25 Aug Couple’s Delight (Fuqi Feipian) – A Numbingly Good Sichuan Original
Fuqi Feipian, also known as Couple’s Delight or Husband and Wife Meat Slices, is a popular dish in Sichuanese culture. It has also become popular in Western countries in recent years, especially among diners at authentic Chinese restaurants.
Couple’s Delight as it’s known at Z & Y Restaurant is a cold dish served with red oil sauce known for having a sweet and spicy kick. Fu Qi means husband and wife in the Chinese language while Fei Pian refers to innards and beef. The dish has retained the name Couple’s Delight in honor of a married couple who first created it.
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Ingredients in Fuqi Feipian
Normally served as an appetizer, Couple’s Delight contains thin slices of roast beef mostly taken from the tongue and heart areas of a cow. Tripe stew is another primary ingredient as are the following:
- Cilantro
- Chili oil
- Chinese celery
- Crunchy peanuts
- Garlic
- Sesame
- Sichuan peppercorns
- Sugar
Fuqi Feipian was already popular as a street food in Sichuan by the 1930s because its ingredients were inexpensive and flavorful. It wasn’t until many years later that the dish took on its current nicknames of Couple’s Delight and Husband and Wife Meat Slices and the demand for it spread across the globe.
How Fuqi Feipian Has Changed Over the Years
Guo Zhaohua and Zhang Tianzheng were the married couple who originally created this dish. They were doing well selling as street vendors selling Couple’s Delight using beef slices as the meat ingredient. Historical records about this couple indicate that they were selective about the beef slices they prepared and often experimented with alternative ingredients.
This proved to be an excellent business move since the beef slices used in their version of Couple’s Delight had such a unique taste. Other street vendors who offered Couple’s Delight as an appetizer soon found themselves losing out to the competition.
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During the 1930s, small groups of Chinese children decided to engage in a bit of mischief by sticking notes to the backs of Zhaohua and Tianzheng that translated to Husband and Wife Lung Pieces in Chinese. People passing by the couple’s food stand on the street would sometimes yell out these same words using the Chinese translation “fuqi feipian.”
That name stuck and remains the preferred term in China almost 90 years later. Fei originally referred to offal or waste products but now describes the English word lung. That small changed helped to make Fu Qi Fei Pian much more palatable to the public.
Certainly “Couple’s Delight” sounds nicer than “Chinese husband and wife innards” or “husband and wife lung slices.”
Couple’s Delight Receives Rave Reviews at Z & Y Restaurant
Recent diners here at Z & Y Restaurant in the heart of Chinatown, have loved how Chef Han prepares this appetizer. Chef Val Cantu and Chef Josh Heiskell of the San Francisco restaurants, Californios & Villa Taverna, are certainly fans:
“This is one of the strangest, most delicious dishes: cold protein in a spicy chili oil. It sounds unusual, but it really is the bomb.”
Chef Val Cantu of Californios via ChefsFeed.com
“Cold beef innards marinated in mouth numbing Sichuan oil! Great with warm steamed rice!!”
Chef Josh Heiskell of Villa Taverna via ChefsFeed.com
Locals and visitors to San Francisco who have not yet had the opportunity to try this unique menu item should seriously consider adding it to their bucket list today. The following reviews on Yelp also give high marks to the Couple’s Delight at Z & Y. This dish is current available for takeout orders or delivery.
Read Cindy T.‘s review of Z & Y Restaurant on Yelp
Read Alice H.‘s review of Z & Y Restaurant on Yelp
