Although it’s most famous for its electrifying use of chilies and lip-tingling Sichuan peppercorns, the heart of the local style of cooking lies in the artful mixing of flavors.

　　虽然，川菜以大量使用辣椒和令人唇齿发麻的四川花椒而闻名，但其精髓在于将多种口味巧妙融合。

　　Sichuanese cooks excel at combining hot, numbing, sweet, sour, savory and nutty seasonings to create an astonishing variety of flavors.

　　川菜厨师擅长将辣、麻、甜、酸、咸以及稀奇古怪的调味料结合在一起，烹饪出各种不可思议的美味。

　　Locals like to say "each dish has its own style; a hundred dishes have a hundred different flavors."

　　四川人常说：“一菜一格，百菜百味。”

　　Some of these are dazzlingly hot, like the numbing-and-hot mix of Sichuan pepper and dried chilies.

　　有些川菜特别辣，比如又麻又辣的四川花椒和干辣椒。

　　Other dishes are mildly spicy, like those featuring a fish-fragrant sauce based on pickled chilies, and those with a sweet-and-sour lychee-flavored sauce are not hot at all.

　　而有的菜则是微辣的，比如泡椒鱼香口味，糖醋口味的菜就一点儿都不辣。

　　1. Liang ban ji: Cold chicken in a spicy sauce

　　凉拌鸡

　　Sichuanese cold chicken dishes, made with poached chicken bathed in a spicy sauce, are simple yet sensational.

　　四川凉拌鸡就是将白切鸡淋上辣椒油，做法简单又美味。

　　There’s no single recipe, but the chicken is often chopped on the bone and a typical sauce might include vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, chili oil, sesame oil and a sprinkling of ground Sichuan pepper.

　　凉拌鸡没有固定的做法，但是一般会把鸡连骨头一起剁碎，淋上调味汁。经典的调味汁可能包括醋、糖、酱油、辣椒油、芝麻油和一小撮四川花椒粉。

　　Roasted peanuts or sesame seeds and sliced scallions may be added as a final flourish.

　　也可在最后撒上烤花生或芝麻和葱花。

　　2. Mapo doufu: Pock-marked old woman’s tofu

　　麻婆豆腐

　　If you ever thought tofu was boring, this dish will make you think again.

　　如果觉得豆腐很无味，那么麻婆豆腐会让你对这种食物有一番新的认识。

　　It’s a mind-blowingly delicious concoction of tender tofu, minced beef or pork, Sichuan chili bean sauce and ground Sichuan pepper that will warm your heart and make your lips tingle.

　　这道菜将鲜嫩的豆腐、牛肉沫或猪肉沫、四川豆瓣酱以及四川花椒粉混合，烹饪出一道异常美味的菜肴，让你的心窝暖暖，嘴唇酥麻。

　　It’s named after its inventor, a Qing Dynasty woman restaurateur with a pock-marked face.

　　发明麻婆豆腐的是清朝一个满脸麻子的餐馆老板娘，这道菜就是以她命名的。

　　3. Hui guo rou: Twice-cooked pork

　　回锅肉

　　No dish is more beloved by the Sichuanese than this homely stir-fry of sizzling pork (complete with its fragrant fat) with chili bean sauce, fermented black beans and green garlic leaves.

　　四川人最爱的菜肴就是回锅肉，这道家常菜是将滋滋冒油的猪肉(完全没有剃掉肥肉)和豆瓣酱、豆豉以及蒜苗一起煸炒。

　　The meat is first boiled, then sliced and fried, which is why it’s called "twice-cooked pork," or literally, "back-in-the-pot" pork.

　　首先要将猪肉煮一下，切片，然后再回锅翻炒，这就是这道菜叫“回锅”肉的原因。

　　With nothing more than plain white rice and perhaps a gentle broth, it makes an entirely satisfying meal.

　　只需再配上简单的白米饭，或者再加上一碗清淡的肉汤，就能让人吃得心满意足。

　　4. Yu xiang qie zi: Fish-fragrant eggplant

　　鱼香茄子

　　Classic "fish-fragrant" sauces are made with bright red pickled chilies, ginger, garlic and scallion, with base notes of sweet and sour -- these are the seasonings of traditional fish cookery, which is the usual explanation for the curious name.

　　经典的“鱼香”酱汁是用鲜红的泡椒、生姜、大蒜和葱制成，基调是酸甜口。因为传统鱼肉烹调中需要用到这些调料，“鱼香”这个奇怪的名字就由此而来。

　　This combination of flavors can be used with meat, fish or poultry, but one of the most delicious variations is the everyday fish-fragrant eggplant.

　　肉、鱼或家禽都可以烹调成鱼香口味，但是其中最美味的一种家常做法就是鱼香茄子。

　　5. Shui zhu yu: Water-boiled fish with sizzling chili oil

　　水煮鱼

　　When the craze for Sichuanese food took China by storm in the late 1990s, this dish took center stage.

　　上世纪90年代末，中国开始刮起川菜风，水煮鱼由此登上了餐桌的中心。

　　It’s a dramatic centerpiece of poached fish in a great sea of sizzling oil, thick with dried chilies and Sichuan pepper. The pieces of fish should be picked out of the fragrant oil with chopsticks: the oil itself is not meant to be eaten.

　　水煮鱼是一道非常显眼的主菜，这道菜将水煮过的鱼肉浸在一大盆滋滋作响、满是干辣椒和四川花椒的热油中。油本身不是用来吃的，要用筷子将鱼肉片从油中夹起。

　　6. Shi ling shu cai: Seasonal greens

　　时令蔬菜

　　Lavishly spicy Sichuan dishes tend to hog the limelight, but no meal is complete without the balancing of mildly-flavored dishes -- in particular seasonal vegetables.

　　辛辣的四川菜往往最引人注意，但是如果没有一道清淡的菜肴，尤其是时令蔬菜调节口味，那这顿饭就不完整。

　　Sichuan province lives up to its reputation as the "land of plenty" in its gorgeous abundance of fresh produce.

　　四川省因为盛产各种新鲜的农产品而享有“天府之国”的美誉。

　　Try, for example, tender rape shoots (cai tai) in early spring, or the weirdly-wonderful ze’er gen, sometimes known as fishgrass or Chinese watercress, a salad vegetable with a distinctive sour taste.

　　例如，初春时节，可以尝尝鲜嫩的菜苔，或者奇妙美味的折耳根(也称鱼腥草、西洋菜)。折耳根可以生吃，有一种独特的酸味。

　　7. Zhong shui jiao: Zhong dumplings in a spicy sauce

　　钟水饺

　　The Sichuanese capital, Chengdu, is famed for its "small eats."

　　四川省省会成都以“小吃”闻名。

　　Zhong dumplings are small pork dumplings bathed in sweetened soy sauce, mashed garlic and chili oil.

　　钟水饺是淋上甜酱油、蒜泥和辣椒油的猪肉馅小饺子。

　　Named after a local street vendor, they are one of the most popular Chengdu snacks.

　　这道小吃以当地一个街头小贩的名字命名，是成都最受欢迎的小吃之一。

　　8. Ma la huo guo: Numbing-and-hot hotpot

　　麻辣火锅

　　Sichuan hotpot is a whole dinner ritual: you sit around a seething cauldron of chilies and cook your own food in the broth.

　　四川火锅有一整套的用餐习惯：人们坐在一个盛满辣椒的、沸腾的大锅面前，用肉汤为自己煮着食物。

　　Originally a specialty of Chongqing, it’s said to have been invented by laborers on the banks of the Yangtze River.

　　火锅起源于重庆，据称是长江两岸的劳工所发明的。

　　Locally preferred hotpot ingredients include beef tripe and other offal, but you may choose from a vast range of meats, vegetables and tofu.

　　首选的地道火锅食材包括牛肚以及其他下水，但你也可以选择肉、蔬菜、豆腐等各种食材。

　　Many restaurants offer divided hotpots, so diners can cook their food in either a spicy or a mildly flavored broth.

　　许多餐馆都供应鸳鸯火锅，这样食客就可以在辛辣或清淡的肉汤中涮煮食材。