Sizzling lotus root from a Sichuan hotpot.

In Chengdu, the thing to eat is a hotpot. You’re given a vat of oil and broth on a tabletop grill. It’s filled with enough sichuan pepper, red chilies, chili oil, and spices to burn a whole in your stomach.  Since your mouth is numbed, you’ll see how much heat your food has by the sweat that beads on your brow.  Ours had a double-layer, with mushroom broth in the center and spicy oil in the outer ring.

Dip your vegetables, meat, and tofu into the simmering liquid.

My favorite add-ins were thickly sliced mushrooms, yuba (creamy tofu skin), and lotus roots, and paper-thin beef.  The Sichuan pepper made the only drink offered — a glass-bottled cola — taste incredible.  If you have the chance, try a Sichuan hotpot…and the hotter the better.

Mushrooms, and yuba, and peppers...oh my.