Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Spice guide to Sichuan Pepper along with all the Sichuan Pepper containing recipes presented on this site, with 47 recipes in total.

This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the spice-based recipes added to this site.

These recipes, all contain Sichuan Pepper as a major flavouring.

Sichuan Pepper (also called Szechuan Pepper, Chinese pepper, Japanese pepper, Aniseed pepper, Sprice pepper, Chinese prickly ash, Fagara, Sansho, Nepal pepper, Indonesian lemon pepper) is the outer pod of the fruit of a number of species in the genus Zanthoxylum (most commonly Zanthoxylum piperitum but also Zanthoxylum simulans, and Zanthoxylum sancho), known as 'prickly ashes' which is widely grown and consumed in Asia as a spice. These are not true peppers, as the Zanthoxylum trees are actually members of the Rutaceae (citrus) family.

The spice itself is formed from the pericarp (shell) of the fruit and the seeds are generally omitted (they are bitter in flavour and yield a gritty texture to the ground spice). The dried fruits of sichuan pepper and its relatives have an aromatic odour that, for most species, can be described as lemon-like, with more or less pronounced warm and woody overtones. Some of the species have deviating flavour, eg Z alatum (spicy) and Z avicennae and Z schinifolium (which is used in Korea) both of which have an anise aroma. Unusually, it is the seed of Z schinifolium that are used as a spice (though the pericarp has the same sensory qualities).

In Neapl, a related species, Zanthoxylum alatum, known as timur [तिम्बुर] is used as a spice (the same species is also employed in Tibet and Bhutan). This species has dark capsules and is far more pungent than Chinese Sichuan pepper and the aromatic quality is closer to cassia. Sichuan pepper is also closely related to West African Uzazi Zanthoxylum tessmannii which also has a 'pungent' sensory quality. The dried pericarp of a related species, Z rhetsa (tirphal [तिरफळ]) the fruit of which are larger and darker than Chinese Sichuan pepper.

Zanthoxylum species typically produce pungent alkamides which are present in the pericarp (the fruit wall) but usually not present in the seeds. The flavours of the fruit are typically the result of the presence of turpenoids, though there can be considerable differences both between and within species. Though Zanthoxylum species are often described as a 'pungent' spice, they actually have a different sensory quality to what we normally think of pungency. Most do not have the fiery heat of black pepper, rather Sichuan peppercorns have more of a 'tickling pungency'. This pungency develops only slowly, eventually leading to a characteristic 'numbing' sensation. As a result Sichuan pepper cannot be used directly for the preparation of spicy dishes, but must be used in conjunction with other spices (in Sichuan cookery it is typically used in combination with chillies.

For used, it is best to buy the spice whole and then grind yourself. Many commercial preparations, however, have significant stems attached which are woody and best removed before grinding (which can be done either with a pestle and mortar or with a coffee grinder).

Sichuan pepper is widely used in the cuisine of Sichuan, China, from which it takes its name, as well as Tibetan, Bhutani, Nepalese and Japanese cuisines. Ground with nutmeg, black pepper, cinnamon, anise and allspice and mixed with flour it makes a flavoursome coating for fish before frying.