The Amazing Spice: Sichuan Pepper

This book gives an account of the provenance of Sichuan pepper (Zanthoxylum)， explores the history of Sichuan pepper， brings us to recognize the aroma of Sichuan pepper， gives a comprehensive introduction of Sichuan pepper， its production area’s distribution， and characteristics of different varieties， and deeply explores the mystery of its peppery aroma properties. If the chili impresses us with strength， Sichuan pepper shows its charm. Everything charming in the world will make people fascinated.

Cai Mingxiong

Cai Mingxiong specializes in Sichuan food culture and Sichuan cuisine. He is a publisher， professional food photographer， cultural consultant for Sichuan Hot Pot Association， and food consultant for Legendary Taste of Sichuan， a food documentary TV show.

The Amazing Spice: Sichuan Pepper

Cai Mingxiong

China Textile amp; Apparel Press Co.， Ltd.

January 2022

128.00 (CNY)

Bashu comes first in savoring Sichuan pepper

Today， when speaking of Sichuan cuisine， maybe everyone knows its spicy flavor. Still， most people only know that there are chilis in spicy dishes， but do not know that the most attractive and fascinating aspect of spicy dishes is the mouth-numbing sensation. Sichuan peppercorns are not eye-catching but may be the most addictive ingredient in Sichuan cuisine. Among the eight Chinese cuisines， mouth-watering Sichuan cuisine is the only one that uses Sichuan pepper comprehensively. Sichuan pepper used in other cuisines is for removing gaminess and peculiar smells， failing to fully use the aroma of the tongue-numbing properties of Sichuan peppercorns to add flavor and taste to the dishes.

A distinctive social environment where people pursue pleasure is formed in the Sichuan Basin， with its natural barrier， favorable climate， and geographical environment. However， in the midst of turmoil， such favorable conditions rendered Bashu of vital importance to military strategists. Therefore， in its history of more than two thousand years， Sichuan has experienced seven great migrations of population， each of which have had a huge impact on the food， life， and culture of the Sichuan region. Among these， in the early Qing Dynasty， the migration (which was induced and regulated by authoritative policy) from Huguang (which covers contemporary southern Hubei， Hunan， northeastern Guangxi， northern Guangdong， and western Chongqing) was miserable， but it held the key to developing the features of today’s Sichuan cuisine. The size and scope of the migration was unprecedented， and officials and business people from various provinces went to Sichuan together along with their chefs. These several factors combined injected vigor and vitality into Sichuan cuisine in eating habits， culinary arts， and diversified applications of food materials， thus forming the basis of today’s Sichuan cuisine. After more than 300 years of integration， the striking features of diversified flavors of Sichuan cuisine have been formed.

Against such a historical background， the cooking of Sichuan cuisine was relatively open. Then the spicy flavor and red color of hot peppers introduced into China only four or five hundred years prior were included in Sichuan cuisine. Additionally， the spicy flavor of hot peppers and the tingly numbness and aroma of Sichuan pepper was found to be a perfect match， becoming the most iconic flavor in Sichuan cuisine ---" the deep red spicy and numbing flavor --- and forming the only cuisine with spicy and numbing flavors combined in China and the world at large.

Despite the wide use of Sichuan pepper， the east， south， west， and north regions in Sichuan have significantly different preferences. The two major cities in Sichuan cuisine are Chengdu， located in the west Sichuan plain area， and the mountain city of Chongqing， bordering Sichuan on the east. Chengdu people enjoy a medium-numbing sensation and spicy flavor but highlight the aroma， so for people not indigenous to Sichuan， Chengdu’s Sichuan cuisine is relatively easier to accept and adapt to. People of the mountain city， Chongqing， are distinctive and generous in personality， so in requirements of numbing and spicy flavors， they prefer extra spicy and numbing. They have a clear-cut stand on totally different flavors， and so do with people not indigenous to Chongqing. In terms of Chinese Sichuan hot pot， Chengdu hot pot is moderate， fragrant， medium numbing， and mildly spicy.

On the whole， it is refreshing but a little less fantastic. Chongqing hot pot has a different taste. It has a strong taste and amped up spicy and numbing flavors， which refreshes and satisfies many people. People sweat when eating， and after eating， most people feel fantastic!

Sichuan cuisine， a comprehensive expression of Chinese cuisines

Migrations are the key reason for the diversified taste of dishes in the Sichuan region and an inevitable result from the perspective of the operation of restaurants. On the one hand， restaurants in Sichuan， dominated by the majority of migrant populations， serve customers of a variety of taste preferences; on the other hand， the inland position of the Sichuan region makes the variability and particularity of available food ingredients worse than those in coastal areas， so much that the chefs choose to innovate the “taste”， and seek new changes in the flavour to satisfy all people. At the same time， there is a lot of communication between cooks. With time elapsing， the culinary arts and taste are gradually improved， forming the distinctive characteristics of Sichuan cuisine with a “diversified flavor” and today’s unique flavor system of Sichuan cuisine.

24 kinds of classic flavors are distributed amongst the eight Chinese cuisines， of which Sichuan cuisine flavors are the most balanced. Ranging from extra spicy and numbing flavors， thick sauce flavors， slightly spicy flavor， salty flavor， and umami flavor， refreshing and delicious to almost no oil and salt in food at different levels， Sichuan cuisine meets the demands of people with different flavor palates. Such diverse tastes boost the confidence of Sichuan banquets in dishes with various flavors. Therefore， no matter what taste you prefer， umami， fragrant， numbing， sweet， spicy， bitter， sour， or salty flavors， you can find enough dishes in Sichuan cuisine to satisfy your taste buds， which is also the main reason why “Sichuan cuisine is the most penetrating cuisine”.

In contrast， in addition to food ingredients from land and lakes， seafood and a large quantity of unexpected imported food ingredients are available， like the famous and precious abalone and swiftlets’ nests. With the social values and cognition ---" when a thing is rare， it becomes precious ---" rarity more easily gives people the impression of upscale food. The characteristic is the most obvious in Cantonese cuisine where abalone and swiftlet’s nest are almost equal to Cantonese cuisine. Since Guangdong was earlier than other places in developing international trade and being in line with international standards， the form of cuisine is more novel or like western cuisine， which deepens the impression of Cantonese cuisine ---" upscale.

Based on the above background factors， a tongue-in-cheek remark spreads in the catering industry: in all five-star high-end restaurants and hotels， Cantonese restaurants are a must， but where there are people， there are restaurants of Sichuan cuisine! Because in the general impression， only Cantonese cuisine can be worthy of “high-grade” quality， while where there are people， there are restaurants of Sichuan cuisine telling the true characteristics of popular and customer-friendly Sichuan cuisine and pointing out the image of Sichuan cuisine ---" affordable. During the past 30 years， with the efforts of the catering industry practitioners and chefs in Sichuan， the stereotype of Sichuan cuisine has changed， and many breakthroughs and improvements have also been made.

From the perspective of enjoying life and food， Sichuan is a province of great migrations in history or even just in the past few hundred years. Therefore， Sichuan cuisine is blessed with miraculous ability， namely culinary arts and seasoning skills of turning usual food materials into tempting delicacies. Accepting culinary arts and seasoning skills of many parts of the country， although the natural environment has kept unchanged ---" closed， humid， and cold， the preference for pungent and fragrant flavor in Bashu has not changed. However， it has changed many people who have come to Sichuan. More than two thousand years of traditionally eating Sichuan peppers exemplifies the above fact. And what maintains the traditional use of Sichuan pepper is the sheer quantity and good quality. Sichuan pepper not only appears in dishes， but it has curative effects of feeling the aroma and invigorating the stomach， warming the spleen and stomach for dispelling colds， and eliminating dampness and stopping pain， thus making every person migrating to Sichuan immune to a humid and sombre environment.

Where there are advantages there are also disadvantages. Sichuan cuisine amazes people because of its numerous cooking techniques， wonderful seasoning， strong innovation ability， and open-minded approach. All too often， it turns ordinary ingredients" into delicacies to the extent that a specific person with a magnifying glass inspects the food cooked by Sichuan chefs， to make sure whether the dishes have been changed or have added something unnecessary， which makes Sichuan cuisine difficult to be promoted to “high-grade” respectable cuisine.

How should we reverse the stereotype? The answer is very simple ---" to popularize delicious Sichuan cuisine knowledge and to uncover the mystery of the most unique and wonderful fragrance and numbness， even the mouth-numbing flavor which may frighten some people. In this way， people may understand the essence of Sichuan cuisine --- “fascination”. Its fascination is shown in comprehensive skills， ingredients， seasoning， and forming fascinating tastes. The most fascinating taste comes from the most wonderful spice ---" Sichuan pepper. I believe that as long as you master the knowledge of the use of Sichuan pepper， you can naturally understand the real essence of Sichuan cuisine: “delicacies are for enjoyment， and the spicy fragrance is for enjoyment at different levels.”