I've had food purporting to be Hunan style in New York City, home to many people of Chinese extraction, many of whom have done little to nothing to assimilate to US culture. So, by that standard, I should have been prepared.
One of the featured ingredients of Hunan cooking is the cayenne pepper, and I've grown them from seeds for several years. So, by that standard, I should also have been prepared.
I was completely unprepared for Hunan cooking.
Hunan cooking in New York typically involves a bunch of whole cayennes cooked in with
the rest of the ingredients. Unless you're careless or a clueless tourist, you don't bite into these, and therefore don't get hit with the full-force blast of capsaicin that they contain. One of the dishes we had in the Hunan restaurant here was about a 50-50 mix of chicken and shredded cayennes. There was no possible way to avoid eating lots of them, and the preparation ensured that even the chicken tasted like it was producing its own stew of chemical defenses.
the rest of the ingredients. Unless you're careless or a clueless tourist, you don't bite into these, and therefore don't get hit with the full-force blast of capsaicin that they contain. One of the dishes we had in the Hunan restaurant here was about a 50-50 mix of chicken and shredded cayennes. There was no possible way to avoid eating lots of them, and the preparation ensured that even the chicken tasted like it was producing its own stew of chemical defenses.
But the star of the dinner, oddly, was something called a Sichuan pepper. I say oddly both because this was Hunan food, and because the object in question is not a pepper.
I have no idea what, chemically, is in these things. I just know that someone should find out (assuming it hasn't already been done). Our host tried to warn us off eating any, but I ended up being the clueless tourist who happened to chomp down on one.
The sensation is pretty difficult to describe. It spread over the surface of my mouth like there was some thick, viscous liquid flowing from the pepper itself. And everywhere it touched there was a sensation that seemed to be both tingling and numbing, combined with a flavor that hinted at licorice. Even my feeble attempts to describe it got the video team enthused, and it quickly degenerated into a pepper eating contest.
It left me really curious as to what, exactly, was going on with the nerves in my tongue as a result of eating this thing. And really tempted to see if I can grow some of whatever plant produces these things.
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