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hot pot spicy noodles
all of these dishes come from the
southwest corner of china which is known
for its affinity for spice
today we're focusing on the food of
sutuan and chongqing
chinese food is more than just stir-fry
noodles and dumplings i'm clarissa and
i'm taking you on a journey through
china to try authentic chinese food
region by region
are on the southwest corridor of china
they used to be part of the same
province but in 1997 tonjin became its
own municipality still they share the
same
is their love for spicy and numbing
things
and locals say that's because of the
geography
it's made possible by peppercorns and
chili peppers
the former is native to china and the
latter came to china via south america
in the 17th century by portuguese
traders
seton food is also heavy on salt because
this place
gong was the epicenter of salt
production in china at one point the
city supplied a third of all salt
consumed in the country
salt was also used for preservation
which is why you'll find a lot of
fermented vegetables in sun cuisine
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pasta
fermented hot sauces are also very
common like peaches
made with aged broad beans and chili
these pungent flavors are a hallmark of
sutuan cuisine food is literally dipped
in spice
this area is also the capital of hot pot
which is a cauldron of spicy broth where
the ingredients are cooked table side
in fact tonsing is the capital of hotpot
where there are over ten thousand shops
dedicated to the dish
tripe and other types of awful are
especially loved as hot pot ingredients
mostly because they're cheap
in fact in tonching there are markets
dedicated to selling things for hot pot
restaurants that open at night and close
early in the morning
leafy greens are another staple of the
hot pot table and this region is full of
them
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fertile land also means lots of animals
and there's one that's especially
beloved as food in suits
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and it's flanked by mountains on all
sides and there's the qinghai tibetan
plateau on the west you know because the
land is so fertile because of the
the warm and wet climate it's actually a
perfect breeding ground for rabbits and
rabbits of course breed like rabbits and
so there's a lot of rabbit meat in
sichuan and people really love eating it
up next we have a food tour in taunting
filled with spicy dishes and a whole
episode dedicated to fermentation where
i learned how to make lacto-fermented
pickles in the situan countryside stay
tuned
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