Pickled chili peppers, commonly known as "yu laozi," are a special seasoning in Sichuan cuisine.Sichuan cuisinespecifically features pickled chili peppers.Pickled chili peppers have bright red color, spicy without being fiery, and a slightly sour taste. They were quite popular for making various dishes in the Sichuan region several years ago.

Generally speaking, in today's condiment market in Chengdu, there are roughly three types of pickled chili peppers:chili pepper, which is relatively long, has moderate spiciness and a strong aroma. It is essential for making traditional Sichuan dish fish-flavored shredded pork.Fish-flavored Shredded Pork;another type is the bullet-head pickled chili pepper, which is shorter in shape resembling a chicken heart,and has strong spiciness. Due to its good formation, it is often used whole in Sichuan dishes and rarely processed into paste or cut into small pieces.The third type is Mexican pickled chili peppers, although they are not originally from Mexico but were introduced from there, they are now cultivated in areas such as Ya'an in Sichuan. They have thick flesh and a long olive shape. After being preserved, they can be served as appetizers. However, their use in Sichuan pickled pepper dishes is limited.There is another type, the Mexican pickled chili pepper, which, although named after Mexico, was actually introduced from there. It is now cultivated in Ya'an and surrounding areas in Sichuan Province. Its flesh is thick and shaped like long olives. After pickling, it can serve as an appetizer, but its use in pickled pepper dishes is not very common.