Chili pepper came to China less than 400 years ago, ending the 2,000-year era of prickly ash, a herb that can be used as seasoning. Why does chili pepper have so much power? What are the health benefits of eating chili peppers? And where in China has the most chili pepper eaters? To answer these questions, Lan Yong, a professor of history with Chongqing-based Southwest University, published an article on the China National Geography on May 19. Here are some excerpts from the article.
A "10,000-people hotpot feast" was a highlight at the Chongqing International Hotpot Culture Festival. A Guinness record-holding pot, which is 10 meters in diameter and can serve 60 people at the same time, was used for the feast. It is said that 300 kilograms of chili pepper and 100 kilograms of prickly ash were needed to make soup in this pot, and it takes about three hours to boil the soup with electricity.
The earliest written record of the prickly ash in China appeared more than 2,000 years ago. The ancient people used it as a seasoning to neutralize the taste of raw meat or fish.
Statistics show that nearly 37 percent of dishes from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) contained prickly ash. Today's Sichuan province in Southwest China, previously known as Shu Kingdom, has long been a main production base of prickly ash.