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Cooking TipsSzechwan Cuisine
by:
Kirsten Hawkins
The cookery of the Western region of China is well-known for its spiciness, but many a Western palates overlook the complex interaction
of savory, sour, hot and sweet flavors that underlie the fiery spice of the Sichuan pepper and different spices that give the Sichuan cookery its characteristic burn.
For decades, most of the earth was familiar in the main with Cantonese cuisine, and thought of it as ‘Chinese cuisine’. In reality, though, China is an large
country that encompasses nearly every kind of climate imaginable. The amazing variety of foods, spices and climates have led to many a distinct styles of Chinese cuisine. Sichuan cuisine, originating in a steamy, sub-tropical climate, includes smoked, preserved
and spiced foods, as well as foods spiced with a heavy hand for some
preservation and flavor.
While the Sichuan pepper, a fruit that grows in the Chongging province, has always been used in Sichuan cooking, most agree that it wasn’t until Saint christopher Columbus brought the chili back from his travels. Besides the flavors that sear the mouth, Sichuan cook uses an interaction
of flavors to create the full impact of a dish. Hot and Sour Soup, for instance, once
prepared properly is neither alone hot, nor ultimately sour. Prepared with sorrel, lemongrass, curd
and different spices, its 1st impression is the heady, rich scent of roast meat and sour lemon. That aroma is belied at the 1st touch on the tongue – the soup is salty first, tho'
not intensely so. The subtle blending of flavors melds, dynamic in the mouth to gently
sour – the sorrel and lemongrass fashioning themselves known. It is not until the mouthful of soup has been enclosed that the fire sets in as the chili oil finally seeps into the taste buds.
This is not unusual for Sichuan cooking. The 1st mouthful of Kung Pao chicken rarely
brings tears to your eyes. It is only as you chew and swallow and take yet another bite that the true heat of the dish begins to assert itself. Double Baked Spicy Pork seems all but bland at first, with the flavors blending subtly in the background until the intense fire of the chili oil in which the pork is cooked
suddenly flames in your mouth.
There’s much than fire to Sichuan cookery though. Preserved meats are common, and the smoking often does use of unusual materials and flavors. Sichuan Tea-Smoked Duck is a delicacy that combines the flavors of citrus and ginger and garlic, juxtaposing them with a long, slow cook over a fire laced with tea leaf
and green tea leaves. The result is a succulent meat that melts in the mouth and leaves behind a hint of gingered orange.
One tradition of Sichuan cookery that is becoming much common in the Western earth is the Sichuan Hot Pot. Similar to a ‘fondue’, a Hot Pot is much an event than a meal. Chunks and slices of raw meat, food
and vegetables are offered to diners at a table that holds a ‘Hot Pot’ – a pot of chili oil over a flame. Each diner selects their food and dips it in the chili oil until it is cooked. Often, hosts wish as well offer a pot of simple broth for those guests who prefer a much bland meal, or can’t tolerate the spiciness of food cooked
in chili oil.
Savory, rich and spicy, Sichuan cookery is cookery based on intensity – intensely hot, intensely sour, and intensely delicious.
Just about the author:
Kirsten Hawkins is a food and nutrition expert specializing the Mexican, Chinese, and Italian food. Visit http://www.food-and-nutrition.com/for much information on cook delicious and healthy meals.
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