Mouth Watering Chicken (口水鸡)

This is one Chinese dish that is a dichotomy to me for sure. A hot dish that is served cold. This dish was originally named bai kan ji (white chopped chicken), but in the 1990's it was changed. Guo Moruo a famous modern Chinese poet wrote about his childhood memories, and of the tender succulent slices of chicken in the spicy deep red oil. He remarked how just his memory, and thinking about this dish from his childhood made his mouth water. That is how this dish got it's recent name as mouth watering chicken. Here in the west, salad, and sometimes soups are usually the only time we serve a dish cold with the exception of dessert. In Chinese cuisine cold dishes are served as an appetizer, and are called "welcoming dishes", or "meeting dishes". Depending on the look and taste of the cold dish, it is said to influence a guests decision as to whether the impending meal will be good or not. Cold dishes in China are mostly prepared after cutting and seasoning, being especially particular about the matching of the ingredients, ones cutting skills, as well. Cold dishes tend to be characterized by superior ingredients, fragrant taste, crispiness, tenderness, bright colors, as well as clean and beautiful artistic designs.

Hot and Sour Potato Thread (醋溜土豆丝)

This is another famous home style Sichuan cold dish. This is an easy dish to make, it just involves good knife skills or a mandolin.

Wood Ear Mushroom Salad (凉拌黑木耳)

This is a nice crisp summer salad. The texture of the mushrooms is nice and crunchy, and the vinegar and sugar makes for a nice sweet and sour taste.

Stir Fried Smacked Cucumber (拍黄瓜)

This is another great cold dish. I have been taken in by all of the Chinese cold dishes every since the first meal I had where they were offered. I find that sometime when a dish is served too hot, or too cold that it tends to mask the true flavors that are there. This is a nice refreshing summer dish as well.