Sat, June 24: Chinese Provinces #2 - Szechuan Cuisine

Saturday, June 24^th, 5pm-8:30pm

Chinese Provinces #2 with Dave

The cuisines of China date back thousands of years and have been constantly evolving due to geographic and regional differences. Over time, local availability in ingredients/proteins, changing Dynasties and classes, different refugee groups that settled in different parts of China bringing with them their own recipes and cooking techniques, as well as overall modernization, Chinese cuisines have been shaped into very different and unparalleled styles of food and techniques.  In this series, we are going to explore the 8 Great Chinese Cuisines, talk about their influences, what makes them unique, how they evolved, and then make four popular recipes that come from each Cuisine. We will cover a new Cuisine every month through the end of the year. This class is going to focus on specific provincial differences in cooking and in some cases will push you to venture outside of your “normal everyday box” and experience new flavors and techniques that aren’t specifically found in American recipes. This class can either be purchased as a whole series or as individual classes. This is a hands-on class. This class is taught in our 2x4 format – we’ll split up into groups of 2 and each twosome will tackle one recipe.

Szechuan Cuisine/Province

Szechuan (Sichuan) Cuisine is known for its use of Chiles, Szechuan peppercorns and for the use of fermented ingredients. The Szechuan peppercorns that are used in this cuisine give a numbing sensation known as “mala”. Even though there is an emphasis on spicy, flavors are well rounded and there is a balance between hot and taste.

On the menu:

• Red Oil Wontons
• Mapo Tofu
• Szechuan Hot Pot
• Fish Flavored Shredded Pork