Sichuan Cuisine

Delicious spiciness underneath a tree and next to a lake

Huge amounts of 'numbing peppers' really made me sweat!

Most people know that Sichuan food is very spicy. In fact, the name "Sichuan" garners international recognition and familiarity largely due to the dishes associated with the region that are extremely spicy and flavored. You may be very familiar with common Chinese-American food names such as "Szechuan Beef" or ingredients such as the spicy "Szechuan sauce." Sichuan is also the home to dishes such as "mapo tofu." Yes, I was born in the land of spice and I am now back for some more.

The pictures included in this blog are all taken at meals I have enjoyed in Chengdu, Sichuan. I have sampled Sichuan hot pot, Sichuan spicy meat and veggie skewers, and all types of spicy cold appetizers besides the classical Sichuan entree dishes. Sichuan folks love to add red chili peppers in every dish, even while stir-frying leafy vegetables. Not to mention, the food at Sichuan University's cafeteria is also quite delicious, flavorful, and spicy. Small stands of eateries fill the space outside the university's three major cafeterias with even more options of spicy eats to choose from. However, Sichuan people not only add red chili peppers for the spice, they also add lots of mouth-numbing peppers for that extra spiced-up numbing effect. And that numbness-enveloped spiciness is what distinguishes Sichuan's spiciness from other region's spicy dishes. Sichuan cuisine is spicy and numbing at the same time. 又辣又麻！Oftentimes, it is usually the strong numbing sensation on my tongue that makes me sweat as opposed to the red peppers.

A small food stand outside the cafeteria

Southern Chinese often debate about the three levels of spiciness while trying to pair them up with the three famous spicy provinces in China. In order of increasing spiciness, they are: not afraid of spiciness (不怕辣), spiciness is not scary (辣不怕), and afraid that it's not spicy （怕不辣). Believe me, the words for the three different levels sound much better in Chinese. The three characters 不，怕，辣 means "no" "afraid" and "spice." Interchanging them yield complete different and grammatically correct phrases that have different meanings. Oh, the intricacies of the Chinese language. Anyway, I was actually in the middle of a huge debate at dinner one day with Sichuan University classmates from different regions of China regarding the "appropriate" spice level associated with the three provinces of Sichuan, Jianggxi, and Hunan.

Spicy dishes at a relative's wedding dinner: so much flavor!

After much debate, everyone gave Hunan province the title of the spice king, followed by Jiangxi, and lastly, Sichuan. This is largely due to the fact that Hunanese cuisine is spicy, period. Hunan dishes have very few added flavors or ingredients that interfere with the original dry taste of red chili peppers. Sichuan dishes are the least spicy compared to the other two provinces because of its complementary flavor of numbness which tames the spice flavor quite a bit. However, because of the complex mix of ingredients in Sichuan cuisine, it is also the most flavorful in the wide array of ingredients used. A popular saying goes, "Eating in China, flavor in Sichuan." (吃在中国味在四川 )

Sichuan hot pot: many small numbing peppers

Why do Southerners from Sichuan, Hunan, and Jiangxi love spicy food so much? Many say it is factor of the regions' climate, as the Southern provinces tend to be more humid than Northern provinces. Therefore, eating spicy food is actually good for the body as the heat from the spices can help fight the humidity, or ameliorate the effects of dampness on the human body, from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine. There could also be another reason. I was doing a bit of research on Sichuan's history and the story of Chinese pepper. As it turns out, chili peppers were introduced to China toward the late Ming dynasty (late 16th century) after Columbus brought back the chili peppers from America to Europe. During the Ming-Qing dynastic times Sichuan's population was largely decimated due to widespread warfare and internal battles that wiped out entire cities in the region. However, population in the Jiangxi region was booming. The late-Qing government therefore issued continuous decrees to institute one of the largest government-backed migrations in Chinese history. As a result, the spice-loving Jiangxi people began their new lives in Sichuan and Hunan and brought their eating habits to region as well.

Wow, I really wrote quite a bit about food.