Sichuan pepper
Zanthoxylum bungeanum, Z. simulans
spice
Dried husks of the fruit of a small thorny tree of the citrus family, and not a pepper: its sanshool makes the lips tingle and then go numb.
- Origin
- Sichuan (China)
- Season (United States)
- imported · all year round
- Preparation
- The hard, bitter black seeds and little stems are removed: only the husk tingles. Its scent is volatile: at the end of cooking, not the start.
- Did you know?
- With chilli, it makes the málà of Sichuan cooking, the “numbing heat”: mapo tofu, kung pao chicken, Chongqing hot pot.