Sichuan · noodle
Sweet Water Noodles
甜水面 · Tiánshuǐ Miàn
Thick chewy hand-pulled wheat noodles in a sweet-sour-spicy chilli-oil sauce. Chengdu street snack.
Sweet water noodles are a Chengdu street-food staple — thick chewy wheat noodles dressed in a sauce of chilli oil, garlic, sweet soy and a touch of sugar. The unusual sweet-sour-spicy balance is distinctive. Eaten as a snack or starter rather than a full meal.
Where to try
Chengdu street stalls, particularly in Jinli and the streets around the Wenshu Monastery.
Dietary notes
Vegetarian. Wheat (gluten).
Other southwest dishes
- Baba Flatbread粑粑
Yunnan's daily flatbread — a thick wheat or rice-flour round cooked on a griddle and eaten plain or stuffed.
- Bang Bang Chicken棒棒鸡
Cold poached chicken shredded by hand, dressed in chilli oil, sesame paste and Sichuan peppercorn.
- Boiled Fish in Chilli Oil水煮鱼
Fish slices submerged in a deep pool of chilli oil and Sichuan peppercorns. Served bubbling.
- Chongqing Hotpot重庆火锅
The original mala hotpot — a simmering cauldron of beef tallow, Pixian doubanjiang and Sichuan peppercorn for communal dipping.