Chinese Heat

Shichuan Pavilion "Diced Chicken with Pepper"

Heat, to me, is Comfort. Growing up in Thailand, Chinese food was always considered as bland and fatty. China is a grand country. From Peking duck of the north to Mongolia, Cantonese, Sichuan and Hong Kong, there is such a variety. With its thousands of years of food history, to succumb to a stereotyping and General Tso chicken, seems rather naive. Plus, is it really true that Chinese cannot handle spices? I soon discovered after meeting one of my Chinese friends who was from the Sichuan province that I have gotten it all wrong.
There are Chinese who are addicted to spicy heat as much as the Thais...

In Southwestern region of China, the Sichuan pepper is the key ingredient of any Sichuan dish.  Grown from shrub of the citrus family, the seeds are held by pods similar to cardamom. The flavor however is lemony and peppery. You will see them cooked together with whole red chili in a typical Sichuan dish.

In the DC area, I discovered 2 places for Sichuan cuisine--Hong Kong Palace (7 Corners, Falls Church) and Sichuan Pavilion (between Farragut North and West metro stations in DC). Once you make a visit, you must order the following dishes: diced chicken with pepper, cumin lamb, Dan Dan noodles and tea smoked duck. After a visit, you will realize that you have entered another realm of Chinese cuisine.

C&T Wok "Cumin Lamb"

I crave for the Sichuan heat and almost lost hope until I tried a couple of places in the Triangle area (Morrisville and Cary, NC)--C&T Wok and Super Wok. Not all restaurants are created equal.  Thank goodness!  I find the C&T Wok cumin lamb closest to what I had in the DC area. Tender lamb, stir fried with cumin, onion and pepper. The white board is covered in both Chinese and English of the day special...beef, shrimp, Grouper, scallop and Chinese vegetable.

Super Wok "Chili Crabs"

If you crave for dice chicken with peppercorn, no one else can do it better than Super Wok, in the triangle area. Though the specialty dish is Chili Crab. I cannot get it in the DC area...not this good. The crab was battered and deep fired before stir-frying in the spicy chili concoction. Every morsel was covered in a pile high of chili, lemony goodness. With an order of steamed rice and chopstick, you are good to go.

Specials @ C&T Wok

You will hardly see anyone else, but Asians in these two joints, a great sign of authenticity. Neither will you see anyone ordering egg rolls or fried rice. I suppose you can go to a local Chinese express for that.
Next time you have a craving for Chinese food, ask yourselves which regional flavor of China do you want to try and skip the Kung pao chicken. Sichuan will not disappoint your spicy taste buds. Just like the difference in regions in China there are differences in the US, I sure don't want foreigners to think that a Hawaiian luau is the same as a North Carolina pig pickin'. Southern comfort has a lot more than Mac and cheese and collard greens but the definition of comforts needs to change. Heat and spices fit the southern climate like a glove.

Cheers!
Teera