Grinding Szechuan peppercorns

[glenn]

Is there an easy way to do this?

Most seem to recommend heating up the peppercorns and then grinding. I use a cleaver to pound the peppercorns but that doesn't seem to work all that well. And I'm too cheap to buy a mortar and pestle since I have no other use for it.  I bought a szechuan pepper grinder from Mala Market but it takes around 70 twists to get a teaspoon with a bonus of a sprained wrist. Help!

[heidih]

Not what you want to hear - but a m&p in Colombia can't be expensive You will find uses. Hey - new adventures. Also the downward pressure exeerted on ingredients in M&P - just yields a more interesting result - my humble opinion. I often use a small marble one for black peppercorns when I want various grinds, $2 at flea market in Los Angeles  

[Duvel]

21 minutes ago, glenn said:

Is there an easy way to do this?

Most seem to recommend heating up the peppercorns and then grinding. I use a cleaver to pound the peppercorns but that doesn't seem to work all that well. And I'm too cheap to buy a mortar and pestle since I have no other use for it.  I bought a szechuan pepper grinder from Mala Market but it takes around 70 twists to get a teaspoon with a bonus of a sprained wrist. Help!

Sorry … you refuse to buy a mortar & pestle because you find no other use for it, but buy a dedicated Sichuan peppercorn grinder from an overpriced online store !? 🤔

[Duvel]

Also: get a mortar & pestle.

[liuzhou]

How much does a basic mortar and pestle cost? A lot less than a Mala grinder! This makes no sense. And I'd  wager you would find other uses for a mortar and pestle if you had one.

 

I have several.

[glenn]

Okay, my bad. I thought a mortar & pestle ran about $30. I found one locally for around $10.  And yes, cheaper than Mala.

[heidih]

We all need a mental re-set at times. Enjoy! 

[weinoo]

Some more than others.

[Owtahear]

I have a coffee grinder dedicated to just spices and use that.   In fact I make my own 5 spice and some other Sichuan type spice mixtures for things like Cumin Lamb, La Zi Ri, etc....

[liuzhou]

22 minutes ago, Owtahear said:

La Zi Ri

 

La Zi Ri? Did you mean 辣子鸡 (là zi jī), chicken with chilies?

[Owtahear]

46 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

La Zi Ri? Did you mean 辣子鸡 (là zi jī), chicken with chilies?

Yes, seen it called several different things in America.

[liuzhou]

15 minutes ago, Owtahear said:

Yes, seen it called several different things in America.

 

No doubt! The only 'ri' in modern Chinese is 日 meaning 'day'. Chilli Day sounds good to me!