Cooking with Szechuan Peppercorns

[zaskar]

I just bought back a bunch of szechuan peppercorns fom china and was looking to cook w/ them.

If I throw them in whole, they tend to make to dish feel "griity", kind of like dirt is in the dish. My wife doesn't care for it that way.

Anyone have any suggestions for making them seem less "gritty"?

-z

[greenwich st]

I haven't ever cooked with it, but just read about szechuan pepper in Molly Stevens's wonderful Braising book. She says to avoid this problem you should use an electric grinder with sharp blades to pulse it to an "ultrafine powder". (First toast the peppercorns in a small dry skillet till you can smell them.) Then sift the powder through a fine mesh sieve, resulting in a "light and fluffy" powder. Otherwise, she warns, the grit will spoil your dish.

[hzrt8w]

Anyone have any suggestions for making them seem less "gritty"?

←

Toast first, then use coffee grinder?

[SuzySushi]

In my Chinese cooking experience, Sichuan peppercorns are never used whole -- they're always toasted (swirled in dry skillet over medium-high heat until they smell fragrant), then ground to a powder. You can use a small spice grinder, clean coffee grinder, or mortar & pestle.

BTW, they're delicious mixed with salt for a salt & pepper dip.

[Pan]

The Sichuan restaurants I've been to in New York all use whole Sichuan peppers. And unlike some of the rest of you, I happen to like them.

[Big Bunny]

Sichuan pepper is used pretty much like black pepper in this respect. It is usually toasted and ground, but can be thrown whole into stews. Whole Sichuan pepper in a stir-fry pretty much "roasts" in the process.

Even if you don't eat the pepper corns, they season the oil/sauce.

BB

[jmolinari]

I know exactly the gritty feeling you're talking about. I get it also when i buzz them in a coffee grinder. To avoid this you have to pick out the little BLACK seeds which are sometimes encased by the husk of the peppercorn.

It is a pain in the ASS, but those black seeds are what causes the grittyness.

jason

[Werdna]

I know exactly the gritty feeling you're talking about. I get it also when i buzz them in a coffee grinder. To avoid this you have to pick out the little BLACK seeds which are sometimes encased by the husk of the peppercorn.

It is a pain in the ASS, but those black seeds are what causes the grittyness.

jason

←

I've got my technique down for this, it really speeds up the black-seed-picking

-gently rub the peppercorns in your mortar/pestle until the casings have broken off, but you have not crushed the black seeds.

-dump the mixture onto a large platter and swirl it around, the seeds will roll in groups and the casings will not, allowing you to pick em out and toss em.

Then I toast the casings, and grind em, what used to take me 1/2 hour now takes a few minutes.

[jmolinari]

Sweet Werdna, thanks for the tip/method. I'll definitely try it next time i use them

[Ben Hong]

Grittiness is not a big problem to me because I can only think of two occasions where szechuan peppercorns are used...stews (whole in a spice bag) and in a dry dip. For the latter, pan roast and grind with a mortar and pestle. Not a popular spice for us Cantonese.

[jmolinari]

Ben, what about in Kung Pao?

[Ben Hong]

Ben, what about in Kung Pao?

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That's Szechuan restaurant food cliche'. I am merely a Toysan (Cantonese) home cook nowadays.

Edited February 13, 2006 by Ben Hong (log)

[jmolinari]

I cook almost exclusively szechuan at home, from Land of Plenty...

[Ben Hong]

That's good, but different strokes....Chinese cooking reflects the size and wide diversity of the country and some people have a problem understanding that Vietnamese cuisine is more akin to Cantonese cooking than the latter is to Szechuan. Strictly speaking for myself, I can only take the sledge hammer approach to flavouring in Szechuan cooking only so much. Subtlety and nuance are difficult states to achieve and whenever I am faced with a powerfully spiced Szechuan dish my inward question is, what are they trying to cover up with all the peppers and chilis? Nevetheless, I enjoy all foods well prepared and even though I can, I just don't prefer to cook certain cuisines.

[AzianBrewer]

Crush it and use it as one of your "secret" ingredient of dry rub for smoked ribs!!!