Regional Cuisine

[West] Characteristics

First, let's learn a Chinese word about a certain kind of flavour. "La" -- a Mandarin translation for spicy or spiciness-means the hotness of peppers. Doubtlessly, there is also a region in China that produces very "la" food. That region is western China. It is most well-known for its strong, spicy and highly aromatic food.

Why is the food so spicy?

Some people think that the flavour was mainly passed to Sichuan and Hunan from India, which is very near western China, but the food in there had already been hot and spicy before India was known to China. In fact, West China is a freezing region, and so the hotness of the food can keep the people warm.

However, West Asian cooking did have some influence over Sichuan cuisine when trading through the Silk Road started.

Staple food: maize products
They are very important to the poor and are often eaten with pickled vegetables and fiery sauces.

Regional Cuisine

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