A Chengdu Hawker Original

Chengdu’s famous Erjie Tuding is based off a Sichuan 凉拌 (liángbàn)/cold-dressed dish traditionally eaten in the fall. It belongs to our reader-favorite Cooking with Pixian Doubanjiang recipe series, which highlights Sichuan doubanjiang cooking methods that are less well-known than classics like Mapo Doufu and Twice-Cooked Pork. If you’ve never thought of using doubanjiang in a cold dish, this is your sign! 

There are several variations of Sichuan’s cold-dressed rabbit (凉拌兔丁, liángbàn tùdīng; also 麻辣兔丁, málà tùdīng), but the most famous is Chengdu’s 二姐兔丁 (èrjiě tùdīng), “Second Sister Rabbit Cubes.” In Chinese, 二姐/Erjie is the title of the second oldest sister in the family. The hawker who came up with this version of liangban rabbit was the second sister in her family, and the dish became known by such.

Ma remembers lining up for takeout bags of erjie tuding while working at the university. The hawkers tossed spices and dressings straight into the plastic bag, and you could eat that as a meal or bring it home to pair with the rest of dinner. It was equal parts affordable and delicious. You might recognize this dish yourself if you live near a Chengdu Taste in the U.S. and have been smart enough to order it!

Rabbits proliferate in the hilly country around Sichuan, so naturally rabbit dishes abound. Erjie tuding differ slightly from veggie liangbans and do require some advance prep, but the actual hands-on cooking time is minimal. The meat can also be prepared ahead of time.

Most liangban dishes fix up quickly and don’t require much cooking (if any), making them ideal for hot days or involved spreads.

This dish has bones. Rabbit is such a lean, compact meat that deboning the whole animal becomes more process than it’s worth. Outside of Asian and African cuisines, many people tend to view bones as a nuisance instead of an inherent part of meat dishes—so if you don’t like to 啃骨头 (kěn gútóu) or “chew on bones,” you might not appreciate this dish at first. That’s okay. It’s an acquired pastime: Enjoying bone-in dishes like rabbit is not about how quickly or easily something can be eaten.

When you ken gutou, you are literally sucking the marrow out of the bones. It’s a direct metaphor for sucking the marrow of life and the way Chinese people view food and commensality. Eating is an occasion to be savored, each component of a life-giving dish important, with nothing going to waste. In this way, even a small rabbit provides a humble meal—not unlike the Jade Rabbit itself.

Plus, honestly, the liangban sauce tastes so good you’d be loath to leave behind a single drop of flavor. When you smell this sauce, you’ll understand.

The prep, like with most quick-cooking Chinese recipes, is involved but straightforward. When time is not a luxury, I find the process meditative: Nothing is difficult, it just requires getting done.

Beginning with washing and drying the rabbit, chop the cleaned meat in half and add to a sauce pot that can comfortably hold the entire rabbit. A stockpot is not necessary. Wash and smash a thumb of ginger and add it to the pot, then add enough cold water to cover. The ginger and a final splash of 料酒 (liàojiǔ), cooking wine, help mediate the gaminess of the rabbit.

Skim off the scum that foams to the surface as the meat simmers. Once you’ve removed all the foam, you can let the rabbit finish cooking as you prep the other ingredients.

For toasted sesame seeds, simply dry-toast the seeds in a skillet over low heat while stirring frequently, about five minutes. They will turn a nice mellow golden tone and smell fragrant when done.

The doubanjiang should be minced briefly to break up any larger fava bean pieces.

When the rabbit is cool to the touch, chop it roughly into 1-inch cubes (you’ll need a meat cleaver or other knife intended to cut through bone). Then, heat a seasoned wok or skillet until hot and add 3 tablespoons of caiziyou, Sichuan’s signature roasted rapeseed oil. Fry the minced doubanjiang until fragrant and add the douchi, fermented black soybeans. Stir-fry 3-5 minutes until you notice the douchi shrink, stirring constantly so nothing burns. It should smell very fragrant by now.

At this point the rest of the rabbit dish is ready to toss together. Add the cubed rabbit and celery first, followed by the rest of the seasonings, reserving some sesame seeds, peanuts, scallions and 红油 (hóngyóu)/red oil for garnish. Our traditional Sichuan Chili Oil recipe provides the standard hongyou base, but if you really want to go for fragrance, give the aromatic version a try!

Serve alongside rice and other liangban favorites that won’t go cold while you eat around the bones, like Taylor’s Hot-and-Sour Eggplant Salad, the Málà Project’s Shangxin Liangfen and Michelle’s Crunchy Lotus Root Salad.