What is Szechuan Peppercorn
What is Szechuan Peppercorn? And Why You’ll Love It!
Szechuan, Sichuan or Szechuan peppercorns are unique in the realm of spices. Picture a unique lemony and spicy taste that causes a rare sensation in your palate, which although unusual, is incredibly pleasing.
If you’re wondering what is Szechuan peppercorn, let us tell you what it’s not: The Szechuan peppercorn is not spicy like a hot pepper, and it’s not pungent like black pepper. Instead, it’s numbing, and the sensation is addictive!
Widely used in China, India, Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, and surrounding countries, this spice is truly exciting to cook with, a fantastic spice for creative cooking, the key element in traditional Chinese food and a beneficial addition to your diet. Here’s all you need to know about the Szechuan peppercorn.
What is the Szechuan Peppercorn?
Chili peppers are fruits and are related to tomatoes. Black pepper is actually a berry. Szechuan peppercorn, which means ‘flower pepper,’ is the husk of a seed; it’s easily recognizable when whole because it looks like pebble-sized, pinkish-red hollow shells.
Several Szechuan peppercorn varieties exist, all members of the Zanthoxylum schinifolium or mastic-leaf prickly ash family, and they’re all related to citrus fruits.
The numbing spice is so famous, it’s one of the legendary Chinese 5 spices together with clove, cinnamon, star anise and fennel. The spice is available as whole seeds, in powdered form and a Szechuan oil is available too. (see how to grind it here)
It comes as no surprise that the spice is critical in Szechuan cuisine, in Southwest China, where the flavors are bold, and the food is aromatic and colorful.
Szechuan Peppercorns Health Benefits
As with most other Chinese ingredients, people use the Szechuan pepper in both the kitchen and as a remedy for several ailments. It’s part of the country’s vast repertoire of traditional medicinal compounds. Here are the spice’s most common medicinal uses.
The most apparent use of Szechuan peppers is their numbing effect. The plant is known as the “toothache tree” since it’s used to ease toothache, sore gums and throat.
Consuming Szechuan peppers is inversely related to inflammation and might have analgesic effects and could prevent hypertension and joint pain.
Szechuan peppers appear to aid digestion, too, and can treat maladies including gastritis, stomach ulcers and diarrhea.
A strong case is building to back up antimicrobial effects in bio-active molecules proper of Szechuan peppers, which could lead to treating bacterial and fungal infections. The spice could have potential uses in food preservation as well.
Szechuan Peppercorn Nutritional Value
Szechuan peppercorns are excellent sources of antioxidants in the form of alkaloids and flavonoids, but researchers have identified over 140 distinct compounds in the spice.
Szechuan peppers are an adequate source for vitamin A, that aids your vision and immune system; carotenes, that work together with vitamin A; pyridoxine (vitamin B6), which improves your mood and promotes brain health; and thiamin (vitamin B1), that keeps your kidneys and nervous system healthy.
As for the most important minerals present in the Chinese spice, manganese, phosphorous, copper, iron, potassium, zinc and selenium stand out.
Is the Szechuan Peppercorn Banned?
The US banned Szechuan peppercorns from 1968 to 2005, but not because of any health concerns for humans. The seeds, leaves, and bark were prone to carry a bacteria dangerous to citrus trees.
The numbing peppercorns have no associated health risks and can now be imported from any major country on earth. That’s splendid news because there are no substitutes for the piquant sensation Szechuan peppercorns add to food.
Cooking with Szechuan Peppercorns
Culinary uses for Szechuan peppercorns differ, but the spice is often slightly toasted before use and added at the end of the cooking process.
Perhaps the most popular dish featuring Szechuan peppers is the Chinese hotpot, but it can make its way into baking treats and sweets, too, especially in the Szechuan region.
The popular Tibetan meat and vegetable dumpling called ‘momo’ is also lifted by Szechuan peppercorns’ spiciness and citrus flavors. The Szechuan infused oil is widely used as a condiment and seasoning agent for dishes that go from duck to pork and from chicken to tofu.
Szechuan Peppercorns Are Your New Ace Up Your Sleeve
Szechuan peppercorns’ almost electric sensation is an unforgettable experience and a thrill for those unfamiliar with the Chinese spice. A little goes a long way, and there are few proper substitutes.
Experience Szechuan peppercorns, cook with them, and make them part of your meals. Your friends and family will never guess what’s that sensation, only describable as exciting.
Authetic Szechuan Peppercorn to buy with stong flavour, check this out
If you can wait patiently then take a look at the Organic option of Szechuan Pepper
Highly Rated – Social Media Chatter on Szechuan Peppercorn
My chilli chicken recipe 🌶
This dish is sweet and sticky and based on Szechuan chicken but with a little more sauce. The chicken is tender but with a little crunch on the outside and this dish has a lovely heat. You can change the level of heat to your preference (I like it hot!).
Save to recreate!
Ingredients (serves 4):
500-600g chicken breasts, cut into 2cm pieces
2 small onions chopped into small chunks (not finely)
50ml vegetable oil
2 peppers of any colour chopped in 2cm chunks
5 tbsp corn flour, seasoned well with salt and pepper
30 small red chilies (dried/fresh)
1 tablespoon Szechuan peppercorns
4 garlic cloves finely chopped
2cm piece of ginger finely chopped
3 tbsp light soy
1/3 chicken stock cube, with 60ml hot water
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1.5 tbsp sesame oil
1.5 tbsp light brown sugar
Method:
1. Coat the chicken in 4tbsp of the corn flour, and fry in the vegetable oil (hot), until lightly browned. Remove from pan and cover with foil.
2. Turn the pan to medium. Add the onions and peppers and chillis and fry for 5 mins. While they are frying make the sauce by mixing together the soy sauces, hoi sin, sesame oil, sugar, remaining corn flour. Add the chicken back in and fry for 2 mins. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for 3 mins.
3. Add the Szechuan peppercorns for one minute. Then add the sauce and mix until coated. The sauce should go thick and sticky. Serve with plain rice!
#szechuancuisine #szechuanfood #szechuansauce #szechuanpepper #szechuanchicken #szechuanpeppercorn #szechuanchickenrice
Chicken of the woods coconut milk soup. A riff on Thom Ka Ghai. Similar to the curry I shared a few months ago but lighter and more herbaceous.
I season it with fish sauce, a dash of maple, galangal, lemongrass, lime leaves, Thai basil, very young prickly ash leaves and an oil infused with their seeds (wild Szechuan peppercorns/Xanthoxylum).
Pick some garnishes you like and choose your own adventure. I like it with lots of herbs and floating some oil on white soups always pops.
Sometimes I add rice at the table.
Young, brightly colored yellow/sulphureus chickens can color it like weak saffron if you cook them slowly in coconut oil first. Lobster mushrooms too.
Recipe’s on my site but there’s lots of ways to make it.
#chickenofthewoods #tomkhagai #pricklyash #szechuanpepper #kinomeleaves #xanthoxylumamericanum
Asked to make a signature dish for a mahjong party both spinningdimsum and myself went naturally to Asian influences.
We spent the morning on 82nd street at the local Chinese market getting things like #hoisin, #redchili, #szechuanpepper, tofu and many other new ingredients for me. spinningdimsum was kind enough to introduce me to lots of great flavors there so we went for it!!
We then made Kung Pao Tofu using the NYT recipe by hamegram
Outstanding results!!!
Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan_pepper
- www.thespicehouse.com/products/sichuan-peppercorns
- https://www.thespruceeats.com/sichuan-peppercorn-info-694248
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/prickly-ash
- https://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/food/article/The-Szechuan-peppercorn-is-back-after-a-long-term-1265515.php
- www.healthbenefitstimes.com/health-benefits-of-szechuan-pepper/
Szechuan peppercorns are amazing. I just made a Szechuan beef dish, where I did 1 to 1 Szechuan peppercorns and a mildly bitter pepper like chinese pepper. Throw it into a spice grinder, add a little cayenne to taste, and add that to beef with a soy glaze and some beef base. Nothing else for the main dish. I added some cabbage and scallions and had it over rice.
I have often seen Szechuan Peppercorn in the supermarkets and other specialist stores and wondered about its flavour. Your post has helped me to understand it so much better. I love spicy food and I also enjoy the flavour of lemon, so the fact that it combines both flavours with a lemon and spicy taste is a real bonus. But the fact that I have to be cautious now with hot peppers, this may well be the solution, as it is not as hot as hot pepper. The fact they are fruits was interesting and they have health benefits too! Wow, I shall be adding this to the shopping list for our next visit. Do you recommend sprinkling them onto fish during baking or after when it is served?
I love Szechuan peppercorn. I have not cooked with it myself however. I knew the owner of a India restuarant in Arizona and the conversation came up one day of what the different spices were that she used. This Szechuan peppercorn was one of them. My friend explained the versatility of this spice. Did not realize it was banned at one point in the U.S though I am sure glad it was lifted. So glad to see Amazon carries this.
Thank you so so much. Let us know if there any other particular spice you would like to know more about.