Chengdu, Sichuan — created by Guo Chaohua and his wife Zhang Tianzheng in the 1930s as a street food; now one of Chengdu's most celebrated restaurant dishes
Fu qi fei pian (husband and wife beef offal): thinly sliced beef offal (heart, tongue, tripe) and lean beef, dressed in a complex ma la sauce — sesame paste, chili oil, Sichuan pepper oil, black vinegar, soy, sugar, and garlic. Served cold. Named after a Chengdu couple who sold the dish from a street cart in the 1930s. One of Sichuan's most celebrated cold dishes.
Complex ma la sauce, varied offal textures, cold — one of Sichuan's most iconic and balanced cold dishes
{"Multiple textures: tender heart, chewy tripe, smooth tongue — each cooked differently and added to the same dish","All offal must be thoroughly cleaned: blanch multiple times, scrub with salt and vinegar","Sauce must hit all Sichuan dimensions: numbing, spicy, savoury, sour, sweet, sesame","Paper-thin slicing (1–2mm) is essential — thick slices lose the textural finesse"}
{"Traditionally 'fei pian' referred to tripe and offal sold cheaply; the original dish was all offal","Modern versions often include thin beef brisket alongside the offal for mainstream appeal","Serve on a bed of julienned celery — the crunch and freshness contrasts the rich offal"}
{"Insufficient cleaning of offal — any residual smell ruins the dish","Thick slicing — the offal should be near-translucent thin","Sauce prepared far in advance — Sichuan pepper oil loses its numbing potency quickly"}
The Food of Sichuan — Fuchsia Dunlop