Sichuan Pepper
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Pepper |
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Species
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| Zanthoxylum
piperitum Zanthoxylum sancho Zanthoxylum simulans |
The Sichuan Pepper (Zanthoxylum piperitum, Zanthoxylum simulans, Zanthoxylum sancho and some other species in the genus Zanthoxylum) is the outer pod of the tiny fruit of a plant related to the pricklyash, widely grown and consumed in Asia as a spice; despite the name, it is not a member of the black pepper family. It is widely used in the cuisine of Sichuan province, China (Szechuan in Wade-Giles transcription), from which it takes its name, as well as Tibetan, Bhutani, and Japanese cuisines, among others.
It is known in Mandarin Chinese as 花椒 huājiāo (faa1jiu1 in Cantonese), literally "flower pepper"; a lesser-used name is 山椒 shānjiāo, "mountain pepper" (not to be confused with Tasmanian mountain pepper). In Japanese, it is 山椒 sanshō, using the same Chinese characters (written in kana as サンショウ). In Tibetan, it is known as emma.
Culinary uses
The taste of Sichuan Pepper is not hot like black or red pepper, but is a kind of tingly numbness (caused by its 3% of hydroxy-alpha-sanshool) that sets the stage for these hot spices. Recipes often suggest lightly toasting and then crushing the tiny seedpods before adding them to food. It is generally added at the last moment. Star anise and ginger are often used with it and it figures prominently in spicy Sichuan cuisine. It is considered to go well with fish, duck and chicken dishes.
It is also available as an oil (marketed as either "Sichuan Pepper Oil" or "Hwajiaw Oil"). In this form it is best used in stir fry noodle dishes without hot spices. The preferred recipe includes ginger oil and brown sugar to be cooked with a base of noodles and vegetables, with rice vinegar and Sichuan Pepper oil to be added after cooking.
Hua jiao yan ( Chinese: 花椒盐, pinyin: huājiāoyán) is a mixture of salt and Sichuan Pepper, roasted and browned in a wok and served as a condiment to accompany chicken, duck and pork dishes. The peppercorns can also be lightly fried in order to make a spicy oil with various uses.
Sichuan Pepper is one of the few spices important for Tibetan and Bhutani cookery of the Himalayas, because few spices can be grown there. One Himalayan specialty is the momo, a dumpling stuffed with vegetables or yak meat and flavoured with Sichuan Pepper, garlic, ginger and onion. The noodles are steamed and served dry, together with a fiery sauce. Tibetans believe it can sanitize meat that may not be so fresh.
In Japan the dried and powdered leaves of Zanthoxylum sancho are used to make noodle dishes and soups mildly hot and fragrant. The whole leaves, 木の芽 kinome, are used to flavour vegetables, especially bamboo shoots, and to decorate soups.
Sichuan peppercorns are one of the traditional ingredients in the Chinese spice mixture five-spice powder and also shichimi togarashi, a Japanese seven-flavour seasoning.
Composition of various species
- Z. fagara (Central & Southern Africa, South America) — alkaloids, coumarins (Phytochemistry, 27, 3933, 1988)
- Z. simulans (Taiwan) — Mostly beta-myrcene, limonene, 1,8-cineole, Z-beta-ocimene (J. Agri. & Food Chem., 44, 1096, 1996)
- Z. armatum (Nepal) — linalool (50%), limonene, methyl cinnamate, cineole
- Z. rhetsa — Sabinene, limonene, pinenes, para-cymene, terpinenes, 4-terpineol, alpha-terpineol. (Zeitschrift f. Lebensmitteluntersuchung und -forschung A, 206, 228, 1998)
- Z. sansho (Japan [leaves]) — citronellal, citronellol, Z-3-hexenal (Bioscience, Biotechnology and Biochemistry, 61, 491, 1997)
- Z. acanthopodium (Indonesia)
Miscellanea
A couple of years ago the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the importation of Sichuan Peppercorns because they were found to be capable of carrying citrus canker. This bacterial disease, which is very difficult to control, could potentially harm the foliage and fruit of citrus crops in the U.S. It was never an issue of harm in human consumption. Recently the USDA and FDA have lifted the ban, provided the peppercorns are heated to around 70 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Fahrenheit) (which kills the canker bacteria) before importation.
The genus name Zanthoxylum or Xanthoxylum comes from the Greek ξανθὸν ξύλον, "yellow wood".
Other names
It is possible to come across names such as "Szetchuan pepper", "Szechwan pepper", "Chinese pepper", "Japanese pepper", "Aniseed pepper", "Sprice pepper", "Chinese prickly ash", "Fagara", "Sansho", "Nepal pepper", "Indonesian lemon pepper" and others, sometimes referring to specific species within this group, since this plant is not well known enough in the West to have an established name.
Sichuan pepper is unrelated to black pepper (genus Piper) and to chile peppers, which are also widely used in Sichuan cookery.