The Hunan bloodline in my family loves spicy, aromatic foods. Almost every dish includes the option of hot sauce – whether it is soupy thin noodles, saucy thick noodles, sautéed greens, or braised meats. Gong Gong (my mother’s father), as well as each of his grown children (all five of them), had an entire shelf in their fridge dedicated to hot sauces of all varieties. Smoky peppers. Tangy ones. Chilis that had been fermented. Ones you had to shake because the solids sank to the bottom of the bottle with the crimson-hued chilli oil on the top. Part of this is because as with many Chinese families, there are distinct, almost fanatical, preferences of what type of hot sauce pairs best with specific dishes.
THE HOT SAUCE IS ALIVE
THE HOT SAUCE IS ALIVE
THE HOT SAUCE IS ALIVE
The Hunan bloodline in my family loves spicy, aromatic foods. Almost every dish includes the option of hot sauce – whether it is soupy thin noodles, saucy thick noodles, sautéed greens, or braised meats. Gong Gong (my mother’s father), as well as each of his grown children (all five of them), had an entire shelf in their fridge dedicated to hot sauces of all varieties. Smoky peppers. Tangy ones. Chilis that had been fermented. Ones you had to shake because the solids sank to the bottom of the bottle with the crimson-hued chilli oil on the top. Part of this is because as with many Chinese families, there are distinct, almost fanatical, preferences of what type of hot sauce pairs best with specific dishes.