People immediately think of
Sichuan food as being hot,
sour, sweet, and salty;
using fish sauce; or having
a strange taste.Actually,
these flavors were
introduced only in the last
100 years, and initially
were popular only in the
lower strata
of society. Hot
pepper, an important
flavoring in Sichuan
cuisine, was introduced into
China only 200 to 300 years
ago.
During the
period of the
Three Kingdoms,
the kingdom of
Shu was located
in Sichuan.
According to
historical
research, the
people in Shu
liked sweet
food. During the
Jin Dynasty,
they preferred
to eat pungent
food; however,
pungent food at
that time
referred to food
made with
ginger, mustard,
chives, or
onions. As
recently as 200
years ago, there
were no hot
dishes in
Sichuan cuisine,
and few were
cooked with
pungent and hot
flavorings.
Originally, its
flavorings were
very mild,
unlike the
popular dishes
of today, such
as pockmarked
lady’s bean curd
and other hot
dishes, Even
today, some
Sichuan dishes,
like velvet
shark’s fin,
braised bear’s
paw, crisp duck
roasted with
camphor and tea,
sea cucumber
with pungent
flavor, minced
chicken with
hollyhock,
boiled pork with
mashed garlic,
dry – fried
carp, and boiled
Chinese cabbage
have kept their
traditional
flavors.
Sichuan has been
known as the
land of plenty
since ancient
times. While it
does not have
seafood, it
produces
abundant
domestic
animals,
poultry, and
freshwater fish
and crayfish.
Sichuan cuisine
is well known
for cooking
fish. As a
unique style of
food, Sichuan
cuisine was
already famous
more than 800
years ago during
the Southern
Song Dynasty
when Sichuan
restaurants were
opened in
Lin’an, now
called Hangzhou,
its capital
city.
The prevailing
Sichuan food
consists of
popular dishes
eaten by common
people and
characterized by
pungent, hot,
strange, and
salty flavors.
Although Sichuan
cuisine has only
a short history,
it has affected
and even
replaced more
sumptuous
dishes.
The hot pepper
was introduced
into China from
South America
around the end
of the 17th
century. Once it
came to Sichuan,
it became a
favored food
flavoring.
Sichuan has high
humidity and
many rainy or
overcast days.
Hot pepper helps
reduce internal
dampness, so hot
pepper was used
frequently in
dishes, and hot
dishes became
the norm in
Sichuan cuisine.
Sichuan food has
become the
common food for
most people in
the area,
especially since
the dishes go
well with rice.
In this respect,
Sichuan cuisine
differs from
Beijing cuisine,
which was mainly
for officials
and nobility;
Huai – Yang
cuisine, which
was mainly for
rich, important
traders; and
Jiangsu –
Zhejiang
cuisine, which
was mainly for
literati.
Typical, modern
Sichuan dishes
like twice –
cooked pork with
chili sauce,
shredded pork
with chili sauce
and fish flavor,
Crucian carp
with thick broad
– bean sauce,
and boiled mat
slices are
common dishes
eaten by every
family.
Sichuan food is
famous for its
many flavors,
and almost every
dish has its own
unique taste.
This is because
many flavorings
and seasonings
are produced in
Sichuan
Province. These
include soy
sauce from
Zhongba, cooking
vinegar from
baoning, special
vinegar from
Sanhui,
fermented soy
beans from
Tongchuan, hot
pickled mustard
tubers from
Fuling, chili
sauce from
Chongqing,
thick, broad –
bean sauce from
Pixian, and well
salt from
Zigong.
Sichuan pickles
have an
appealing smell,
and are crisp,
tender, salty,
sour, hot, and
sweet. If
pickled
elsewhere, even
if made the same
way using the
same raw
materials, they
still would
taste different.
This is because
the salt, which
comes from wells
in Zigong, has a
unique flavor.
In other places,
sea salt is
often used,
which tastes
slightly bitter.
This example
demonstrates
that the
flavoring
materials are
very important,
apart from the
skill of the
cooks. In
Sichuan food, a
single flavor is
rarely used,
compound flavors
are most common.
By blending
different
seasonings,
skilled cooks
can make dozens
of different
sauces each with
its own flavor,
including
creamy, salty,
sweet and sour,
litchi, sour
with chili, hot
with chili,
spicy and hot,
mashed garlic,
distiller’s
grain, fish
sauce with
chili, ginger
juice, and soy
sauce. The same
sauce may be
used differently
in different
dishes. For
example, the
flavor of the
hot with chile
sauce for boiled
sliced pork is
different from
the flavor of
the hot with
chile sauce for
pockmarked
lady’s bean
curd.
When flavoring
foods, sometimes
two or more
flavorings are
combined, and
sometimes a hot
fire is used to
concentrate the
extract from the
dish to increase
the intensity of
the flavor,
preserve the
primary taste of
the dish, remove
unpleasant
flavors, and
increase
pleasant
flavors. Sichuan
cuisine tends to
use quick –
frying, quick
stir – frying,
dry – braising,
and dry –
stewing. In
quick – frying
and quick stir –
frying, the food
is fried over a
hot fire and
stirred quickly
without using
another pan. For
example, it
takes about one
minute to stir –
fry liver and
kidney to keep
it tender, soft,
delicious, and
fresh.
The raw
materials for
dry – braising
are mostly
fibrous foods
like beef,
radish, balsam,
and kidney
beans. These
foods are cut
into slivers,
heated in an
iron pot and
stirred
continuously.
Flavorings are
added when there
is only oil left
and the water
has disappeared.
When the dish is
ready, it is
dry, fragrant,
crisp, and soft.
Dry – stewing is
similar to
stewing in the
Beijing cuisine,
but the primary
soup or extract
in the dish must
be condensed
over a low fire
before the thick
broad – bean
sauce or hot red
pepper is added.
No starch is
used. When the
dish is ready,
it looks
faddish, oily,
and shiny and
tastes
delicious, crisp
and soft.
Typical dishes
are dry – stewed
fish and dry –
stewed bamboo
shoots.
Sichuan cuisine
also has many
delicious snacks
and desserts,
such as Bangbang
chicken, chicken
with sesame
paste, lantern
shadow beef,
husband and
wife’s pork lung
slices, steamed
beef, noodles
with chili
sauce, and rice
dumplings
stuffed with
sesame paste.
