Do I need special equipment to make these recipes?

No, the recipes are adapted for modern Western kitchens and do not require specialty equipment. Standard pots, pans, and tools you likely already own will work for the techniques described in the book.

Are the ingredients easy to find?

The book balances authenticity with accessibility. While some traditional Sichuan ingredients are recommended, the author provides guidance on where to find substitutions and which elements are essential versus optional for achieving the intended flavors.

Is this suitable for beginners?

The recipes assume some cooking confidence and technique familiarity. While the book explains methods clearly, it's designed for people ready to invest time in learning Sichuan cooking rather than absolute beginners looking for simple shortcuts.

Does the book only cover spicy dishes?

While many recipes feature Sichuan's signature heat and numbing spice, the collection spans a range of flavor profiles including desserts and drinks. The book teaches you to work with the full spectrum of Sichuan seasonings, not just chili heat alone.

The Book of Sichuan Chili Crisp

The 3-second version

85 recipes from snacks and mains to desserts and cocktails
Adapted for home kitchens without specialty equipment
Includes personal story and cultural context from the author
Requires building a Sichuan pantry over time
Recipes expect some cooking skill and confidence
Not a quick weeknight shortcuts book

Why it's on GiftsFeed

Sichuan Chili Crisp Cookbook with 85 Recipes from Fly By Jing

Most Sichuan cookbooks either ask you to source impossible ingredients or water down the flavors until they taste like generic takeout. This one finds the middle ground: it respects the complexity—the málà tingle, the layered aromatics, the balance of salt and ferment—while showing you how to build those flavors with what you can actually find. Jing Gao spent years translating her grandmother's techniques into a product line that works in American kitchens, and that same practical instinct runs through every recipe here. If you've tasted real Sichuan food and want to cook it at home without flying to Chengdu for your pantry, this is the book that bridges that gap.

Good gift when

Home cooks ready to go beyond basic stir-fries
Anyone who loves numbing, layered heat in their food
People building a Sichuan pantry for regular cooking
Fans of Fly By Jing products who want to cook more

Skip it if If you're looking for a quick weeknight collection with five-ingredient shortcuts, this asks for more pantry investment and technique practice than you'll want to commit to.

Specs

Author: Jing Gao
Recipe Count: 85
Award: 2024 James Beard Foundation Book Award Winner
Cuisine Focus: Sichuan
Recipe Types: Snacks, mains, desserts, drinks

What's included

The Book of Sichuan Chili Crisp cookbook

If you're giving it

No sizing to guess

A cookbook arrives as a book; consider wrapping or pairing with a Sichuan pantry starter.

The maker

Jing Gao grew up in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, where chili oil and fermented flavors are kitchen staples rather than novelties. After moving to the United States, she found that most Sichuan products available here either simplified the flavors to blandness or were inaccessible to home cooks unfamiliar with the tradition. She founded Fly By Jing to change that, creating condiments that honored the complexity of her grandmother's cooking while working in American pantries.

This cookbook extends that mission. Rather than treating Sichuan cuisine as something exotic or performative, Gao writes as someone who cooks this way by default and wants to share the logic behind it. The recipes reflect years of testing how to achieve málà—the numbing, spicy sensation central to the region—without requiring a flight to China for your shopping list. It's a guide rooted in personal memory and refined through the practical realities of running a food business in a different country.

The details

This award-winning cookbook teaches you to bring the layered, aromatic flavors of Sichuan cuisine into your home cooking. Written by Jing Gao, the chef and founder behind Fly By Jing, it offers 85 recipes that modernize traditional techniques without losing their regional soul.

The collection spans snacks, main courses, and even desserts. You'll find instructions for dumplings, noodles dressed in spicy scallion oil, crispy eggplant with fish fragrance seasoning, and carnitas tacos reinterpreted with hongshao braising methods. The book also includes creative applications like sundaes topped with chili crisp and fish sauce caramel brittle, poached pears in Sichuan pepper syrup, and cocktails made with baijiu.

Beyond the recipes, Gao shares her journey from her hometown in China to building a food business, offering insight into the cultural context and personal challenges that shaped her approach to this cuisine. The photography captures the bold, textured qualities of the food, and the writing is direct and energetic.

Each recipe is designed to work in a Western kitchen without requiring specialty equipment. Ingredient lists balance authenticity with accessibility, showing you where to find substitutions and which elements are worth seeking out. The book assumes you want to cook this way regularly, not just attempt it once, so techniques build on each other and pantry staples get reused across chapters.

Whether you're already familiar with Sichuan cooking or just starting to explore its numbing, spicy, fragrant layers, this book gives you a practical roadmap. It won the 2024 James Beard Foundation Book Award, a recognition of both its culinary merit and its contribution to the conversation around regional Chinese cooking in America.

Fly By Jing

The Book of Sichuan Chili Crisp

James Beard Award-winning guide to cooking with complex Sichuan flavors in everyday dishes

$35at flybyjing.com

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Buy from Fly By Jing

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The 3-second version

85 recipes from snacks and mains to desserts and cocktails
Adapted for home kitchens without specialty equipment
Includes personal story and cultural context from the author
Requires building a Sichuan pantry over time
Recipes expect some cooking skill and confidence
Not a quick weeknight shortcuts book

Cheaper alternatives

Questions

Do I need special equipment to make these recipes?: No, the recipes are adapted for modern Western kitchens and do not require specialty equipment. Standard pots, pans, and tools you likely already own will work for the techniques described in the book.
Are the ingredients easy to find?: The book balances authenticity with accessibility. While some traditional Sichuan ingredients are recommended, the author provides guidance on where to find substitutions and which elements are essential versus optional for achieving the intended flavors.
Is this suitable for beginners?: The recipes assume some cooking confidence and technique familiarity. While the book explains methods clearly, it's designed for people ready to invest time in learning Sichuan cooking rather than absolute beginners looking for simple shortcuts.
Does the book only cover spicy dishes?: While many recipes feature Sichuan's signature heat and numbing spice, the collection spans a range of flavor profiles including desserts and drinks. The book teaches you to work with the full spectrum of Sichuan seasonings, not just chili heat alone.