When considering Sichuan or Hunan dishes, it’s impossible to eliminate the role of the chile pepper. History professor Brian Dott explores how the non-native pepper went from obscurity to ubiquity. They influence not only a country’s cuisine, but its language, medicine and cultural identity. He explains all this in his forthcoming book titled “ The Chile Pepper in China .”
The cover of “The Chile Pepper in China.” Photo courtesy of Columbia University Press