Among the four “most spicy” provinces in China, Sichuan ranks first.

Guizhou, Hunan, and Guangxi all have to stay behind.

Sichuan people are known as "nothing spicy makes them happy", and the world-famous Sichuan cuisine is famous for its good use of spicy seasonings, which pay attention to spicy, spicy, fresh and fragrant.

We know that peppers are native to America and were introduced to China around the Ming Dynasty.

There are two routes for chili peppers to be introduced into China, one is to enter the northwest region through the famous Silk Road, and the other is to enter the southern coastal areas through the Strait of Malacca.

During the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, pepper appeared in Sichuan and became a vegetable on the dining tables of Sichuan people.

This means that from the Jiaqing period to today, chili peppers have only appeared on Sichuan people’s tables for more than 200 years.

In this short 200-year history, Sichuan people have maximized the role of chili peppers.

So, in the two thousand years before this, what did the Sichuan people who did not have chili peppers rely on to eat?

In fact, before chili peppers were introduced to China, Sichuan people already enjoyed spicy food.

At that time, the spicy seasonings they used included dogwood, hot pepper, ginger, mustard, fuliu, etc.

Among them, Cornus officinalis, Zanthoxylum bungeanum and ginger are the most widely used.

Let’s look at Cornus officinalis first.

What is Cornus officinalis?

In fact, we are no strangers to dogwood.

Wang Wei, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote in "Reminiscences of Shandong Brothers on September 9th": "I am a stranger in a foreign land, and I miss my relatives even more during the festive season. I know that my brothers have climbed to the heights, and there is one less person planted with dogwood trees." The dogwood trees here are missing.

, is a spicy condiment.

There are types of Cornus such as Cornus officinale, Cornus officinalis, Cornus officinalis, and Cornus officinalis.

Cornus officinalis, which is used as a spicy seasoning by Sichuan people, is mainly eaten.

There is a nickname for eating Cornus officinalis, called "birds don't step on it".

What does it mean?

It means that the branches of dogwood are densely covered with sharp thorns, and even birds dare not perch on them.

Cornus officinalis has a spicy taste and played an important role in providing spicy food to Sichuan people in ancient times.

"Qi Min Yao Shu" records: "Eat Cornus officinalis and plant it in February and March. It is suitable for the high and dry place of the embankments and mounds of the old city. When it blooms, it will be harvested. Hang it on the wall of the house, let it dry in the shade, and do not let it dry.

Smoking is bitter but not pungent. When used to remove the sunspots, it is more suitable for fish and fish sauce. "This means that Sichuan people widely cultivate dogwood and hang it on the wall after harvesting to keep it out of sight.

The sun dries slowly.

When making fish bream, a kind of fish that Sichuan people like to eat, the sunspots are removed from the dogwood and used as a spicy seasoning to remove the fishy smell.

Cornus officinalis plays a very important role on the dining table of Sichuan people.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, the famous "Hongxing Shangshu" Song Qi once served as the magistrate of Yizhou.

Yizhou is today's Chengdu, Sichuan.

In 1057, Song Qi wrote a "Short Notes on Yibu Fangwu" about the customs, geography and food in Chengdu.

Song Qi noticed: "Every time people in Sichuan eat soup, they throw one or two grains of dogwood into it. After a while, the fragrance fills the bowl." The so-called "geng" is a kind of meat soup that Sichuan people often eat.

After putting one or two grains of dogwood into this meat soup, the aroma will immediately overflow, making people's fingers twitch.