This eggplant dish, originally from Sichuan, is hands down the most popular and delicious eggplant dish in Chinese cuisine. Yuxiang is a famous seasoning mixture in Sichuan cuisine - typically savoury, sweet, sour and slightly spicy. It literally means 'fish fragrance', allegedly because the eggplant was originally cooked in chilli pickled with fish. Despite its name, nowadays the recipe has nothing to do with fish.

This is a traditional recipe from Sichuan and is also one of the most popular tofu dishes in Chinese cuisine. The history of this dish dates back to the 19th century and was allegedly invented by a woman called ‘Chen Mapo’.  Chen was her last name whilst  Mapo was a nickname which refers to a woman with a freckled face.

Mapo Tofu is originally cooked with a bit of minced beef and Sichuan peppercorn, which is known to be mouth-numbing. In this recipe I substituted vegan mince for the beef mince, which is delicious and easily accessible.

This is a recipe based on a very popular street food dish from Sichuan. These wontons have a thinner wrap and are in general smaller than normal dumplings. They are first cooked and then served with a spicy sauce made with chilli oil, chopped garlic and other seasonings. The wontons are very rich in flavour and quite easy to make.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Serves 2 people 

Fa Gao is steamed sponge rice cake. It is a sweet pastry popular in some southern regions, typically eaten during the Lunar New Year. Fa’ means ‘become rich’ in Chinese, so this is a food that symbolised good fortune and prosperity. This recipe requires simple ingredients and yet is rich in consistency and flavour.

Preparation time: 45 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves 6 people