Szechuan Flavor brings dishes from one of the world's most famous culinary cities to Regina

Rui Yang is on a mission "to carry on the culture of my hometown."

That hometown is one of the world's most famous culinary cities: Chengdu, the capital of the Sichuan province of China. Designated a UNESCO City of Gastronomy in 2011, Chengdu is the cradle of Sichuan cuisine, known the world over for its distinctive flavours and cooking techniques.

Yang operates Szechuan Flavor all by himself. He preps all of the ingredients, he steers the fiery wok, and delivers hot tea to customers with a smile. He even wipes down tables.

Seeing Yang in the kitchen is like watching a cooking show. He preps all of the ingredients in small dishes on the countertop, ready to add them to the hot wok one at a time.

"Three things of importance in Sichuan cooking," Yang tells me through a translator, "it must look good, it must smell good, and it must taste good."

I can confirm all are true of Yang's cooking.

The Sichuan region is known for styles of cooking likethe hot pot and leng dan bei (street food), andtechniques like stir-frying, steaming and braising.

But the standout characteristics of Sichuan food are its fragrance and flavour. As Yang cooked for us, pungent hits of garlic, ginger, floral and citrusy Sichuan peppers, and hot chili peppers filled the kitchen.

Central to Sichuan cooking is the fermented broad bean chili paste. Yang uses the Pixian paste from the Pidu District of Chengdu, which he calls the "soul of all Sichuan food."

Sichuan food is the sum of many parts. Dishes are layered and complex.

By contrast, Yang is perplexed by Western dishes like steak. The steak stands alone, next to a baked potato and some salad.

"The flavours are not related; they are separate," he says. "But the Chinese put all things together. The combination [is critical]."

Yang learned to cook at home. While studying economics and accounting in university, he would go home for the summer and cook for the entire family while his parents worked. It became his passion.

"There is a tradition in Chengdu that men should be involved in housework," says Yang, "and also every man should have some kind of favourite dishes that he is good at."

Eventually, he travelled around China, and whenever he ate something he liked, he would ask the chef about the technique and ingredients behind the dish.

"They were so friendly," he recalls.

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When Yang moved to Regina in 2019, he saw a gap in the dining scene for Sichuan food. He visited various Chinese restaurants that offered Sichuan dishes modified to cater to a Western palate, which solidified his resolve to offer authentic cuisine from his hometown.

In March 2021, he took over Szechuan Flavor when its previous owners moved to Calgary.

Tucked next to Dancer's Den at 1640 Albert St., it has kept a low profile while attracting the attention of Chinese clientele and people who have visited the country and are looking for authentic Sichuan cuisine. Yang says he's impressed that many of those non-Chinese customers are familiar with the dishes on the menu, like hui guo rou (twice-cooked pork) and mapo tofu.

Yang doesn't have any Western Chinese food dishes on the menu and vows not to stray. He even keeps his personal touches on dishes to a minimum.

"I want to follow strictly the characteristics of Sichuan Chinese dishes," he says. "Every dish has a special character. If you try to move to change the character What you call Sichuan dishes is not Sichuan dishes anymore."

The best compliment you can give Yang, he says, is to tell him his food is legit Sichuan.

"I'm really pleased when I can make delicious food from my hometown to introduce to Canadians in Regina and get people's positive feedback."

Thank you to Yuan Ren for interpretation services.