What is the most popular food in Chongqing? The answer might be the hot pot, xiao mian, or chuan Chuan, but have you ever heard about shao kao?

What is shao kao? How does it taste like? Why is it important to Chongqing people?

Shao kao is a kind of Chinese traditional barbecue or grill, as a crucial part of Chongqing cuisine. In addition, it presents the lifestyle of the local people in Chongqing.

There are hot-pot restaurants everywhere on the street in Chongqing, but what you don’t know is that you can find shao kao everywhere on the street too. However, many people will find that you cannot find any things about shao kao during daytime and that’s because most shao kao in Chongqing belongs to the night.

Incredible condiments and spices make shao kao have a fantastic taste

Shao kao is an elf of the night markets in Chongqing. Many restaurants will set-up shao kao stall outside the restaurant to attract people walking on the street. It can be said without exaggeration that your attention must be caught by smell when you pass by stalls.

The sauce of minced garlic, which is used to cook seafood usually

Meanwhile, you can also find unique features of this city through shao kao. Several important elements will impact on the taste of shao kao – ingredients (what you will eat) and condiments and spices (what it taste like).

Different condiments and spices will match with different ingredients, serving for food. Some of them will help get rid of odor to enhance the quality of taste. As the soul of shao kao, condiments and spices are diverse and some of them are unfamiliar with most people. For example, cumin can help to reduce the muttony odor while pepper powder can improve the smell of meat.

The chef is seasoning food

Without a good condiment or spice, you will not fall in love with shao kao no matter how perfect the food is. Thus, good condiments or spices will make both the smell and taste of shao kao better. Usually, the flavor of shao kao in Chongqing is heavily seasoned with various condiments and spices, which mostly taste like spicy and numbing.

When the strong-flavored dishes with the ice beer in your mouth, just imagine how awesome life is like!

Sausages are heavily seasoned

Fresh and special ingredients highlight Chongqing features

Different from other regions in China, Chongqing seems to have a “strong flavor” because we usually have animal organs, for hot pot or shao kao. In this city, we not only have normal food as the ingredients but also some unique things.

Food (usually meats) in bamboo skewers

For example, in Northern China, people usually have mutton, beef, pork more for shao kao and people prefer seafood in Southeastern China. The locals in Chongqing not only have normal food as other regions have but also have some animal organs, like gizzards, intestines, throats, blood, and even brains.

Food in the aluminum container

Cooks will prepare it with meats, fish, seafood, and vegetables on bamboo skewers. After being put on the gridiron, cooks will not keep turning over the food but wait for the right moment to turn over. For different ingredients, cooks have different ways to grill food. For example, for meat, such as beef, mutton, or pork, cooks will choose to skewer the meat and grill them directly. However, to make the taste of seafood or fish fresh and tender, cooks usually choose to pack food by the aluminum foil, keeping the cooking liquor for these kinds of food. Besides, cooks in Chongqing will use an aluminum container to grill animal organs, like what we eat in the hot pot.

When the night falls, shao kao stalls begin to diffuse the aroma to attract foodies.

Restaurant: Yongjiang Xiao Fanguan

Address: NO. 138, Ruitian Road, Yuzhong District