Sichuan Peppercorn

[tommy]

It looked exactly like Tommy's picture only with large succulent stir-fried shrimp.  Jon's description of the taste is very close to my experience of it.  There were gobs(scientific amount) of the peppercorns in this dish.

i would suggest that maybe all of those gobs weren't these buds.  it must have been mixed with gobs of other stuff as well, unless they were old crappy like b edulis'.

[Miss J]

Jinmyo - the book does indeed have some luvverly pics. There's a great one of a dish called something really innocuous like "Boiled Beef Slices," which is actually an enormous tureen of beef slices in broth that's absolutely steeped in Facing Heaven Chiles, crushed Sichuan peppercorns, crushed red chiles and other yummy hot things. I'm planning on making it for myself one cold day when my spice-cautious boyfriend is out of town.  

Here's her ma po do fu recipe from a BBC website, if you'd like an idea of what her writing & recipes are like. (I've made this one, and I think it's very good.)

Adam - the supplier she suggests is the Cool Chile Company, which has very helpfully just launched its online shop. They mostly supply Mexican chiles, but they also offer good Sichuan peppercorns and Facing Heaven Chiles. They also have stalls at both Borough and Portobello markets, where they offer quite a nice black bean chile. And their chipotle ketchup is pretty nice, too - I won't eat grilled cheese without it now.

Miss J

[jhlurie]

Ah.  So at last we get to the heart of the mystery of the Sichuan Peppercorn (is it just me, or does that sound like the title of an old Perry Mason book?).  We've all had different quality peppercorns!

It made absolutely no sense to me that I've never had this before.  Now it's clear that I could have... and just not had high quality ones.  The sensation was very clear--VERY unmistakable.

[stefanyb]

i would suggest that maybe all of those gobs weren't these buds.  it must have been mixed with gobs of other stuff as well, unless they were old crappy like b edulis'.

I would suggest that they were in this dish.  Gobs of them, so there.

Whether they were the good ones or not i cannot testify but my lips are still burning. :wow:

[jhlurie]

Jinmyo - the book does indeed have some luvverly pics. There's a great one of a dish called something really innocuous like "Boiled Beef Slices," which is actually an enormous tureen of beef slices in broth that's absolutely steeped in Facing Heaven Chiles, crushed Sichuan peppercorns, crushed red chiles and other yummy hot things. I'm planning on making it for myself one cold day when my spice-cautious boyfriend is out of town.  

You know, it's funny.  I'm a lover of spicy food.  But my opinion of the Sichuan Peppercorns so far seems to suggest that I'm going to like the sensation that they give much better without the addition of red chiles.  The ginger I had accompanying my one experience was much more UNUSUAL.

[Miss J]

Whilst I'm doing unpaid PR, I looked up exactly what Dunlop says about Sichuan peppercorns. Paraphrased, she basically says that the pink-ish husks are the flavoured, aromatic part, and the glossy black seeds are nearly flavourless.  The best stuff comes from a mountainous part of Sichuan called Hanyuan, where the freshly picked peppercorns smell so strong that the locals say if you rub some on your palm you'll be able to smell it off the back of your hand through your flesh and bones. :wow:

She then warns about poor quality = no tingle. She also recommends that when you 'quality test' your peppercorns, you only chew once or twice (and she really emphasises that), just in case the unadulterated tingle is a little strong and/or unexpected.  

jlurhie - I know what you mean about savouring the peppercorns on their own, but the facing heaven chiles I have in my cupboard have a really lovely, almost tea-flavoured heat. Very nice with the 'corns!

Miss J

[Elizabeth Ann]

I went to the Spice House today and asked for sichuan peppercorns. The clerk told me that they didn't have any. She explained that a customs agent had come into the store the other day and said that they were "interdicting" the sichuan peppercorns due to a virus. Has anyone else heard about this?

[chopjwu12]

I hope not because we use tem all the time.

[Steve Klc]

Great term, interdicting. Which country are we talking about Elizabeth Ann? Is this an EU thing or a US thing? And Mamster--didn't you do a piece on sichuan peppercorns a few years ago--ever here of anything like this? Seems certain foodies have been lamenting the varieties of these not true peppercorns available for some time--which actually aren't peppercorns (true pepper is a dried fruit, a dried berry) but a different dried bud (rue).

[Elizabeth Ann]

Steve,

U.S. Customs. The Spice House is in Evanston Illinois, they do an extensive mail order business.

[Steve Klc]

Do you know if it has been pulled from the website? I tried to look when I first read your post and their server was down.

[Fat Guy]

Interesting. Do these peppercorns come from China? Didn't our Secretary of Agriculture just go to China?

[Jinmyo]

Interesting. Do these peppercorns come from China? Didn't our Secretary of Agriculture just go to China?

Why? Do you think he sprinkled something on them from his pocket?

[Fat Guy]

She. Her name is Ann Veneman. I don't really know what she was doing over there, but it's always worth bearing in mind that interdiction efforts are prone to politicization. When they prioritize which risks to public health they're going to clamp down on, it always seems that the countries we're battling with get their products held up to extra scrutiny. I shouldn't speculate -- I'm no conspiracy theorist and I don't even know if the information presented by the people at the store was at all accurate -- but I just noticed a coincidence that, if it's true, Sichuan peppercorns are being interdicted at the same time SecAg is doing something having to do with China.

[Rhea_S]

I first heard about the Sichuan peppercorn import ban about a year ago. There was an article in cnn.com or other news source. The peppercorns are carriers of some plant disease (a kind of canker?). I tried to find the original article I read, but I had no luck. I can still find the peppercorns at my local Asian food store, but I think they're at least over a year old.

[Fat Guy]

The plot thickens . . .

[jhlurie]

I notice that the fomer link to their website for Sichuan Peppercorns is now a dead link.

Time for them to call google, since it still shows up really high in their index.

[Fat Guy]

It doesn't help. I've been trying to get eGullet's shit updated for months and nobody is listening.

[mamster]

Sorry, Steve K--I didn't write a piece on Szechuan peppercorns. You might be thinking of my review of Grand Sichuan International, in which I waxed, well, whatever people wax these days about the Auzhou Spicy Chicken. It was loaded with mouth-numbing peppercorns.

World Spice in Seattle notes that they're "out of stock until next crop." I need to go in there for a couple of things, so I'll be sure to ask if there's a problem.

edit: Wait, I just noticed this:

"Notice: This product is currently under an import ban in the whole, unroasted form because of the citrus canker that infected the crop in Southeast Asia. We will not sell it whole as it must be ground and roasted at it's origin to satisfy US import regulations. Stay tuned for updates."

Something tells me Grand Sichuan International is neatly sidestepping this ban.

[dsc32]

if you are looking to get some sichuan peppercorns, formaggio kitchen sells them -- 617-354-4750. i think they're like $1.25 for a decent-sized plastic container of them.

[mamster]

I'm bringing this back up, because I recently got the incredible book Sichuanese Cookery, by the perfectly named Fuchsia Dunlop. It's billed as the first authentic Sichuanese cookbook in English, and I don't know whether it's that or not, but the recipes are awesome.

Of course most of them call for sichuan peppercorns, so now I really need some, and some good quality stuff that will numb my whole head. Who's got a source for the good stuff, the kind they use at Grand Sichuan International? I smell smuggling.

[Orik]

I'm bringing this back up, because I recently got the incredible book Sichuanese Cookery, by the perfectly named Fuchsia Dunlop.  It's billed as the first authentic Sichuanese cookbook in English, and I don't know whether it's that or not, but the recipes are awesome.

Of course most of them call for sichuan peppercorns, so now I really need some, and some good quality stuff that will numb my whole head.  Who's got a source for the good stuff, the kind they use at Grand Sichuan International?  I smell smuggling.

Looks like a related title (or is it just the american edition?) is going to be available early next year.

[awbrig]

I have a whole tin of them from Dean & Deluca...but have never used them and I would like too...anyone have any recipes I can use these things in?

Seriously, these are ok to eat right...did we get an answer on this virus rumor on Szechuan peppercorns?

[=Mark]

Are these the hoogie-doogies (Scott Muni ref.) that were used in the dish at the China 46 eGullet dinner that made your lips numb?

[mamster]

awbrig, they're safe to eat. There's just an import ban because they might contain some kind of citrus parasite. If you're not a citrus, chow down.

Yes, Land of Plenty is the American edition of Sichuan Cookery. And yes, markstevens, they're the lip-numbers.