Sichuan cuisine is known for being both spicy and numbing - the two flavours in conjunction give a sensation called málà,” explains Mao Chow founder Julian Denis. His menu of signature dishes from his Hackney restaurant includes plenty of mouth-numbing Sichuan peppercorn, beginning with a choice of dan dan noodles or mapo tofu. Julian’s comforting version of dan dan noodles combines fresh noodles with mushroom mince, peanut, sesame, chilli oil and Sichuan peppercorn oil, ready to be mixed together and slurped. His mapo tofu is “a textural wonderland”, balancing neutral soft tofu with tingly Sichuan peppercorn and plenty of garlic
To accompany the mains, there’s an oyster mushroom bing which is a riff on Xi’an cumin lamb. A northern Chinese-style flatbread is accompanied by flavourful oyster mushrooms, wok-fried with cumin and chilli until smoky, ready to be wrapped up in the bread with coriander and cucumber - “a Chinese version of a kebab,” explains Julian. The Yuxiang aubergine is another Sichuan classic; a whole aubergine coated in a sweet and spicy sauce laced with pickled chillies and ginger. A side of smacked cucumbers are smashed up to infuse the cucumbers with abundant flavour from the vinegary, spicy dressing. For dessert, there’s a Chinese doughnut - a long dough stick deep-fried and dusted with sugar and Chinese five spice, served with a caramel folded through with fermented bean paste for a hefty umami kick.
To accompany the mains, there’s an oyster mushroom bing which is a riff on Xi’an cumin lamb. A northern Chinese-style flatbread is accompanied by flavourful oyster mushrooms, wok-fried with cumin and chilli until smoky, ready to be wrapped up in the bread with coriander and cucumber - “a Chinese version of a kebab,” explains Julian. The Yuxiang aubergine is another Sichuan classic; a whole aubergine coated in a sweet and spicy sauce laced with pickled chillies and ginger. A side of smacked cucumbers are smashed up to infuse the cucumbers with abundant flavour from the vinegary, spicy dressing. For dessert, there’s a Chinese doughnut - a long dough stick deep-fried and dusted with sugar and Chinese five spice, served with a caramel folded through with fermented bean paste for a hefty umami kick.