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Sichuan Peppercorn

jhlurie

By jhlurie
in China: Cooking & Baking

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tommy

tommy

Posted
Posted
:laugh:

And let it be known that I have promised Trillium dibs on the first few bags of sichuan peppercorn at Foodmart International, if any remain.

as of a few days ago, there didn't seem to be any. i went to the one in little fairy, and the other one. i looked high and low, as well as left and right. no luck.

you guys have an advantage as you at least know where they *were*.

tommy:eats.com
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NeroW

NeroW

Posted
Posted

This has me puzzled. One of my chefs at school insists that they have Sichuan peppercorns here in storage . . . and that they can order more. I will talk to him again tomorrow. :huh:

Noise is music. All else is food.

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SethG

SethG

Posted
Posted
No mistake. Sichuan pepper can still be found in NYC chinatown.

All the best,

--

Ian

Mind telling me where?

I recently did a little experiment where I went from store to store in Manhattan's Chinatown asking for them. Invariably I was told "no, they're illegal."

But maybe I look like a narc! :biggrin:

Is there a secret password?

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

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Carlovski

Carlovski

Posted
Posted

This is all very strange to me. Restaurants can obviously get them, judging by reviews of Grand Sichuan (Which I HAVE to go to, if I ever make the trip over the pond). US Food laws just seem, well odd.

It's so easy to get them in the UK - my local town centre (I.e not a huge out of town) supermarket stocks them. The last batch I bought was from a local market stall, a huge box for £1.00. They were ok, but weren't very potent. Hence a slight error in judgement last weekend with my freshly opened Bart's spices jar. Completely numbed the tip of my tongue. Did very strange things to the taste of my wine!

I love animals.

They are delicious.

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Episure

Episure

Posted
Posted (edited)

I just noticed this thread on Shichuan Peppercorns, you all might be interested in My post in the India section.

And yes, it loses it's potency over a long period of storage. Must be having a lot of volatile oils.

Edited to correct keystroke error.

Edited by Episure (log)

I fry by the heat of my pans. ~ Suresh Hinduja

http://www.gourmetindia.com

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Ian

Ian

Posted
Posted (edited)

Tommy,

My point is that it was an article for the New York Times. In that area, sichuan pepper can be found. If it was a national newspaper, you would have a point.

SethG,

I haven't been to NYC for a while but friends tell me they're available. One time I bought them in NYC I had to ask six different people in one store before they understood what I was looking for! They simply know them by the Cantonese or Mandarin name, not sichuan pepper, bunge prickly ash, etc.

All the best,

Edited by Ian (log)

Ian Fenn

http://www.chopstix.com/

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Ian

Ian

Posted
Posted
that may very well be the case. however, i still think it was irresponsible, or at the very least misleading, for the Times so spotlight a product that is not easily accessible while not making any mention of that fact.

Perhaps Florance Fabricant didn't have any problem obtaining some.

All the best,

Ian Fenn

http://www.chopstix.com/

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Ian

Ian

Posted
Posted
sounds like she didn't do the appropriate research.

Wow! You really do have an axe to grind. Why?

If you've read the piece you'll know she cooked recipes from Fuchsia Dunlop's book. In order to do so she will have needed sichuan pepper. Now, either she already had some or she was able to buy some. If we assume the latter, what other research would have been necessary?

All the best,

Ian Fenn

http://www.chopstix.com/

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tommy

tommy

Posted
Posted
Now, either she already had some or she was able to buy some. If we assume the latter, what other research would have been necessary?

an axe to grind? not really. this is just one of two or so discussions about that article. and i'm certainly not the only contributor.

i'm not assuming the latter. and if she did go out and buy some, she still should have mentioned that they're very hard to come by. it's generally accepted that they're perhaps illegal at his point. you yourself say you haven't shopped for this product in some time, so i'm a bit confused by your insistence that my opninion is somehow wrong.

i don't have anything else to add.

tommy:eats.com
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Ian

Ian

Posted
Posted

tommy,

if she did go out and buy some, she still should have mentioned that they're very hard to come by.

That doesn't make sense. If she had no trouble obtaining them in New York, how would she come to the conclusion that they're difficult to come by. What actually seems more difficult to come by is official confirmation that this ban exists.

you yourself say you haven't shopped for this product in some time, so i'm a bit confused by your insistence that my opninion is somehow wrong.

I just think you're failing to give her a fair hearing on account of the fact that you failed to find them yourself. As I mentioned, whilst I haven't bought them myself recently, I've been told by people I trust that sichuan peppercorns can be found in NYC if you know what to look for.

All the best,

Ian Fenn

http://www.chopstix.com/

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