Chinese recipes - Igniting the taste buds with chili!

Almost everyone must be familiar with the hottest thing, or more precisely, the hottest spice around - chili! These fiery fruits are also widely used in Chinese food, one of the most famous chili dishes being beef or chicken with chili sauce and vegetables. If you're not a fan of crying in front of your plate, you can still enjoy the kick chilies provide by using some of the less intense chili varieties to add a nice edge to your food.

Chili peppers are fruits of the plants from the genus Capsicum. The chemical capsaicin and several related chemicals, collectively known as capsaicinoids, which activate the pain sensors in the mouth and throat give chilies their tear-jerkingly hot quality. This is why your mouth feels like it is on fire when you eat food spiced with chili.

The intensity of chili peppers is measured in Scoville units (SHU). New Mexico green chilies, for example, measure at about 1,500 SHU. Peppers are commonly divided into three categories: bell peppers, sweet peppers, and hot peppers. Bell peppers and pimentos have a heat level of 0 SHU. The different varieties of hot peppers, such as Cherry, Jalapeno, Cayenne, Tabasco and Habanero peppers, have slightly different flavors and degrees of hotness ranging from 500 to 970,000 SHU. On the heat scale, Jalapenos, for example, are rated as medium, and Naga and Habanero chilies as very hot chilies. All in all there are about 400 varieties of chili available around the world.

Chili peppers are thought to have originated in South America, from where they made their way to Asia through Mexico and the Philippines. In Asia, they quickly became an inherent part of the local cuisines. Chili peppers can be eaten raw, cooked or dried. They also contain vitamin C and provitamin A and bring nice zest to especially rich, greasy foods.

Although chilies have many health promoting properties, they should be eaten in moderation because they can also aggravate gastrointestinal and hemorrhoidal problems, as well as induce reflux. A diet that contains very high quantities of chili may even cause stomach cancer.

As an interesting piece of trivia, birds do not get the same burning sensation from eating chilies that people do because of their different type of nervous system. According to Wikipedia, chilies are even quite a popular food among birds in regions where chilies grow naturally. Chili plants are tropical perennials, which means they need a fair amount of warmth and moisture to grow. Currently India is the world's largest producer of chili peppers.

Fresh chilies will keep for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator, dried chilies should be stored in airtight bags in the dark.

Chili in Chinese food

Chinese Sichuan cuisine is known for its spiciness and abundant use of chili. The most popular local spice is the Sichuan pepper, but chili peppers are also widely used.

Here's a recipe from China.org that uses dried chili to add some kick to the mix. Use more chili for more pungency:

Stir-fried chicken with chili sauce and peanuts. (Image: China.org)

Ingredients:
250 grams (0.55 lb) chicken breast
150 grams (0.33 lb) peanuts
500 grams (1 cup) oil (only 75 g or 5 tbsp to be consumed)
1 egg white
12 g (1 2/3 tbsp) dry cornstarch
2 grams (1/3 tsp) salt
1 gram (1/4) MSG
10 grams (1 1/2 tsp) soy sauce
10 grams (2 tsp) sugar
2 dried red chilies
2 grams (1/15 oz) finely cut scallions
2 grams (1/15 oz) chopped ginger
50 grams (3 tbsp) water
5 grams (1 tsp) cooking wine
5 grams (1 tsp) sesame oil

Directions:
1. Beat the chicken breast with the side of a kitchen knife to soften the texture of the meat. Cut lightly to make cross-cuts on the meat. Then cut the chicken breast into cubes 1.5 cm (0.6 inch) wide each side. Place in a bowl. Add the egg white, 2 g (1/3 tsp) of salt and 10 g (1 tsp) of dry cornstarch and mix well. Mix the rest of the dry cornstarch with water for later use. Fry the peanuts. Cut the red chilies into fine chips.
2. Heat the oil in a wok to 70-110ºC (160-210ºF) and slippery-fry the chicken cubes for 1-2 minutes. Take out and drain off the oil in a strainer.
3. Put 25 g (1 2/3 tbsp) of oil in the wok and stir-fry the scallions, ginger and red chilies until they produce a strong aroma. Put in the water, cooking wine, soy sauce, sugar and MSG, and bring to boil. Thicken the sauce with the mixture of cornstarch and water. Put in the chicken and peanuts and turn several times. Sprinkle on sesame oil and dish is ready to serve.

Recipe: China.org.cn