The main characteristic of Sichuan cuisine is its spicy and fragrant flavor, so its most indispensable spices are Chinese prickly ash, chili peppers, and bean paste.
Zanthoxylum bungeanum gives Sichuan cuisine a juicy taste, and the main varieties of Zanthoxylum bungeanum are blue and red Zanthoxylum bungeanum. Green pepper and red pepper give Sichuan cuisine a slightly different taste, with a soft and fragrant aroma and a strong and violent spicy taste. In comparison, red pepper has a rich aroma and a pure spicy taste, but it is not as strong and violent as green pepper. Sichuan cuisine applied to green pepper includes spicy chicken and green pepper fish, which are used to highlight the characteristics of spicy hemp, fresh fragrance, or spicy and sour taste. In addition, when making kimchi, adding green pepper can improve the flavor of kimchi, while also helping to inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria and prevent kimchi from foaming. The application of red pepper, considering its stronger dry aroma, is generally used to make dishes that emphasize spicy flavors, such as spicy chicken. We often fry some pepper oil and usually use red pepper. In addition, red pepper is often used to remove the fishiness and odor of meat.
The spiciness of Sichuan cuisine is endowed by chili peppers, and it's so spicy! There are various types of chili peppers! Sometimes it's dry chili, sometimes fresh chili, sometimes red chili, sometimes green chili, sometimes chili segments, sometimes chili powder. Sometimes it's soaking chili peppers. Dry chili peppers are fragrant and spicy, while fresh chili peppers are fresh and spicy. Red chili peppers have a spicy aroma, while green chili peppers are slightly sweet or spicy. The application of chili peppers is for convenience in consumption. Cut the chili peppers into about 1.5 cm chili peppers using a slicing machine, then sieve out the chili seeds and they can be directly put into the pot! For example, some hot pot soup pots and skewers use chili segments. Soaking chili peppers is fresh, tender, crispy, and refreshing. In some Sichuan cuisine, soaking chili peppers plays an important role. For example, when making fish and animal offal, soaking chili peppers is often used to make the dish taste thick and suppress the fishy smell of the ingredients themselves.