Vegetarian ‘Gong Bao Chicken’

At the Baoguang Temple, an hour away from Chengdu, if you walk through the grand courtyard just within the entrance gates, past the racks of burning incense and candles and slip off to the right, past the tea house garden with its shady trees and bamboo chairs, you’ll find another, smaller courtyard. At the far side of this are a few tables and chairs and a hatch, hung around with wooden slats bearing the names of classic Sichuanese dishes. There is twice-cooked pork, dry-fried eels, crispy