Szechuan Pepper Salt (Sichuan)

PURPOSE

WHAT IS IT?

Szechuan pepper isn’t really a pepper or a peppercorn. It’s really a member of the citrus family, a dried rind of a small fruit. The seeds, shiny and black, are discarded. It is best applied at the end of cooking, as it breaks down with excess heat.  The salt blends the szechuan’s pungent lemony with sodium. I’m a fan of smoked salts, but here I think you’re better off with some kosher salt, SJ’s whole szechuan pepper, and a spice grinder.

EXPERIENCE

Szechuan pepper has mildly pungent, lemon overtones with a mild, tingly numbness of the mouth called “málà” in Chinese, that is caused by a small amount of hydroxy alpha sanshool in the husks of the fruit. The salt accentuates the flavor.

CULINARY GEOGRAPHY

Popular in Chinese, Nepalese, Indian, Indonesian, and Tibetan, cuisines, Szechuan pepper originates from China.

TRADITIONAL USES

• Sambals and pickles
• Momo, a Himalayan dumpling stuffed with vegetables, cottage cheese, or minced yak meat, water buffalo meat, or pork;
• Mongolian stir-fried lamb
• Sichuan pepper chicken or steak

A FEW IMPROVISATIONAL RIFFS:

• My Chinese barbecue rib rub.
• Simple stir-fry Sichuan scallop
• Add to a lemon muffin’s topper for a little lift
• A sprinkle in an omelette with a high fat cheese like brie provides a little contrasting flavor pop.

THE BACKSTORY

Szechuan pepper was widely traded throughout Asia and Indonesia both as a spice and a medicinal herb. It can be found in so many daily cuisines as a result. Popularized by the spicy Szechuan cooking craze in America in the 1980s, the fruit became a big seller on the spice racks of American stores that offered Asian foods.

The United States government banned Szechuan pepper from the late 1960’s because the fruit husks could potentially carry citrus canker bacteria and infect the American citrus crop. The ban was loosely adhered to, and was lifted in 2005 under the condition that all szechuan pepper imported be roasted at 70°C/158F to kill the bacteria.

Pepper salts became popularized in western cultures in the early 21st century, and don’t really have a lot to recommend themselves other than convenience, which, in my mind, doesn’t trade off at the cost/space to store level.

AKA

• Sichuan pepper salt
• Chinese pepper salt
• Chinese coriander salt
• Thingye salt
• Shanshō salt
• Shān jiāo salt
• Huā jiāo salt
• Andaliman salt
• Tuba salt
• Aniseed pepper salt
• Sprice pepper salt
• Chinese prickly-ash salt
• Fagara salt
• Nepal pepper salt
• Indonesian lemon pepper salt

Get top quality from our friends at SpiceJungle.