Sheldon wrote:

> I don't think so, not unless the Chinese have some kind of secret super
> hot black pepper... or you eat some wussy soup. Every one of the
> recipes I've used call for hot red pepper flakes, and none even call
> for black pepper, not white pepper either. Now if by "authentic" you
> mean from before there were any capsicums available in the Orient, then
> could be.

Capsicum is as new to the orient as it is to Europe. It can all be traced
back to South America and was introduced to the rest of the world by the
Spanish in the 16th century.