A small taste of the ‘complex flavours’ of Sichuan
四川“复合味”一窥
1. Home-style flavour 家常味
Typical of the hearty tastes of domestic cookery, home-style flavour is salty, savoury and a little hot. Seasonings used include chilli bean paste, salt and soy sauce, perhaps with the addition of pickled red chillies, fermented black beans and sweet fermented paste.
Example: Twice-Cooked Pork
典型的家常烹饪调味，亲热舒畅。家常味以咸香为主，微辣，用到的调味料包含豆瓣酱、盐和酱油，偶然加一点泡椒、豆豉和甜酱。
家常味名菜：回锅肉。
2. Fish-fragrant flavour 鱼香味
Another celebrated Sichuanese invention, “fish-fragrant flavour’, is based on the seasonings used in traditional fish cookery; it combines salty, sweet, sour and spicy notes, with the rich fragrance of garlic, ginger and spring onions. The core seasoning is pickled red chillies.
Examples: Fish-Fragrant Pork Slivers, Fish-Fragrant Aubergines
也是闻名的川菜特有调味。之所以叫“鱼香味”，便是来自传统的鱼类照料调味法，滋味咸、甜、酸、辣，葱姜蒜的香味也充沛交融。最要害的调味料是泡椒。
鱼香味名菜：鱼香肉丝、鱼香茄子。
3. Strange-flavour 怪味
This flavour relies on the harmonious mixing of salty, sweet, numbing, hot,
sour, umami and fragrant notes. No individual flavour should clamour for the attention at the expense of any other.
Example: Strange-Flavour Chicken
这个滋味需求适可而止地交融咸、甜、麻、辣、酸与鲜香，任何一个独自的滋味都不能太杰出，掩盖了其他滋味。
怪味名菜：怪味鸡丝。
4. Hot-and-numbing flavour 麻辣味
Sichuanese cuisine owes its notoriety to this powerful combination of chillies and Sichuan pepper. The level of fieriness varies widely from place to place.
Examples: Pock-Marked Mother Chen’s Beancurd (ma po dou fu), Sichuan Hotpot
麻辣味归纳了辣椒和花椒，也是川菜蜚声在外的最显著特点。四川每个当地的麻辣程度都不同。麻辣味名菜：麻婆豆腐、毛肚火锅。
5. Red-oil flavour 红油味
This describes a delicious mixture of ruby-red chilli oil, soy sauce and sugar, perhaps with a little sesame oil for extra fragrance. Used in cold dishes.
Example: Chicken Chunks in Red-Oil Sauce
这是辣椒油、酱油与糖的甘旨交融，有时也加点芝麻油添香，大多数都用在冷盘。
红油味名菜：红油鸡块。
6. Garlic-paste flavour 蒜泥味
A scrumptious combination of mashed garlic, chilli oil and sesame oil with a special soy sauce that is simmered with brown sugar and spices until it is
dense and fragrant. Used in cold dishes.
Example: Cold Pork in Hot-and-Garlicky Sauce
十分可口。蒜泥、红油、芝麻油，加上用酱油、红糖和香料一同熬制的特别酱料，比较黏稠鲜香，用于冷盘。
蒜泥味名菜：蒜泥白肉。
7. Scorched chilli flavour 煳辣味
Derived from frying dried chillies in a wok until they are just turning colour;
other ingredients are then added and tossed in the fragrant oil. Sichuan pepper is typically used in conjunction with the chillies.
Example: Spicy Cucumber Salad
干辣椒放进炒锅油炸至轻轻变色，接着参加其他调料炒香，就构成煳辣味。一般会把花椒和辣椒一同运用。
煳辣味名菜：炝黄瓜。
上文摘自英国女作家扶霞·邓洛普（Fuchsia Dunlop）写的带有游览风格的美食自传——《鱼翅与花椒》（Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper）一书。
