Zunyi Spice遵义辣

蔡明伟

指導教师：高菲菲

作为黔菜的灵魂，辣椒永远都是遵义人餐桌上的“常客”。

Almost every Guizhou people has a memory associated with chilipeppers. As a famous producer of chili peppers in China， Zunyi producespeppers with a red color， strong taste， and strong fragrance， which earns itthe reputation of “the Capital Pepper City”.

What makes Zunyi peppers impressive is the wide variety ofmethods for processing and eating chili peppers by the locals， somethingthat other regions can never think of. It seems that Zunyi people are morepicky（ 挑剔的） about how they use peppers. Based on the flavors， Zunyipeppers can be divided into different categories： Oil Spicy（ 油辣）， driedchili peppers ground（ 磨碎） into a paste（ 酱） with garlic and ginger， thencooked in boiling oil; Pickled Spicy（ 糟辣）， fresh chili peppers choppedinto pieces and then stored in a sealed clay jar; Burnt Spicydried（ 糊辣），chili peppers burnt over charcoal fire or woodfire and crumbled by hand;Charcoal-roasted Spicy炭烧辣）， fresh chili peppers roasted overcharcoal fire， peeled， torn， etc. Regardless of what ingredients they arepaired with， Zunyi chili peppers can always create an amazing taste.

Among them， pickled chili peppers， famous for their sour and spicyflavor， are particularly popular in Zunyi. They are not too spicy nor toosour. Almost every family in Zunyi prepares a jar of them every year. Itspreparation is very simple too. First， choose fresh red chili peppers withthick flesh and not too much spiciness， wash them， remove the stems， anddry them. Then put fresh ginger， garlic and peppers together into a woodenbasin， chop them into approximately 5 mm cubes using a specially madecleaver（ 宰刀）， add a certain proportion of salt and white wine， and finallystore them in a sealed clay jar， ensuring no air leakage（ 泄露）.After amonth， a jar of crispy， sour， and spicy pickled chili peppers is ready. Theycan be used to make pickled spicy fish， pickled chili hotpot， and pickledchili fried rice， etc.

As the soul of Guizhou cuisine， pickled chili peppers will never be leftout on the dining tables of Zunyi people.