,
that lamb smell is intense.
It's full of lamb intestines,
it's full of sliced lamb, green onions
and that lamb broth is so, so fragrant.
We're gonna have to dip that right into this dip
that he made me, full of chilies, cilantro,
MSG, salt, oh and cilantro.
That is beautiful.
(groans with pleasure)
Wow.
That is the most rich lamb stock.
Oh it's so thick, guys.
You can really taste all of the organs in there,
it gives it a rich, complex flavor.
This dip is so spicy.
Oh that's great.
After enjoying the soup and the spicy steamed lamb
we kept exploring the village for more street food
and found some amazing scenery
and another amazing place for a post-lunch snack.
This has just been a marvelous day so far.
We found these old villages,
lots of delicious food on the Tea Horse Road.
We're gonna go see what else we can find.
We found another little family run place
serving up some super unique stuff
that you really must try if you come here.
When we asked if we could take a look in the kitchen
everyone said, "no problem."
So we went right in and found a typical Sichuan kitchen
stocked full with chilies, pastes and spices,
all ready to stir fry up in the wok.
Well, these are local, fresh chilies here
and they're all chopped up over here.
You can see all of the Sichuan ingredients here
and they're so friendly to let me in
and take a look in this kitchen.
They're about to prepare the pig brains
and we're gonna try it out, oh--
(pig brain sizzling)
There it goes.
The pig brain is in.
And that is a mixture of doubanjiang
pickled chilies, fresh chilies, oh yeah.
That just smells amazing.
(sizzling liquid)
Look at that guys,
we have naohua pig brain,
that is so, so, so fragrant.
You can smell the pickled chilies in there
and then over here, look at this guys,
we have the fish eggs,
similar style sauce.
Spicy and garlicky and gingery
and then look at this over here,
we have frog (laughs) with tons of chilies and garlic.
This looks--
Look at that guys, it's full of pig brain,
it's full of cucumber,
you can actually smell a bit of freshness from the cucumber.
Let's get a nice, big chunk of pig brain and cucumber
for that first bite.
Oh!
It's so fatty, it just melts in your mouth.
Yeah, that is amazing.
Oh, the fragrance from the pickled chilies,
slightly sour, the freshness from the cucumber,
that is amazing.
If you try this pig brain,
you're definitely gonna fall in love.
It was the best dish out of all three.
Having the silky, buttery smoothness
that's just so addicting
and the frog was so tender and succulent
and gingery, like an extremely smooth
and juicy chicken spiced with fresh chilies
that'll blow your mouth off
and the fish eggs definitely had a fishy stench
that you're gonna love or hate.
After that super spicy flavorful lunch
we made our way back to town
to eat one of the best Sichuan foods you can find,
spicy Sichuan style spare ribs,
before our huge rabbit feast for dinner.
Alright, we're gonna go into
an old style Chinese restaurant here for a little snack.
Oh, look at this guys.
There's these big corn breads, steaming.
This is a sweet restaurant.
One of the best foods you can order in Sichuan
is the spicy and fragrant spare ribs,
you'll never forget that juicy fragrance
and you'll long for these beauties after you leave.
Look at this, guys!
Sichuan style spare ribs.
This just looks crazy guys.
Sichuan style spare ribs.
Look at those big chunks of pork spare ribs,
so many Sichuan red peppers, lots of sesame.
Oh, there's little bits of Sichuan peppercorn in there,
nice chunks of bell pepper.
Oh that looks fantastic, guys.
That is pure beauty right there (groans with delight).
The Sichuan chili, you can really smell the chili in there.
Oh that just looks fantastic
and then over here we also have a steamed corn bread
over top of a corn husk.
We're gonna have to go right in
and try one of these Sichuan style spare ribs (laughs).
Let's try it out.
Oh it's so hot and fragrant.
Oh wow.
That is just so incredibly flavorful,
it's crispy, you can taste the fragrance from the chili
but most importantly there is a bit of sweetness
from these onions.
The onions and the bell peppers are infused
into the flavor of these spare ribs.
Look at those fatty, juicy, chunky spare ribs
covered in so many Sichuan chilies,
look at all the chilies down here guys.
There's so many chilies
and that flavor is infused into that meat there
and it just brings you to the next realm.
It is a true juicy, crispy, slightly sweet
and spicy, oily mouthfeel from heaven.
For our final meal in Zigong,
we made our way to another hole in the wall
deep back street joint,
serving up one of the best dishes in Sichuan
I've ever tasted.
Put this on your list if you're coming to China.
This is really good.
Alright guys, next up we are going to try
one of Zigong's most famous dishes, spicy rabbit.
And we're deep in a little neighborhood right now,
right around the corner, I think,
is the local little rabbit joint.
Let's go check it out.
So I just ordered,
I'm telling him to order the same way the locals make it.
He said medium spice,
I have a feeling it's gonna be extremely spicy
but that's how we're gonna order it.
He's just putting in tons and tons of chilies here.
Oh it smells so good.
This is the best rabbit you'll ever taste.
Not only do you get an incredibly aromatic fragrance
from chilies, onions, garlic and ginger
but there's also roasted peanuts
and mushrooms in there as well
bringing the savory fragrance to a level
that it makes it almost impossible
for you to stop eating.
Just got the rabbit, it is intensely fragrant.
Oh I can smell sesame
The Sichuan peppercorn, that oil.
(all laugh)
It is so fragrant.
Oh that smells so good guys.
I think I know why it smells so good.
It's because he's putting in so many mushrooms in there.
It is amazing fragrance there,
you can smell the mushrooms with the rabbit,
the chilies and the Sichuan peppercorn.
We're gonna get a nice mushroom
and a nice bit of rabbit meat.
That mushroom aroma is intensely fragrant.
Let's try it out.
Wow that is spicy guys.
Guys this is amazing.
This is just an amazing, fragrant rabbit pot here guys.
Whoa.
That is just amazing guys.
Full of super tender rabbit chunks.
So many roasted peanuts.
Wow, that roasted peanut flavor is just infused
into the oil.
Oh it's smokey and peanutty and roasted
and then there's that amazing mushroom fragrance as well,
it's just full of these mushrooms.
You got the mushrooms, the peanuts,
you've got the hua jiao Sichuan peppercorns
and of course all of these dried red chilies
bring the spice up to the next level.
It is an instant burn but it is so pleasurable
the moment that tender, tender rabbit meat hits your lips
along with the mushrooms and the peanuts (groans).
You're right in heaven, right when you take
that first bite.
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of street food videos coming up for you guys
and I can't wait to share them for you.
And that food is some of the best I've ever had in Sichuan.
Thanks so much guys.