A note on the words: huajiao is numbing Sichuan pepper, dougan-si is shredded dried tofu, and tomyo are tender pea shoots stir-fried as a refreshing break from fiery chilies. Yacai is a deeply savory, fermented Sichuan preserved mustard green, karaage is Japanese fried chicken, marinated and fried without a breadcrumb coating, and shiratama refers to chewy glutinous rice dumplings, which the unfried sesame balls resemble here. Dishes at this restaurant are graded on a heat scale from level 0 to level 5, with level 5 representing the house’s peak spiciness.
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Sichuan Dining Boushokuro on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. It feels like I was only just here recently, but once again our group decided to go out for spicy food, so we booked “Sichuan Dining Boushokuro”! When you want proper, fiery Sichuan food in Akasaka, this shop is the most delicious and straightforward choice! It sticks to authentic seasoning without tailoring it to Japanese palates, and I really like that uncompromised style.
Sichuan-style simmered pork — 1,650 yen
Stir-fried chicken with yacai — 1,600 yen
Sichuan-style lamb on the bone — 2,700 yen
For now, we decided to pick out a mix of spicy and non-spicy dishes as we went along!
Whenever I visited with just two people in the past, each dish was quite generous in portion, so we couldn’t try many different things, but this time with six of us we could eat plenty! The strategy of trying a little bit of lots of different dishes was ready to roll.
To begin with, of course, beer!
The otoshi (table appetizer) was spicy peanuts with huajiao (Sichuan pepper) and dougan-si (shredded dried tofu).
Let’s start by ordering something that isn’t spicy! And so, a stir-fried lettuce dish that isn’t spicy at all, ha.
Stir-fried lettuce is unexpectedly delicious. Greens that retain a crisp, juicy bite are fantastic. By the way, it isn’t spicy at all, so you can eat it without worry. In fact, keeping this dish around as an oasis while taking on the spicy dishes is a great way to go!
We ordered this stir-fry for the same purpose, as a non-spicy oasis. The crisp texture of the tomyo (pea shoots) is delicious.
And the first spicy dish was the level 3 Sichuan-style simmered pork. This is just so good! On my previous visit, when I ordered the Sichuan-style simmered pork, a Sichuan-style simmered white fish that wasn’t on the menu was brought out instead, but this time it was properly pork. The pork has clearly been prepped properly — tender and delicious! The broth is very spicy, but deeply savory. Spicy-delicious. It is covered with plenty of whole chilies and huajiao, so while trying not to eat those directly (though I end up chewing on some occasionally, ha), you enjoy the generous vegetables and meat in the savory broth. Delicious!
This is the Sichuan-style fried rice. Despite being called Sichuan-style, it is rated level 0 spice, so it isn’t spicy in the least.
Pouring the broth from the earlier simmered pork over it makes it unbelievably tasty, so definitely give it a try, ha.
This is also Sichuan-style, so it has a slight tang of heat, but on the menu it is marked as level 0. However, the spiciness is not strong at all, so it stays mild. The tender, melting eggplant is wonderful.
This is also a level 3 dish: lamb.
Lamb on the bone is so good!! There is quite a lot of heat, but alongside the huajiao and chili there is also the aroma of cumin, which is fantastic. The pairing of cumin and lamb is an absolute classic. I think this was the first time I ordered it, and it was wonderful. I’ll definitely order it again next time.
Just an ordinary chicken karaage. However, if you pour the broth from the Sichuan-style lamb on the bone over it, it transforms into an addictive, spicy level 3 karaage!
Now, for the finale, the level 5 dish that I couldn’t order last time—the spiciest item in the entire restaurant.
Stir-fry of chopped green chili and chicken. Because of the sharp, grassy heat from the chopped green chili, it is certainly quite spicy! But it’s delicious. And perhaps because our palates had adapted by this point, it wasn’t an impossible heat to eat at all, ha. Even just for the talking point of trying the spiciest dish here, I think it’s well worth ordering once you’ve built up your spice tolerance!
Unfried sesame balls for dessert!
Indeed, it really has the feel of an unfried sesame ball. I might actually prefer this style. Chewy like a shiratama dumpling, and very tasty.
And so, it was a day thoroughly spent enjoying Sichuan cooking! Going with about six people is truly the way to go because you can order so many dishes! With a small party, ordering a large centerpiece dish fills you up right away, limiting you to maybe a pot dish and a couple of sides, so when eating Chinese food, a big group is best! Whenever the craving for spicy food strikes again, I’ll definitely be back.
Sichuan Dining Boushokuro (Sichuan / Akasaka-mitsuke Station, Akasaka Station, Nagatacho Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.5
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
