Peppery And Piquant

Hubby Tony and I attended a convention this weekend. After a heavy bar food meal on Friday night, on Saturday we were looking for something light and vegetable-forward for lunch. We ended up at a Chinese restaurant that had a nice variety of options on the menu.

When we walked in shortly after the restaurant opened there was only one other table occupied. It took a bit of time for us to be greeted by an smiling, older Chinese man. When he spoke his English was very broken (which I always take as a sign the food will be authentic). He indicated we could choose any table we wanted.

The menu had both English and Chinese names for the entrees. Tony and I each chose a dish to share. Mine was Hot and Sour Stir-Fried Cabbage (酸辣白菜). Tony ordered a plate of vegetarian dumplings (素馅水饺). The waiter was the same man who greeted us. He took the time to verify that I was sure I wanted a dish without any meat in it, which I considered very thoughtful.

As we waited for our food I could hear the sound of the metal spatula scraping against the side of the wok, a sure sign something was being stir fried. Eventually the waiter brought out both dishes, then made a second trip for smaller plates-two for eating and a third holding a scoop of rice.

My cabbage dish was just what I was craving-perfectly cooked greens in a salty, hot, sour sauce. Instead of tiny red spicy peppers I know to avoid in any dish, this one included rings of brown that I turned out to be slices of mildly-spicy peppers.

Tony and I managed to polish off both dishes. When the waiter came to ask us if we needed anything else I asked him what type of peppers had been in the dish. He seemed quite excited that I asked, but said he didn't know the English name and would check in the kitchen. A couple of minutes later he reappeared, holding a single pepper in one hand and an almost empty commercial sized bag in the other.

The waiter asked if I wanted to take a pepper home. I was honored, but I declined. He insisted I take a photo for reference, then went to get the bill. When he came back with it he also had two Ziploc bags, each holding a couple of tablespoons of the chili in flake form.

Back at home, I used the internet to find out the pepper was an Er Jing Tiao, considered the most common pepper in Sichuan cuisine, which has a low to medium heat combined with subtle sweetness, high fruitiness, and a robust fragrance.

Now all I have to do is come up with a recipe for the gifted flakes.