Origins
Spicy plants such as chillies and peppers have been used in cooking for thousands of years—inhabitants of Central America and Mexico have had chillies for approximately 6,000 years. Quite unlike the hot sauce varieties of Western countries, which are mainly vinegar-based, spicy Chinese condiments are oil-based. Fans of Tabasco and Frank’s RedHot Sauce will easily acclimate to Sriracha—which indeed has a huge cult following worldwide—but there is so much more in scorching flavours to explore.
In the sixteenth century, the chilli pepper plant was brought from the Americas into Africa and Asia, where they were altered through selective breeding. In Chinese, chillies are collectively referred to as 辣椒 (pronounced laat jiu in Cantonese and la jiao in Mandarin)—literally meaning “spicy pepper.” The American variety falls under the branch of Capsicum annuum peppers, while in Chinese cooking, the 椒 pepper has historically referred to 花椒—Zanthoxylum bungeanum, more commonly known as Sichuan peppercorn, which gives the region’s dishes their distinctive numbing spicy kick. With the introduction of chilli peppers, spicy foods quickly caught on in China and the rest of Asia, with special flavours that truly made the condiment their own.
The most popular spicy condiment in Chinese cuisine is chilli oil, mostly because it is the most expedient to produce. This is particularly widely used in Sichuan, Hunan, and Shaanxi cuisine. Over time, more varieties of spicy sauces were developed, such as tangy chilli sauces similar to Sriracha, chilli sauces with black beans, and chilli oils specific to Chinese regions like the Chiuchow or Guilin chilli oils.