The cuisine of the Western region of China is well-known for its
spiciness, but many Western palates overlook the complex interplay of
savory, sour, hot and sweet flavors that underlie the fiery spice of
the Szechwan pepper and other spices that give the Szechwan cuisine its
characteristic burn.
For decades, most of the world was familiar mainly with Cantonese
cuisine, and thought of it as ‘Chinese cuisine’. In reality, though,
China is an enormous country that encompasses nearly every kind of
climate imaginable. The amazing variety of foods, spices and climates
have led to many distinct styles of Chinese cuisine. Szechwan cuisine,
originating in a steamy, sub-tropical climate, includes smoked, pickled
and spiced foods, as well as foods spiced with a heavy hand for both
preservation and flavor.
While the Szechwan pepper, a fruit that grows in the Chongging
province, has always been used in Szechwan cooking, most agree that it
wasn’t until Christopher Columbus brought the chili back from his
travels. Besides the flavors that sear the mouth, Szechwan cooking uses
an interplay of flavors to create the full impact of a dish. Hot and
Sour Soup, for instance, when prepared properly is neither exclusively
hot, nor ultimately sour. Prepared with sorrel, lemongrass, tofu and
other spices, its first impression is the heady, rich scent of roast
meat and sour lemon. That aroma is belied at the first touch on the
tongue – the soup is salty first, though not intensely so. The subtle
blending of flavors melds, changing in the mouth to mildly sour – the
sorrel and lemongrass making themselves known. It is not until the
mouthful of soup has been swallowed that the fire sets in as the chili
oil finally seeps into the taste buds.
This is not unusual for Szechwan cooking. The first mouthful of Kung
Pao chicken seldom 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 Cooked Spicy Pork seems almost bland at
first, with the flavors blending subtly in the background until the
intense fire of the chili oil in which the pork is fried suddenly
flames in your mouth.
There’s more than fire to Szechwan cuisine though. Smoked meats are
common, and the smoking often makes use of unusual materials and
flavors. Szechwan Tea-Smoked Duck is a delicacy that combines the
flavors of citrus and ginger and garlic, juxtaposing them with a long,
slow cooking over a fire laced with oolong 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 Szechwan cuisine that is becoming more common in the
Western world is the Szechwan Hot Pot. Similar to a ‘fondue’, a Hot Pot
is more an event than a meal. Chunks and slices of raw meat, seafood
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 will also
offer a pot of simple broth for those guests who prefer a more bland
meal, or can’t tolerate the spiciness of food fried in chili oil.
Savory, rich and spicy, Szechwan cuisine is cuisine based on intensity – intensely hot, intensely sour, and intensely delicious.
