P
Chinese · Chengdu, Sichuan
Sichuan Spicy Rabbit (Zi Ran Tu Rou) — Chengdu Cold Snack
Chengdu has an unusual distinction: it is the rabbit-eating capital of China. Rabbit heads (tu tou), rabbit skin, and whole rabbit meat preparations are street food staples. The most popular is cold-dressed rabbit in chili oil — whole rabbit poached, chilled, then chopped and dressed with chili oil, Sichuan peppercorn powder, cumin, sesame, and garlic paste.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
1
whole rabbit
cleaned, left whole
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the poaching liquid
30 g
60 ml
Shaoxing wine
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tsp
salt
Your own market
For the dressing
60 ml
chili oil
with sediment; generous measure
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tsp
Sichuan peppercorn powder
freshly ground
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tsp
cumin (zi ran)
ground
Your own market
2 tsp
sesame seeds
toasted
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
3 cloves
garlic
pounded to a paste
Your own market
1 tsp
salt
or to taste
Your own market
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Place the whole rabbit in a pot and cover with cold water. Add the sliced ginger, Shaoxing wine, and salt. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, skimming any foam that rises. Poach at a bare simmer until the thigh meat is just cooked through and yields to a skewer without resistance — rabbit becomes dry quickly; it is done the moment the juices run clear and the flesh has no give.
2
Lift the rabbit from the poaching liquid and allow it to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until completely cold. This is where the dish lives or dies: a warm rabbit will turn dry and stringy the moment the dressing is applied; a fully chilled rabbit holds its texture under the oil.
3
Using a heavy cleaver, chop the cold rabbit into bite-sized pieces through the bone. Bone-in pieces are correct; they carry flavour and are the Chengdu street-food standard. The cut surfaces should be clean and the meat pale and firm to the eye.
4
Combine the chili oil with its sediment, Sichuan peppercorn powder, ground cumin, toasted sesame seeds, garlic paste, and salt in a bowl. The dressing should be generously oily — lean rabbit requires more fat in the sauce than pork would. Mix thoroughly until fragrant: the cumin should be clearly perceptible through the chili and Sichuan pepper.
From the canon — Sichuan peppercorn (huā jiāo — flower pepper) — the dried berry of Zanthoxylum simulans or Zanthoxylum bungeanum — is not a pepper (Piper nigrum) but a citru… Sichuan Peppercorn: The Numbing Spice Surveyed →
5
Add the chopped rabbit to the dressing and toss to coat every surface. Taste and adjust salt. Arrange on a serving plate. The finished dish should glisten with red-tinged oil; the cumin, sesame, and numbing pepper should each be distinct on the palate.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — A young, free-range or wild rabbit with firm, pale flesh; freshly ground Sichuan peppercorn from the current harvest; artisanal chili oil with visible dried chili sediment; whole cumin toasted and ground to order.
02
Estate — A good-quality farm rabbit from a reliable butcher; dried Sichuan peppercorn ground at home; a reputable chili oil with sediment; cumin ground from whole seed.
03
Market — A standard supermarket rabbit; pre-ground Sichuan peppercorn; a commercially bottled chili oil; pre-ground cumin used within its shelf life.
04
House — Any fresh rabbit available; chili oil made from dried chili flakes and neutral oil; mixed spice pepper as a substitute; cumin from a standard spice jar — the dish remains recognisable but the numbing fragrance and cumin warmth will be muted.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. A skewer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh meets no resistance and the juices run clear — the rabbit is cooked through but not overcooked.
◇Touch. The chilled rabbit feels cold and firm to the hand before chopping — it has lost all residual warmth and will hold texture under dressing.
◇Smell. The finished dressing smells of toasted cumin, roasted chili, and sesame simultaneously — the three should be distinguishable, not merged into a single note.
◇Sight. The plated pieces glisten with red-tinged chili oil across every surface; no piece appears dry or pale.
◇Where it lives or dies. The rabbit must be chilled completely before dressing — warmth collapses the texture of this lean meat into dryness that no quantity of oil can correct.
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VI
What to Pour
Cold lager — the canonical Chengdu pairing, its carbonation and light bitterness cutting the chili oil and cleansing the numbing Sichuan peppercorn from the palate between pieces.
The whole pairingPillar VII
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Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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