DISH NAME : SZECHWAN / SICHUAN PASTE OR RED CHILLI PASTE

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Description

Szechwan is a region in China. The cusine of this region has bold flavours, particularly the pungency and spiciness resulting from liberal use of garlic and chili and sichuan pepper .
Szechwan/ sichuan pepper is the outer pod of a tiny fruit. Even though the name has pepper in it, it is not related to the pepper family. This pepper creates a numbness in the mouth. The pods arelightly toasted and crushed before adding to recipes.Sichuan peppercorns are one of the traditional ingredients in the Chinese spice mixture five-spice powder . These peppers are alsofound in the Konkan region of India. These are available at speciality stores selling baking and cooking ingredients.

Note

1) Schewan paste should be sauteed well in oil to avoid abdominal dicomfort.
2) 50 gms. chillies =1.5 cup.
3) Sichuan pepper is optional.
4) I prefer using sesame oil. It has a distinctive flavor. If not comfortable use any other oil.
5)

Method

1) Wash red chillies and soak in 1 cup boiling hot water for about 1 hour. Grind chillies, ginger, garlic, sichuan peppercorns and celery by adding little soaked water & vinegar.
2) Add salt to taste.
3) Saute this in oil till nicely done.

Serving Suggestions

Use as stated in recipe.