{"id":6788,"date":"2019-12-15T13:35:19","date_gmt":"2019-12-15T13:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redhousespice.com\/?p=6788"},"modified":"2022-06-07T17:15:53","modified_gmt":"2022-06-07T17:15:53","slug":"sichuan-pepper-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redhousespice.com\/sichuan-pepper-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Sichuan Pepper (\u82b1\u6912): Your Questions Answered"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is Sichuan pepper? What does it taste like? Is there a substitute? How is it used? How to judge its quality? Read my complete guide to this unique spice.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When it comes to Chinese cuisine, particularly Sichuan food, you can hardly miss a unique spice that gives numerous dishes an exciting zing: Sichuan pepper (花椒, Huā Jiāo). Based on the questions I’ve received from my readers, I’ve written a complete guide in Q&A form. I hope it will help you have a good understanding of this wonderful spice. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Sichuan pepper?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sichuan pepper is the dried berry of a type of spiky shrub native to regions of Western China. Unlike its name suggests, it’s neither a pepper nor a chilli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unique to Chinese cuisine, it has been used as a spice since ancient times. It has a pinkish-red, pimply appearance and delivers a distinctive, mouth-numbing sensation known as Má\/麻.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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What are its other names in English?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Szechuan\/Szechwan pepper, Chinese prickly ash, dehydrated prickly ash, Chinese pepper, rattan pepper (for the green variety), mala pepper, etc. They all refer to the same spice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is it called in Chinese?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Chinese name for Sichuan pepper is 花椒 (Huā Jiāo). It literally means flower pepper, as the red husks that hold black seeds inside “bloom” like a flower when ripe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The term “Sichuan” is not included in its Chinese name. So if you ask a Chinese person for “Sichuan pepper”, highly likely they wouldn’t know what you are talking about. Or they might think you are looking for chilli pepper which is widely used in Sichuan cuisine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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I’ve sourced some premier quality Sichuan pepper from Gansu province for the participants of my Culinary Tour of China.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What does Sichuan pepper taste like?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It’s best to describe its taste in two dimensions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n