Having an international reputation for being spicy and flavorful, Sichuan cuisine ( 川菜 ) is a style of cookery originating in the Sichuan ( 四川 ) province of western China,

Some well-known Sichuan dishes include Kung pao chicken and Twice Cooked Pork. Although many dishes live up to their spicy reputation, often ignored are the large percentage of recipes that use little or no spice at all, including recipes such as Tea Smoked Duck.

The chile pepper, a common ingredient in Sichuan cuisine (often used unseeded), was introduced to China from the Americas after European colonization of the Americas had begun. Chile peppers were perhaps introduced to the remote Sichuan province by Western missionaries. Previous Sichuan cuisine was not completely without spice, however. Sichuan pepper is an indigenous plant (fruit) that produces a milder spice, and is still a key ingredient in Sichuan food to this day. The reason for this emphasis on spice may derive from the region's warm, humid climate. This climate also necessitates sophisticated food-preservation techniques which include pickling, salting, drying and smoking.

Common preparation techniques in Szechuan cuisine include stir frying, steaming and basting. Beef is more common in Szechuan cuisine than it is in other Chinese cuisines, perhaps due to the widespread use of oxen in the region. Stir-fried beef is often cooked until chewy, while steamed beef is sometimes coated with rice flour to produce a rich gravy.

Some common Szechuan dishes include:

• Kung pao chicken ( 宫保鸡丁 )
• Tea Smoked Duck (樟茶鸭)
• Twice Cooked Pork (回锅肉)
• Mapo dofu (麻婆豆腐)
• Sichuan hotpot (四川火锅)
• Fuqi Feipian (夫妻肺片)