The Sichuan cold kitchen (liang cai) — served as first courses or alongside hot dishes — demonstrates the ma la (numbing-hot) principle at its most concentrated: cold proteins and vegetables dressed with complex sauces built on Sichuan peppercorn oil, chilli oil, and black vinegar. Because these dishes are cold, the fat-soluble aromatic compounds must be in the dressing itself rather than developed through cooking — the preparation relies entirely on the quality of the oils and the calibration of the dressing.
**Bang bang chicken (棒棒鸡 — bàng bàng jī):** - Poached whole chicken, cooled, the meat pulled off the bone and shredded by hand (or beaten with a mallet to break the fibres — the "bang bang"). - Dressed with sesame paste, chilli oil, Sichuan peppercorn oil, soy, vinegar, sugar. - Cucumber julienne underneath — the cool cucumber moderates the rich sesame-chilli dressing. **Mouthwatering chicken (口水鸡 — kǒu shuǐ jī):** - Whole chicken poached at barely simmering (the same gentle poaching as Cantonese white cut chicken) until just cooked, then immediately plunged into ice water — the ice bath contracts the skin to a distinctive tight, slightly gelatinous texture. - Dressed with a more complex sauce than bang bang — adding Sichuan peppercorn oil, black vinegar, ginger, garlic. **The cold dressing principle:** - All Sichuan cold dressings are assembled from the same component library: chilli oil, Sichuan peppercorn oil, light soy, black vinegar, sesame paste, sesame oil, sugar, and aromatics. The ratio determines the character of the final dish.
Dunlop