Mala (seasoning)

{{Wiktionary|málà}}

The term málà is a combination of two Chinese characters: "numbing" (麻) and "spicy (piquant)" (辣), referring to the feeling in the mouth after eating the sauce.

The numbness is caused by its characteristic Szechuan pepper, which contains 3% hydroxy-alpha-sanshool.{{Cite news |last=Holliday |first=Taylor |date=2017-10-23 |title=Where the Peppers Grow |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2017/10/why-its-so-hard-to-get-sichuans-world-famous-peppers-in-america.html |access-date=2024-03-12 |work=Slate |language=en-US |issn=1091-2339}}{{Cite journal |last1=Hagura |first1=Nobuhiro |last2=Barber |first2=Harry |last3=Haggard |first3=Patrick |date=2013-11-07 |title=Food vibrations: Asian spice sets lips trembling |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |language=en |volume=280 |issue=1770 |pages=20131680 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2013.1680 |issn=0962-8452 |pmc=3779329 |pmid=24026819}}

The precise origins of the dish are unclear, but many sources attribute its development to night markets in Chongqing that targeted pier workers in the 19th to 20th century.{{cite web |title=重庆火锅历史悠久 |url=http://www.china.com.cn/chinese/zhuanti/sanxia/338029.htm |publisher=china.com.cn |accessdate=12 March 2016}} Its strong flavors and oils helps preserve foods and mask the unpopular smells of blood and offal.

Despite the strong flavor by itself, various dipping sauces are often served to make the texture of cooked meat smooth and oily, and the tastes more complex. Common sauces include sesame oil with garlic, oyster oil, or fermented soybean curd (doufu ru).

The sauce is used in a variety of ways, from stirfry, stews, and soup, to being used in hotpot or as a dipping sauce. In the Sichuan and Yunnan provinces mala powder (麻辣粉; pinyin: málàfĕn) is used on snacks and street foods, such as stinky tofu, fried potatoes, and barbecued meat and vegetables.

The sauce is made primarily of dried chili peppers, chili powder, broad bean paste, Szechuan peppercorn, clove, garlic, star anise, black cardamom, fennel, ginger, cinnamon, salt and sugar. These ingredients are simmered with beef tallow and vegetable oil for many hours, and packed into a jar. Other herbs and spices, such as sand ginger, Angelica dahurica and poppy seeds, can be added to create a unique flavor profile.

Traditionally, a restaurant hired a chef specializing in making this sauce; the recipes were kept secret to the chef himself. Today, prepared mala sauce can easily be found in supermarkets, and chain restaurants often produce their own sauce on a large scale, while many others still blend their own. Like curry, there is a constant debate about the 'best' recipe and numerous variations are available on the market.

Mala sauce is used in many dishes.

• Malatang (麻辣燙): vegetable and meat skewers served in a mala soup. For home preparation, bouillon-style cubes of instant mala have become popular.{{Cite news|url=http://www.sbatravel.co.th/blog/2018/01/05/spicy-mala-chinese//|title=ลองรึยัง หม่าล่า เผ็ด ชา สะท้านลิ้น!! {{!}} SBA Travel|date=2018-01-05|work=SBA Travel|access-date=2018-04-29|language=en-US}}
• Mala hotpot (麻辣火鍋)
• Mala shaokao (麻辣燒烤): mala barbeque
• Mala xiang guo (麻辣香鍋): mala stirfry
• Mala duck neck (麻辣鴨脖子)
• Mouthwatering chicken (口水雞): Chicken cold cuts in mala sauce
• Fuqi feipian (夫妻肺片): beef tendon, tongue, tripe, and sometimes also lung, served with oily mala sauce
• Dapanji (大盤雞, lit. "big plate chicken"): a hearty chicken, potato and noodle stew flavored with mala

{{portal|China|Food}}

• Mapo tofu
• Sichuan cuisine

{{Reflist}}

{{Hot sauces}}

{{Sichuan cuisine}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mala Sauce}}

Category:Chili pepper dishes

Category:Chinese condiments

Category:Chinese sauces

Category:Chongqing cuisine

Category:Sichuan cuisine