Szechuan (sometimes spelled Sichuan) food is known for its fiery bite, vibrating with the zing of chillies and those lip-numbing Szechuan peppers as well as cassia bark, cumin, cinnamon, peppercorns, star anise, and dried tangerine peel.

It is suspected that chillies - which now grow prolifically all over the region - arrived at this remote mountain-ringed province via Buddhist missionaries from India or Spanish traders who carried them into China along the Silk Road to the north. Or perhaps they were introduced to Chinese merchants trading with Portuguese and Spanish sailors.

Not all Szechuan dishes are spicy. In fact the most highly spiced dishes are routinely reserved for home meals, with banquet dishes being more moderately spiced. Also noticeable in this cuisine is the inclusion of a range of many flavours - sweet, sour, bitter, hot, salty, aromatic, and fragrant.

Although not one of the four main cuisines, the food of outback China differs sufficiently to mention. To the north and north-west the preferences of the local Muslim population, the Uyghurs, is responsible for the use of mutton, lamb and beef on menus and the almost total absence of pork products. Here many Muslim restaurants offer entirely halal dining. Ramadan is also observed in these areas and during this period the usual daytime meals and snacks may not be available.

To the south-west on the high Tibetan plateau, the altitude and bitter conditions, as well as the predominantly Buddhist religion define the cuisine. Here Buddhism forbids the eating of small animals such as fish and poultry, but allows the slaughter and use of large animals, so yak, tasting remarkably like beef appears in many curries and stews.

Then there is butter tea, a curiously popular smoky brew made by churning yak butter with tea in a tall pot, the resultant flavour depending entirely on the freshness of the butter.

A land of contrasts, China never disappoints. Wherever you travel there will be food that will have you guessing as to its origins and recipe. Sometimes it is best not to look too closely or ask too many questions. Some things - like the country itself - as best left as a mystery.

TRIVIA:

Westerners think chop suey is a traditional Chinese dish, but it was invented in the US. In the nineteenth century an important Chinese man visited his friends in America and was asked to make a typical Chinese meal. Without the proper ingredients and rather than losing face he asked his cook to collect whatever food he could, put it all in a large pot, and be generous with the soya sauce. He called it Chop-soya but his friends thought he'd said "chop suey".

LOCAL FLAVOURS:

Chillies and tea in Szechuan province, and in Tibet there is yak, used for meat and milk, barley. Roasted barley flour from the local highland grain appears in tsampa, a sort of dough and is also used to brew alcohol; cabbages and other cool-climate vegetables grow well in the warmer months and yak milk is used for making yoghurts and cheeses. 

A PLACE TO EAT IN WESTERN CHINA:

Enjoy sampling breads in the markets, or eating in a restaurant that seems more Middle Eastern than Chinese. Tea is sometimes served with a flourish from a teapot shaped like a watering can with an extremely long this spout.

FOOD & TRAVEL'S CHOICE OF A PLACE TO STAY IN WESTERN CHINA: Haide Hotel, 1 Dong Feng Rd, Urumqi.

INSIDER'S TIP: Playing Polo 

MORE  INFORMATION:

Szechuan Cuisine

Tibetan Cuisine

PLEASE SHARE: YOUR FAVOURITE WESTERN CHINA FOOD & TRAVEL EXPERIENCE - see comments below