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Sichuan Crayfish (& Chinese Medicine) // Chengdu: City of Gastronomy 49

1,808 views · Published 26 July 2018 · 13:36 · Indexed 8 November 2026

Channel: Itchy Feet · 2018 · Travel & Events

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This video has 2 sides. There's the side in which I discuss delicious crayfish in China - the food that's so popular that it accounts for 5% of the money spent in China's total food industry. And then there's the darkside. The part of the video where I discuss Chinese medicine. That story involves a foot. Feet are gross... Even feet on this week's guest the lovely Rebecca.

Rebecca broke her foot pretty much immediately when she came to Chengdu - even before she went to see the pandas. The story about her recovery is at times bizarre. It involves acupuncture, cupping, bleeding, being electrically stimulated, smoke being blown on her foot, and even a cockroach foot bath. Chinese medicine has been used for years. Some people swear by it, some say it's all bologna. We're not busting myths here, so please don't get on our case if you feel like we've given any sort of opinion on traditional Chinese medicine. This is simply a story about expat life, getting out of your comfort zone, and how other-worldly things can feel.

Ok, let's get back to the happy side of the video. Crayfish, or crawfish in China are called Xiao Long Xia (pretty much "little lobsters" or "little dragon shrimp"). They're a meal you'd order with a group of friends, maybe with some beers, some jokes, and some friendly ribbing. Because you will certainly make a mess of your hands, there won't be any checking your phone during this meal. It's a fun social thing to eat that China, and almost everywhere in the world, seems to be in desperate need for. The favorite way to prepare crayfish in China is with Sichuan style mala flavors - numbing spicy - Sichuan peppercorn and hot peppers. They are a lot of work for very little meat, but their tastiness can't be denied. Its meat's texture is somewhere between shrimp and lobster. The flavor is a bit muddier when you eat it not soaked in a delicious sauce, but who's doing that?

Crawfish were the perfect meal to eat with Rebecca, who's from Florida and has partaken in many crawfish cookouts. She offers her insight into the Chinese version of crayfish, and shows up how to tear into one of those little buggers.

WHERE TO GET CRAYFISH IN CHENGDU
There are a ton of highly rated places in Chengdu serving up crawdaddys. Being that you'll literally be eating up like 20 creatures, they are somewhat expensive for a platter of the little guys. Expect to pay around $20-25 for a serving (for at least 2).
On a menu, they're usually called 
Prawn - 大虾 - Dà xiā
The mala version is often called 麻辣小龙虾 (Málà xiǎo lóngxiā)
You'll also find fried in oil crayfish - 油焖小龙虾 (Yóu mèn xiǎo lóngxiā)
Garlic crayfish - 蒜蓉小龙虾 (Suàn róng xiǎo lóngxiā)
Here area a few restaurant options:
龙虾一绝 (the place named on the card)
Address: 玉林西路69号
Map: https://ditu.amap.com/place/B0FFFCM688

红虾社 - Red Shrimp Society
Address: 红星路四段龙王庙正街102号
Map: https://ditu.amap.com/place/B001C8OKLI

For something more... lively. Try the place I went to in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb-tfw8XjUA)
It's called 3rd Brother River Snails and the place is an absolute blast. It's chaotic, it's hot, it's a lot of fun. We actually eat crayfish in the video, so you can see how they look by watching it.

三哥田螺 - sāngē tiánluó 
Location: 北书院街与育婴堂街交叉口 (The intersection of North Shuyuan Street and Yuyingtang Street) 
Map: https://ditu.amap.com/place/B001C8X3S0 

In this series, I am eating my way through a deck of cards. I bought a deck of food themed playing cards that feature a different Sichuan dish on every card. Every week I'll shuffle the deck and pick one random card to hunt down and sample. Chengdu was the first Asian city to be named a UNESCO City of Gastronomy. It's full of incredible food - a lot of which you probably don't know about.

Subscribe below to follow along. Better yet, after subscribing hit the bell icon to get notified whenever I post a new video.

The weekly video will be posted every Thursday at 3PM EST until all 54 cards have been tried.

🎥 MORE CHENGDU CITY OF GASTRONOMY
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKDIXWmwq80g81wV15r-xczVRRD5rrqhN

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