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September 26, 2013

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Home » City specials » Hangzhou

Spicy eateries gain fans in land of mild cuisine

By Wu Huixin | September 26, 2013, Thursday | Print Edition

Very spicy food is popular in some parts of China such as Sichuan and Anhui provinces. Chilies are ubiquitous, including some so strong they numb the mouth, and peppers even end up in usually bland porridge.  

Most people in southeast China prefer mild cuisine, and Hangzhou natives are no exception. Usually they skip the pepper, chili and other strong seasonings while cooking. Soup often is mild and white, with tofu, vegetables and other bland ingredients.

Still, eating the same thing all the time can lead to boredom, and Hangzhou locals sometimes have an appetite for the occasional spicy dish. Restaurants serving spicy food have opened in Hangzhou one after the other, satisfying foodies’ desires to spice things up.

Shanghai Daily picks a couple of classic spicy dishes that are renowned across China. You can sample them in Hangzhou restaurants.

Bullfrog stewed with chilies

Bullfrog meat tastes smooth and tender and is believed to stimulate the appetite and detoxify.

The authentic version of this dish is made with more than 20 ingredients, including green peppers, dried peppers, pickled chilies, ginger and mushrooms.

The pungent flavor of various peppers and chilies seeps into the meat of the bullfrog, covering up its fishy smell, while the bullfrog stays soft and delicate while being stewed. This should come with a warning: With one bite, the fiery spice quickly spreads around the mouth to the throat.

The dish originated in Chongqing in southwest China. During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), a rich man surnamed Liu was a generous and well-regarded person keen on collecting folk recipes. One day in the winter, it is said a beggar was dying in front of his house. The kind-hearted Liu came to his rescue.

When the beggar heard of Liu’s passion for collecting recipes, he told Liu that he always caught bullfrogs in the fields and stewed them with chilies picked along the roadside for sustenance if had nothing to eat.

Liu tried the beggar’s recipe, which turned out to be delicious and consistent with Chongqing tastes. The recipe for bullfrog stewed with chilies then spread around China.

Where to eat:

• Chuan Wei Guan

Address: 80 Fengqi Rd

Tel: (0571) 8519-1962

• Tangchao Town

Address: 98 Yan’an Rd

Tel: (0571) 8700-2607

Chinese perch stewed with chilies

Chinese perch is rich in protein, vitamins and other nutritional elements.

The key step in making this Anhui dish is to preserve the fish for five to six days — clean it and salt down the fish to preserve it.

Braise the pickled fish with ham, bamboo shoots, ginger, soy sauce, rice wine, lard, chilies and peppers. It is less spicy than the bullfrog recipe.

The dish is said to have started with a group of smart Anhui natives. Some 200 years ago, a Huangshan official who had a taste for Chinese perch ordered natives to catch fish from the Yangtze River and transport them to Huangshan, a city located in the south of Anhui Province and where the famous Yellow Mountain is.

The distance between Huangshan and the Yangtze River was so great that the fish died halfway there. The natives had no choice but to preserve the fish on the way to keep them from smelling.

Arriving in Huangshan, they didn’t take the dead fish to the official immediately but asked chefs to cook them with condiments. In a happy surprise, the flavor turned out great.

The official was content with the new dish, and the natives escaped punishment. Today, people can relish this traditional cuisine in most Anhui-style restaurants.

Where to eat:

• Hui Lou Shi Fu

Address: 497 Wensan Rd

Tel: (0571) 8898-5757

• Lin Ji Lao Chu

Address: 517 Qingtai St

Tel: (0571) 8781-3880

Duck blood in chili sauce

If you ask Sichuan people to pick a signature dish from their provincial cuisine, many would choose duck blood in chili sauce without hesitation. The dish has become popular around China by virtue of its peppery and savory flavor.

The main ingredient of the dish is duck blood curd (sometimes replaced by pig blood curd). The blood quickly clots by adding salt and water. Chefs dice the solid blood, and then braise it with bean sprouts, beef, ham, organ meats, vegetables, lettuce and seasonings, including chilies and peppers.

The dish is always served in a big bowl covered with a layer of capsicol, or hot pepper oil. The hearty ingredients feature a piquant taste and strong aroma.

The dish was derived from hotpot. Decades ago, people in Sichuan Province boiled beef organ meat, chilies and ginger together in a hotpot soup. Later, they found that putting pig blood curd into soup made the meat tastier and tender. The new ingredient then became the basis for a new dish.

Where to eat:

• Ba Guo Bu Yi

Address: 32 Jiefang Rd

Tel: (0571) 8704-8888

• Fei Teng Yu Xiang

Address: 18 Yan’an Rd. S.

Tel: (0571) 8791-8777

 

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