Sichuan Cooking Class in Singapore
What is Sichuan cuisine?
Sichuan or Szechuan cuisine is associated with the food culture of Sichuan Province of Western China.
A hill-locked place with the abundance of monsoon and humid climate, the province is famous for its myriad seasonings and flavours ranging from sweet, spicy, sour, salty, bitter, pungent, hot, fragrant and aromatic.
Contrary to the popular belief that Sichuan cuisine is typically a fiery and spicy food item, not many people know that it is just a recent development in its rich culinary history.
Then why do I keep on hearing about Sichuan cuisine as ‘mouth-burning’?
Chillies and hot pepper were not introduced in Sichuan up until the 17th century and before that Sichuan dishes were mildly flavoured, with a few hot flavoured exceptions.
Instead of the chillies and hot peppers, cooks used Sichuan pepper which is in truth a fruit/berry of the reddish-brown colour of the prickly ash tree.
However, people of Sichuan readily adopted the addition of chilli and hot pepper, as it was believed that consuming hot pepper in a highly humid place like Sichuan with its numerous overcast and rainy days, reduced the ‘internal dampness‘ of the human body.
Sichuan pepper is still an essential ingredient in the traditional Sichuan cooking and one of the five basic spices, others being star anise, cloves, cinnamon and fennel seeds.
What are the popular Sichuan recipes?
The list given below is not exhaustive, but it covers almost all the popular Sichuan dishes according to people’s preferences:
Kung Pao Chicken
Description: Fiery and deep-fried diced chicken with peanuts, chilli and pepper.
It derives its name from ”Kung Pao” which means ”a court official” in Chinese.
Ingredients: Boneless chicken breasts, peanuts, red chillies, light and dark soy sauce, rice wine, red wine vinegar, cornstarch, sesame oil, chicken broth or water and sugar.
Ants Climbing a Tree
Description: A tasty dish of bean-thread noodle with pork and mushrooms
Ingredients: Bean-thread noodles, marinated pork, mushrooms, cornstarch, light soy sauce, chilli sauce, sugar, sesame oil, ginger, onions
Ma Po Dofu / Tofu
Description: Named from a ”pock-marked grandmother” who invented the dish, it a pork and tofu dish with black beans
Ingredients: Pork, tofu, black beans, cornstarch, soy sauce, green onions, leek, chilli paste, chicken broth, salt, Sichuan pepper, oil
Tea Smoked Duck
Description: Marinated duck is smoked over the leaves of black – tea and camphor – twigs and deep-fried in vegetable oil after steaming
Ingredients: Marinated duck, black-tea leaves, camphor leaves and twigs, Sichuan pepper, black pepper, distilled or fermented Chinese wine, vegetable oil, garlic, ginger
Bang Bang/Bon Bon Chicken
Name derives from hammering the chicken into tender pieces. Can be eaten with salad or with red sauce
Description: Name derives from hammering the chicken into tender pieces. Can be eaten with salad or with red sauce.
Ingredients: Chicken-breast, rice vinegar, Sichuan pepper, sesame seed, hot chili oil, sauce, cucumber, granulated sugar
Twice Cooked Pork
Description: Boiled and stir-fried pork
Ingredients: Boiled pork, dark soy sauce, bell pepper, oil, leek, ginger, Chinese rice wine, sweet bean paste
Chengdu Chicken
Description: Chicken made in hot fermented soybeans and chillies paste. Named after the city of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province.
Ingredients: Boneless chicken, rice wine, cornstarch, black pepper, hot bean paste, sesame oil, ginger, spinach, onion, soy sauce, Sichuan pepper, sugar, clove, rice wine vinegar
Spicy Sichuan Eggplant
Description: Spicy eggplant with pork in chicken broth. For vegetarian style, vegetable-stock with more eggplants can be used.
Ingredients: Pork, black pepper, cornstarch, hot bean sauce, chilli garlic paste, light and dark soy sauce, red rice vinegar, sugar, chicken broth, sesame oil
Sichuan Hot Dry-fried Beef
Description: Beef is dry-fried to make it crispy and chewy with dollops of chilli paste or sauce
Ingredients: Beef, chillies, ginger, onion, Sichuan pepper, sugar, Chinese rice wine, sweet bean sauce
Sichuan Hot Green Beans
Description: Hot and spicy green beans served with red chillies
Ingredients: Green beans, dark soy sauce, Chinese rice wine, ginger, garlic, chilli paste, sugar, bean sauce, vegetable oil
Where do I find Sichuan Cooking Class?
It is important that the consistency of the ingredients is right. Learn to cook Chinese and Sichuan cuisines at the cooking classes.
Just enrol yourself and prepare your own tongue-teasing cuisines.