Cultural ambassadors learn Sichuan dishes

Claudio Iobbi from Italy learns to cook mapo tofu with chef Yang Hong. Photos Provided to China Daily

Master chefs teach local specialties to expats, LI YANG and LI YU in Chengdu report.

'Before going to Chengdu I imagined, of course, I'd see a big city but when I landed, I realized immediately that this city is huge," said Claudio Iobbi, a 28-year-old marketing sales assistant from Italy. "More or less from five to seven times bigger than my capital Rome."

Iobbi and Julian Lopez, a 21-year-old student from the United Kingdom, were chosen from a number of candidates on the Internet in August and September to be Sichuan Cuisine Ambassadors for a cultural promotion organized by the Chengdu tourism bureau. People applied through yoyochengdu, the official Facebook page to promote Chengdu tourism.

Iobbi and Lopez each visited Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, the month after being selected, where they learned to cook a representative dish from master chefs of Sichuan cuisine.

Chengdu was awarded the title of a City of Gastronomy by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization on Feb 28, 2010, becoming the first Asian city to win the title and only the second in the world, after Popayan, Colombia, in 2005.

"As the cradle and development place of Sichuan cuisine, one of China's four major styles of cooking, Chengdu has a profound culture and outstanding natural conditions, enjoying the fame of 'Land of Abundance' and 'City of Gastronomy'," reads the UNESCO introduction to Chengdu as a World Capital of Gastronomy published on Dec 4, 2011.

"Many people are also reluctant to try the cuisine because of its reputation for being fiery," wrote Annabel Jackson and Jennifer Spratly, two Hong Kong-based food writers, for CNN.com when Chengdu won the title in August 2010. "Which is true. The tongue-numbing Sichuanese peppercorn is an acquired taste and there is a repertoire of 15 different chilies for incorporation, each bringing nuanced flavors and aromas.

"If, as many say, the best cuisines in the world are those with an ability to incorporate ingredients from afar, it should be noted that chilies were introduced to China (by the Spanish, from South America) and it is impossible to imagine Sichuan cooking without chilies today," they wrote in the article.

"I ate mapo tofu (spicy bean curd) for the first time when I came to China in summer 2014," Iobbi said. "I had not tasted such hot and spicy bean curd before." He constantly drank cold water to cool down while indulging his taste buds with the tofu prepared with dozens of condiments. He said he never thought bean curd could acquire such strong magic that "I was completely conquered".

After returning to Italy, Iobbi tried the dish in the country's Chinese restaurants. "But it tastes different from the one I had in China. I bought some condiments, and tried to cook it myself. But the taste was bad," he said.

He met master chef Yang Hong on his visit to Chengdu in September.

Yang has cooked mapo tofu for more than 20 years. "Cooking the bean curd is like performing the face-changing opera. Every procedure has its 'secret move'," Yang said.

According to Yang, the bean curd should be made from organic beans produced in Northeast China as the tofu is fresh and tender. The peppercorns should come from Hanyuan county, in the southwest of Sichuan, as they are known for their lasting taste, and used to be given as local tribute to royal families from the Tang through Qing dynasties (618-1911). The broad bean paste should be from Pixian county, in the west of Sichuan, which is viewed as the "soul of Sichuan cuisine".

Apart from the three key condiments, Iobbi had not realized it takes almost another 20 condiments and ingredients to cook mapo tofu, such as cooking wine, chili powder and chicken powder. "Sichuan cuisine stresses the blending of different flavors," Yang said.

After carefully watching Yang cook the dish, Iobbi tried himself with the chef's help. "The special condiments and complicated procedures give the dish its special taste that is very difficult to imitate," Iobbi said. Once he mastered the recipe, he made his own innovations, adding shrimp meat, scallops and abalone, to suit his own taste.

"Usually I cook by myself but I'm not a chef. However, I can cook some Italian dishes such as pasta and pizza. Of course I wasn't able to cook real Sichuan dishes but thanks to my Chinese master, I learned to cook real mapo tofu," Iobbi said.

"In my hometown, it's difficult to find the ingredients in order to cook mapo tofu, but I'll try to show this dish to my parents and friends and become a real ambassador of Sichuan cuisine," he added.

Some people told Lopez before he went to Chengdu that the city smelled so much of hotpot that he would smell it on the plane before even landing.

His master chef was a businesswoman named La Jie, who is the owner and head chef of a popular hotpot restaurant in Chengdu.

Frying the condiments that would be added as ingredients for boiling in the hotpot, is the most important part of the process, he was told. The pepper is the soul of a hotpot, Lopez learned from La. "The pepper from Weiyuan, in the south of Sichuan, and the pepper from Henan province are the best match," La told him. "The former ensures the soup is bright red, and the latter guarantees a lasting taste."

When he previously studied in Shanghai, Lopez spent several weeks traveling around China. He visited Shanghai, Suzhou, Beijing, Xi'an and Guilin, all of which he said were beautiful places to visit. "Chengdu has a completely different feel from other cities and towns in China because of its culture," he said.

Chengdu is the most impressive city, Lopez said, and Sichuan cuisine "enslaved" his stomach, as its spicy taste is different from any other food in China.

Chengdu people also like drinking green tea. Lopez thinks the hotpot and green tea are vivid depictions of the city's character. The hotpot and the green tea are part of the locals' lives, he said.

Before he visited Chengdu for the first time, all he knew about it was that it is home to the Giant Panda Research Base, but he hadn't heard much about the city itself. "Once I got there, I was able to appreciate everything that the Chengdu culture has to offer," he said. "I absolutely fell in love with Sichuan cuisine and really liked its spiciness."

He also visited Mount Qingcheng and the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, both of which he said have "breathtaking views and scenery". He also went to a performance by the Chengdu Opera, and said, "I must say that the face-changing act left me in awe for more than a week."

Lopez said the people in Chengdu are very friendly, very proud of their city and province and love having people from all corners of the world try their food and experience the Sichuan lifestyle.

"People from Chengdu are not only very warm and welcoming like in other parts of China, but they are also very keen to teach people about their culture so they can learn their history and understand modern Chengdu," he added.

He said if he were to choose his favorite food in the world, it would be either Mexican or Chinese food.

"I lived in Mexico for a big part of my life and I love the food that they have there because it can be as spicy and tasty as a hotpot from Chengdu. My favorite food is tacos because you can get a variety of meats and tastes in every single mouthful you take," Lopez said.

Learning from his master chef, Lopez realized Sichuan cuisine is more elaborate than most people think.

"Learning from La was a great experience because it showed me that every single time one prepares this dish, one can make it their own," he said. "A hotpot is like a painting; it doesn't matter how many times you replicate it, it will always be slightly different from the last."

After visiting Chengdu, Lopez told his friends about Sichuan food, and said his friends agreed that people would love it in any country in which spice is a part of the local cuisine.

"The interesting thing that I discussed with my friends is that you can add any spice, condiment, meat or vegetable to a hotpot in order to customize it to all palates," Lopez said.

Lopez believes the food of every province says a lot about the locals' past and influences their present. "The food and people of each locality in China are closely knit together and constitute a huge part of the different cultures seen in the country," he said.

The fact that people have made an effort to preserve their own culture and food within such a diversified country as China shows that it is an important part of their daily lives and their overall identity, he said.

Contact the writers through liyang@chinadaily.com.cn

Si Luyu contributed to this story.

(China Daily 11/19/2015 page24)