🍽️ Cold Spicy Rabbit

Spicy and aromatic, a Zigong salt-kitchen dish.

Cold spicy rabbit is a signature of Zigong's salt-kitchen cuisine in Sichuan. Fresh rabbit is diced, deep-fried until dry and aromatic, then stir-fried with heaps of dried chilies, Sichuan peppercorn, ginger and garlic, and served cool. Oil-soaked and glossy, the meat is firm and chewy, dry, fragrant, numbing-spicy and long-lasting, hot without being harsh. Salt-kitchen cooking prizes deep, bold flavor; here the rabbit is wok-dried so it tastes better the cooler it gets. An excellent drinking snack and casual nibble that lasts a long while in a small dish, it shows how Zigong turns humble rabbit into an intense specialty.