Szechuan cuisine in the heart of China - Szechuan dishes have a sophisticated array of aromas: combine ingredients pickled, smoked and dry, with fresh ones, while balancing wisely spicy chili with sour, sweet and salty.
Their hot and sour soup has won the international favor, as spicy meat dishes and noodles. Szechuan or Sichuan, is situated practically in the geographical center of China. Isolated from the other provinces by mountain ranges, although its population reaches 100 million people, approximately. This area is quite cold in winter, but for many months, Szechuan is hot and humid, which allows many crops. The area enjoyed its peak at the end of the Han Dynasty, about two centuries after the birth of Christ.
It is logical that with such a long historical background, with such a large area and such a large number of people had to develop its own kitchen. A local plant that contributes to give character to Szechuan cuisine, is the small red chilli is used fresh and dry. The chili has delayed effect on the palate: at first, seems to have little taste, but suddenly the whole mouth burns with incredible ferocity, so you should use it with respect. It says that instead of burning the taste buds, making the chili is actually more responsive to other flavors. People have a preference for Szechuan dishes of various flavors tastes like sour, salty, spicy and sweet at the same time.
The hot and sour soup, very popular outside of this area owes its character to the use of vinegar, salt, soy sauce and pepper. The "fish in spicy vinegar sauce" is a way better than any other, to enhance the cool 'sweetness' of fish. The most frequently used in Szechuan sauce, and immediately indicating that the kitchen is in this region, is the "bread tou jian", but is rather a paste that is sold in cans, not bottles. Soybean meal is essentially mixed with ginger, garlic, onion and chilli, finely chopped, but less spicy than chilli alone. Mainly used in sautéed.
Mustard and sesame are widely used in sauces that accompany simple casserole dishes: spicy sesame sauce with boiled chicken and cut into strips, which is a well known side dish called Chicken bang-bang. Spicy mustard sauce served with roast duck trinchadito. They miss a lot of dishes called "fish flavored" and do not contain a single trace of fish. This aroma is due to a very popular sauce made from a blend of ginger, onion, garlic and black beans. It is used in cooked meat or cooked fish.
The preservation of food in this region so isolated is very important. The vinegar and salt (from the extensive salt mines in the region) are used to make a wide range of pickled foods, which are used in cooking or alone. One of the most popular pickled vegetables is a plant of mustard, salt and chilli, which is called "ja ts'ai", chop or carve meat is cooked cortadita. It's an easy way to give the typical dishes of Szechuan air. This pickle is used in other parts of China in the sautéed.
Two other methods used in food preservation are smoking and salting. The flavor of smoked and salted fish are evident in Szechuan dishes. Can be combined with fresh food. The different grades of salt, spicy or sour lead to endless variations.
Also, in many dishes of the region there is a tendency to cook fresh food so that they retain their natural flavor. The freshwater fish and shrimps and prawns of the many rivers, lakes and ponds in the province are steamed or boiled with no seasoning, but are accompanied by spicy sauces.
Country cooking has a long tradition in Szechuan. As the farmers were relatively wealthy, developed a broader repertoire of dishes that the rest of the provinces. Typical of the region are a number of tasty meat, called "three steamed puddings and nine dumps" (eg, pudding, pork, steamed long).
These dishes are usually prepared, usually by putting several layers of ingredients such as meat, fresh or dried vegetables, pickles, potatoes and sauce, in a closed steam and boiling them for several hours, as shown is similar to a Curanto. Over time, the ingredients became more sophisticated and "pudding" became part of China cuisine of this area.
The Szechuan noodle dishes are varied. One of the best known is the noodle "dan dan", which once consisted of cooked noodles tossed with spicy meat sauce and flavored with hot pepper and pickles. Then were added prawns, ground, and chopped dried mushrooms to make a dish known throughout China.
