[Food Essay] The difference between Chengdu hot pot and Chongqing hot pot

Chongqing hot pot goes back a hundred years and was sold along the river. Chongqing prospered due to water transportation. In the endless flow of the Yangtze River and Jialing River, there are countless people making a living on the water. Chongqing hot pot originated from "boat households". “The life of "floating people" on the boat is very simple. The boat is usually about 10 meters long, with a bamboo strips awning set up. The cabin is divided into several compartments with partitions. They fish during the day and remove the partitions at night to make room for sleeping. It is such simple living conditions that gave rise to one of Chongqing's business cards today - hot pot. At that time, some slaughterhouses along the river slaughtered livestock and threw water and other things into the river. The boatmen picked up the rare "meat" and found a few rocks on the river beach to set up the pot.

Everyone sits around and eats this big pot of food. The dishes are all picked up or bought cheaply. You put in some, I put in a little, and the hot dinner is cooked. A few bites can relieve the fatigue of the day. This big pot dish on the dock is the origin of "Chongqing hot pot". Chengdu’s hot pot was introduced from Chongqing. But although it came from Chongqing, there are many differences in the subsequent development of the two. In my opinion, it may be that the two cities are very different.

“Chongqing, the mountain city, is humid and sultry. The temperature difference between day and night is very small, so you need to sweat profusely, and hot pot is the best carrier, and chili is the best carrier. “Chengdu, the "Land of Abundance", is located on the plains and is a prosperous place in history. The level of the prosperous place will be higher, and two places with "one Yang and two benefits" were born, Sichuan cuisine and Huaiyang cuisine. Although Sichuan cuisine is also spicy, it is more about the freshness and aroma. Hotpot in Chengdu also includes and integrates Sichuan cuisine. The personalities of the people in the two places are also different. The Chongqing people I met were more arrogant and bold, while the Chengdu people were gentler. Their pace of life was slower and their personalities were more refined.

Therefore, people in Chongqing eat hot pot with their arms out and become "reckless". When eating hot pot in Chengdu, the waiters at restaurants will hand over wet wipes, and everyone slowly watches the hot pot rolling. Therefore, the temperament and eating feeling of the two are different.

To elaborate: There are differences in seasoning and dishes. The spiciness of Chongqing hot pot is more prominent. The spiciness emitted by peppers and the numb taste emitted by Sichuan peppercorns combine to create a pot of spicy Chongqing hot pot. A good pot of old hot pot must have a perfect combination of spicy. Moreover, Chongqing hot pot prefers heavy butter, ginger, garlic and other seasonings at the bottom of the pot to highlight the original spicy flavor of hot pot. There are also old hot pot and new hot pot in Chongqing. I will definitely choose the old hot pot that uses butter. 4 or 5 pounds of butter melts and rolls in the pot, with a rich aroma. The recycled "old oil" is even more rich and attractive, with a rich and hot aroma, just like the upright personality of the people in the mountain city.

The aroma of Chengdu hot pot is more prominent. When chili and Sichuan pepper exist at the same time, more spices are used, which not only combines the spicy taste, but also highlights the aroma of spices. Chengdu hot pot also differs in the use of butter. There will be salad oil and rapeseed oil, which makes the overall experience less fishy and the smell of butter is easier to come out. The overall taste will be softer and more delicate. Many Chengdu hot pots also like to add Chinese medicine to the bottom of the pot. Chongqing people eat hot pot simply and crudely, usually with sesame oil and minced garlic. At most, they add some vinegar according to personal taste, and occasionally add coriander. Get rid of all those weird condiments.

The oil dish of Chengdu hot pot has many contents, such as sesame oil, oil, sesame, coriander, chopped green onion, celery, and even sesame sauce. Pour all the condiments into the dish, which greatly considers your sauce-making skills. People in Chongqing are focused, and eating hot pot means hot pot. However, when we eat hot pot in Chengdu, we are easily distracted. There are a lot of snacks and snacks. Every time we go there, we order all kinds of ice noodles, fried crispy pork, and brown sugar mochi. People in Chongqing eat for taste, while people in Chengdu eat for feeling. There are restaurants everywhere in Chongqing, and there are many downstairs for residents. Everyone doesn’t care about the environment, as long as the food tastes good and friends are there, that’s enough. And in Chengdu, eating hot pot is very enjoyable. Chengdu’s hot pot has a lobby and private rooms, and many good-looking young women wear uniforms as waiters. ； Hand sterilized wet towels before meals, put oil-splash-proof covers on guests' clothes, and give chewing gum to guests after meals.

To sum up, if Chongqing hot pot is a real knife, then Chengdu hot pot is a knife hidden in the cotton. There is not as much butter and red oil as Chongqing hot pot. It is not as spicy as Chongqing hot pot but Chengdu hot pot is numb. Probably because of the boldness of Chongqing people, Chengdu diners prefer to slow down the pace of eating hot pot, setting up a dragon gate formation, pairing the hot pot with snacks, chatting about home affairs, watching the rolling waves in the pot, and waiting for the food to slowly take in the flavor. Compared with the "wu" of Chongqing hot pot, Chengdu hot pot is more "wen".