What is Szechuan Style? Szechuan Style cuisines always appear in Chinese restaurants and takeout menus which is usually sweet and spicy, bold, garlicky, pungent flavour. The subtle taste of Sichuan peppercorns and chillies makes the Szechuan dishes unique.
“Sichuan cuisine allows your taste buds and the tip of your tongue to feel a 'dancing sensation'. But not all Sichuan food is spicy – it can have surprisingly different kinds of spice, some that are mild, some that are extra hot, and their aroma can change depending on if they are cooked with meat or seafood.
or Szechwan. ˈsech-ˌwän. ˈsesh- : of, relating to, or being a style of Chinese cooking that is spicy, oily, and especially peppery.
Szechuan cuisine is typically a very spicy type of Chinese food and is also known for being very flavorful. Many Szechuan dishes incorporate a lot of garlic and chilli peppers.
Szechuan Sauce is a hot and spicy sauce that originated in Sichuan province in southwest China. It has a complex and bold combination of flavors, with a nice balance of spiciness and savory flavor to it.
Sichuan cuisine is composed of seven basic flavours: sweet, sour, numbing-spicy (like in Sichuan pepper), spicy, bitter, fragrant/aromatic, and salty. Sichuan food is divided into five different types: sumptuous banquet, ordinary banquet, popularised food, household-style food and snacks.
Szechuan food is spicier, using an array of chiles — most famously tongue-numbing Szechuan peppers and spicy chile bean paste. Because the region is warm and humid, there's an emphasis on preservation techniques like tea-smoking, salting, and pickling.
Szechuan sauce is a very well balanced dipping sauce. It carries sweet and savory flavors with loads of heat there. Someone described it as having your sweet-and-sour chicken all mixed up with soy sauce and extra heat?.
“Szechuan cooking is more flavorful and more highly spiced than Mandarin-style foods. Szechuan peppercorns, dried and even pickled chili peppers, and garlic often are used to create intense flavors. As is seen in other hot, humid locations around the world, the style of eating has been flavored by the climate.
While exact Szechuan chicken recipes may vary depending on where it is served, Szechuan chicken at its core is a simple stir fry dish of chicken (traditionally chicken thigh), dried red chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and chili bean paste.
Not normally. Whole Sichuan peppercorns are used to add another layer of flavour to the main ingredients. People usually don't eat them as the numbing sensation they provide might be too strong hence they impair the overall taste of the dish.
Kung pao chicken is mildly spicy, sweet and nutty. Meanwhile, Szechuan chicken is spicier and is not sweet or nutty. These two dishes are pretty similar. Therefore, many people confuse between the two dishes.
What Does It Taste Like? The aroma of Sichuan peppercorn has been likened to lavender. On the tongue, the first taste is bitter, then numbing heat, followed by citrus. Its main claim to fame is the powerful numbing sensation it causes around the mouth.
Kung pao is typically the milder of the two, while szechuan is known for its spice. If you're looking for a dish with a little more kick, szechuan is the way to go. There are a variety of regional cuisines in China, and Szechuan is a popular and influential cuisine style.
The sauce typically features a combination of spicy chili peppers, mouth-numbing Szechuan peppercorns, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar. When made from scratch, each ingredient is perfectly balanced to create a deliciously addictive sauce that will leave your taste buds wanting more.
McDonald's is finally bringing the incredibly hyped Szechuan sauce to Australia and we couldn't be any more excited. Aussies have been hard done by in the sauce department, with the unicorn of all sauces having never been released in Australia.
While the full recipe is unknown, the classic Szechuan sauce is basically a teriyaki-based condiment and does not include the Szechuan pepper (it was banned from imports until 2005).
Hoisin Sauce
This is a molasses-thick, unique sauce which is spicy and sweet at once. Particularly popular in southern Chinese cuisine, hoisin sauce.
When you eat chillies, capsaicin induces a burning sensation known in Chinese as là. Sichuan peppercorns produce a phenomenon called paraesthesia, in which the lips and tongue feel as though they are vibrating and go vaguely numb – known as má.
Sichuan chile peppers are spicy peppers, averaging 50,000-75,000 SHU on the Scoville scale, and can sometimes feel hotter if they are used whole in culinary dishes with their seeds and membranes intact.
McDonald's iconic Szechuan Sauce has a savory and slightly sweet taste profile with hints of soy, garlic, ginger and mild vinegar notes to round out your dipping sauce experience.
Regarding the taste, McDonald's describes the flavor as savory and soy-forward, probably akin to your favorite wonton dipping sauce.
If, in the midst of a Szechuan pepper-heavy meal, you have the presence of mind to ignore the searing hot pain that fills your mouth, you might notice a more subtle effect of eating the hot peppers: a tingling, numbing sensation that envelops your lips and tongue.