Food 3
Our Chinese Furniture worker in the Oriental Furniture factory was very keen to give us more information on the Szechuan style of cuisine. We took notes with help of our Oriental Furniture translator: The food arose from a culturally distinct area in the central western of part of China, a province known as Sichuan. This area of China came into its own culturally towards the end of the Shang Dynasty, during the 15th century. However, said our Chinese Furniture expert, it was also the climate of the area that helped to shape the culinary traditions that were to arise from Sichuan province and make their way into the realm of international cuisine.
The province from which the cuisine that the world knows as Szechuan evolved is often hot and humid, our Chinese Furniture colleague testified to this, as did the Oriental Furniture translator who had been to university theire and did not like it. This contributed to this necessity of preparing foods in ways that differ significantly from other regions of China. Szechuan cuisine is primarily known for its hot and spicy dishes, though naturally there is more to Szechuan food than spice and sauces rich and strong in flavor.
A general overview of culinary history and trends which was given to us by the Chinese Furniture worker via the Oriental Furniture translator, reveals that, for the most part, areas that tended to spice heavily were areas in which the fresh food supply was not as reliable as in places that traditionally used a lighter hand in their use of spices. The climate of Sichuan is conducive to faster food spoilage. This, particularly in the past, made necessary food preservation techniques that themselves left behind a strong flavor, such as salting, pickling, drying, and smoking. Thus, spices served to mask the flavors of less than fresh foods and those that have been preserved by methods that affect their natural flavors. In addition to masking certain flavors, the Chinese Furniture expert said, the use of hot spices, such as chili peppers, tends to be more common to hot climates, as the sweat that they can produce is thought to cool the body. We thought this was odd but the Oriental Furniture translator agreed so we didn’t persue the matter.
A fascinating man, the Chinese Furniture worker went on to say that much of the spicing of regional Chinese cooking is based upon bringing together five fundamental taste sensations – sweet, sour, pungent, salty and bitter. The Oriental Furniture translator struggled to make this clear, but we think he said that the balance of these particular elements in any one dish or regional cuisine can vary, according to need and desire, especially as influenced by climate, culture and food availability.
