Chile (Capsicum frutescens L. and others)

In Central China (Sichuan [四川] and the more Eastern Hunan province [湖南]), however, chiles and garlic are very popular and used in astonishing amounts. Dried red chiles are often fried in hot oil until dark brown, the oil (usually after removal of the chiles) then being used to prepare stir-fries. A very typical example of such food is la zi ji ding [辣子鸡丁], chopped marinated chicken which is stir-fried in chile-flavoured oil. The recipe uses about 20 g of dried red chiles per 100 g of chicken meat; moreover, the browned chiles are not removed but left to serve, although not eaten. Sprinkling toasted ground Sichuan pepper over the finished stir-fry adds a different flavour to the already very spicy dish (ma la zi ji ding [麻辣子鸡丁]). See also ginger for another example of a chile-laden Chinese recipe.

The most common grade of Chinese chiles, also used in Sichuan, is mostly known as la jiao [辣椒] hot pepper in China, but in the USA often termed tien tsin. That name appears to relate to the North Eastern Chinese province Tianjin [天津] where chiles are both grown and shipped to Transpacific destinations. A related variety is the Yidu chile (yidu lajiao [益都辣椒]). Native Western Chinese chile cultivars are the facing heaven chile chao tian jiao [朝天椒], a short, slim and pretty hot chile, and seven star chile qi xing jiao [七星椒], a milder, very flavourful chile that grows in clusters of typically seven pods. Chiles from Yunnan province [云南, 雲南] have a hotter reputation than the Sichuan varieties.

All these Chinese chiles, even the cheap la jiao grade, are well suited for the dark frying described in the above; good quality chiles have an intensive colour and can be used to prepare a chile oil of deep red hue, either based on bland vegetable oil or on dark Chinese sesame oil. In either case, the crushed chile is mixed with warm, not hot, oil and macerated for a few weeks. This chile oil (hong you [红油] red oil) is a perfect last-minute condiment; it is applied dropwise before serving or individually at the table; an example is the popular appetizer hongyou chaoshou [红油抄手], which contains of steamed dumplings (Cantonese wonton [雲吞], Mandarin hundun [餛飩]) served with a tasty liquid made of soy sauce, stock, sugar and star anise and a thick layer of red chile oil.

Another method of applying chiles is the usage of hot bean paste known as doubanjiang [豆瓣酱], a fiery paste prepared from chiles, garlic, fava beans (broad beans) and soy beans by fermentation; it is most typical for Sichuan cookery. When fried in hot oil, it releases both a full-bodied, pungent flavour and an intense red–orange colour (see Sichuan pepper on that technique). Doubanjiang is a cooking ingredient and not suited for being eaten raw; thus, it must not be confused chile-based table condiments in the manner of Indonesian sambal ulek or Chinese la jiao jiang [辣椒酱].

A well-known example of Sichuan cookery is mapo doufu [麻婆豆腐], spicy minced pork with bean cheese. For this dish, the pork is stir-fried together with doubanjiang and garlic and then combined with mild, soft bean cheese. Fermented black beans (dou chi [豆豉]), toasted Sichuan pepper pods, and a hint of sesame oil provide additional flavour. Another type of Sichuan foods are yuxiang dishes. The term yu-xiang [鱼香] literally means fish spice or fish flavour (also rendered as fish-fragrant); it denotes a dark and pleasantly spicy sauce made from fried dried chiles or chile soybean paste (doubanjiang), soy sauce, garlic, ginger and other spices which acquires a distinctly sweet–sour taste by some sugar and rice vinegar added. See also ginger and orange for other Sichuan foods.

Chinese hotpot (huo guo [火锅] fire-pot, referred to as steamboat in Singapore and sometimes called Chinese fondue in the West) is a delicious way of enjoying Chinese food and is often suspected to have originated from Mongolian communal eating traditions. A large pot of boiling liquid is placed in the middle of the table, and each diner cooks selected morsels (vegetables, dumplings, sliced meats or seafood) in the broth according to personal taste. The cooking medium is usually just a mild stock prepared from meat, but the Sichuan version (si chuan huo guo [四川火锅]) alters the design by providing two different broths with complimentary flavouring: A mild one (bai tang lu [白汤鹵] white stock) made from various meats and flavoured with ginger, scallions and sometimes dries seagrass, and a beef-based hot broth (hong tang lu [红汤鹵] red stock) that has a pungent hot–and–numbing (ma la [麻辣]) flavouring due to fermented soy beans, dried chiles, doubanjiang and Sichuan pepper. This double-flavoured version of hotpot is particularly common around Chongqing [重庆] in Eastern Sichuan.

In Hunan, the food is no less spicy than in Sichuan, although the cooking style is markedly distinct. Chile is mostly used dried, also coarsely ground, or even in fresh state. Chile oil and doubanjiang are not so common, although the cuisine uses a large variety of other fermented soy products. Foods are often heavily spices with chiles and garlic; fresh herbs (coriander, perilla) are another characteristic trait. There is a marked preference for acidic flavours, but less so for sweet or sweet–sour. Smoked meats are a signature flavour of Hunan cuisine.

Although Vietnamese food is only moderately spiced, chiles are always available as optional additives at the table, either fresh or in fish sauce (nuoc mam [nước mắm]), similar to Thai custom. See, for example, lemon grass for the Vietnamese hotpot, which is eaten with spicy dips and the ubiquitous fresh herbs. This applies mostly to the South; in North Vietnam, garlic replaces chiles as condiment.

In Japan, chile (tōgarashi [唐辛子, とうがらし]) plays only a minor rôle; it is less used than in probably any other Asian country. It is almost never employed for cooking, but table condiments containing chiles are served to specific kinds of food. For example, dried chiles, either alone or in mixture with other spices (shichimi togarashi, see Sichuan pepper), are popular for spicing up soups. Another table condiment is momiji-oroshi [紅葉 下ろし, もみじ おろし], a mixture of radish (daikon [大根, だいこん]) and small amounts of red chiles, which are grated together to a fine paste. This preparation is canonical for a few dishes, for example sashimi made from the infamous fugu puffer fish [河豚, ふぐ], which contains a dangerous neurotoxin named tetrodotoxin (see wasabi for other, less exotic, types of sashimi), and for certain soups and hot-pots. On the bottom of the line, it appears that chile hotness is more or less incompatible with the subtle flavours on which Japanese cuisine in general depends (see also perilla).