“You can mala anything,” said Jason Wang, turning the flavor into a verb. Mala has become so popular that it has been commercialized and exported to huge success - not just through mala hot-pot restaurants, which continue to open all over China and beyond, but in packaged mala-flavored snacks like potato chips, nuts, soup packets and jerky. “They found the two ingredients in combination worked extremely well - they were symbiotic, they kept you coming back for more.” “When the chile pepper arrived, locals went wild for it,” she said. In her chile crisp, Gao uses more modern Chinese varieties that have been bred since then, like the long, skinny, intensely fragrant Erjingtiao. Sichuan cooks have worked with the ingredient for thousands of years and added chiles to their repertoires more recently, sometime after sailors took them to China from the Americas in the late 1500s. The writer Fuchsia Dunlop compares peppercorn plants to vines grown to make wine grapes - capable of producing fruit that’s deeply expressive of its terroir. bungeanum, both shrubs in the citrus family. You experience that texture as a buzzing current through your mouth and lips, thanks to a molecule called hydroxy-alpha sanshool found in Sichuan peppercorns, which grow on Zanthoxylum simulans and Z. “That’s because there’s a texture to the flavor,” she said. Mala is just one of many flavors in Sichuan cuisine, but it’s immensely popular, in part because it’s unlike any other. “Flavorwise, it’s so intriguing,” said Jing Gao, who was born in Chengdu and now owns the Chinese food company Fly by Jing, which specializes in Sichuan ingredients like chile crisp and dried peppers. The word translates to numbing ( ma) and spicy ( la), and it’s a result of a partnership between Sichuan peppercorns and chiles. My appetite dwindled, until I was brought back to the pure pleasures of eating by a classic Sichuan flavor: mala. The bland squish of a roast-chicken breast made me recoil. Without smells to guide me, my sense of taste faded and food flattened out, going gray and muted, dull and lifeless. My brain was incapable of interpreting the delicious information floating around me, unable to detect, let alone identify, any of the aromas I took in through my nose. “That’s the easiest way to make chili oil at home, but getting the seasoning right, the temperature right and a balance of flavors can get tricky,” he said.When I got sick and lost my sense of smell - a common neurological symptom of Covid-19 - the foods I loved became muddled and ugly. “Make sure the oil touches all the surface area of all your spices and chilies,” Sin advised. Heat the oil to 370-380 F, and then pour it over the spices and chilies.Sin prefers a 2-to-1 ratio of oil to spices. Decide whether you want more crunch or more oil. Uli’s OIl Mill and The Mala Market carry high-quality options. You can go with any neutral-flavored, high-smoke-point oil like canola, vegetable or soybean oil, or, for a more traditional Sichuan version, go with caiziyou. The second thing is to “pick your accessory spices and aromatics, like scallions, ginger, cumin, fennel, garlic, Sichuan peppercorn, cinnamon or star anise - these or any other spices that would support that main chili," he said.If you’re up for it, Sin suggests experimenting with a variety of Chinese, Mexican or African chilies. Coincidentally, it’s also a main ingredient in gochujang, another popular condiment. It's kind of a mild, entry-level chili,” said Sin. A really good starting point for easy, ready to go chili flakes that you don't have to pulverize yourself is Korean chili flakes called gochugaru. “Make sure it is ground, and if you don’t want it so spicy, de-seed it. First, pick the type of chili you want to use.Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Sin shared his tips for creating chili crisp or oil at home: Yes, it is possible to make your own chili crisp at home. With so many options on the market that are lovingly crafted by the pros, making your own chili crisp or oil may not be top of mind - but it could be a good way to get creative. If you’re feeling adventurous, chili crisp is also said to be a great topping for vanilla ice cream, with the sweet and heat working together as a memorable combo.Use it as a sandwich spread, if you like heat, or mix it with some mayonnaise for a creamier spread.
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