Bobo Ji

Bobo ji is a traditional Sichuan cold snack popular around Chengdu and Leshan: an earthen crock holds a seasoned broth of chili oil or green Sichuan-pepper oil, into which boiled, sliced chicken and assorted skewered ingredients are steeped before eating.

It originated in Leshan, named for the crock (bo) that holds it, and with more than a century of history since the Qing it spread widely in Chengdu to become a common street-side cold-skewer snack.

Diners traditionally pick skewers themselves and are tallied by the stick, lifting them out once steeped, in either a chili (mala) or green-pepper (lightly numbing, aromatic) style, eaten cold and refreshing, well suited to nibbling with tea.

A genuine crock turns on a mellow broth, fresh skewered ingredients, and a clear layering of either mala or green-pepper fragrance, a standard-bearer of Chengdu's cold skewers.