Huajiao

[Sadie]

When eaten, Sichuan pepper produces a tingling, numbing effect due to the presence of hydroxy-alpha sanshool.[2] The spice has the effect of transforming other flavors tasted together or shortly after. It is used in Sichuan dishes such as mapo doufu and Chongqing hot pot, and is often added together with chili peppers to create a flavor known as ml (Chinese: 麻辣; 'numb-spiciness').

Zanthoxylum armatum is found throughout the Himalayas, from Kashmir to Bhutan, as well as in Taiwan, Nepal, China, Philippines, Malaysia, Japan, and Pakistan,[8] and is known by a variety of regional names, including timur (टमुर) in Nepali and Hindko,[9] yer ma (གཡེརམ) in Tibetan[10] and thingye in Bhutan.[11]

Zanthoxylum gilletii is an African species of Zanthoxylum used to produce spice uzazi. Similarly, other Zanthoxylum species are harvested for spice and season production in a number of cultures and culinary traditions. These spices include andaliman, chopi, sancho, sanshō, teppal, and tirphal.[citation needed]

Sichuan pepper is an important spice in Chinese, Nepali, Kashmiri, north east Indian, Tibetan, and Bhutanese cookery of the Himalayas.[citation needed] Sichuan pepper has a citrus-like flavor and induces a tingling numbness in the mouth, akin to a 50-hertz vibration,[12] due to the presence of hydroxy-alpha sanshool. Food historian Harold McGee describes the effect of sanshools thus: .mw-parser-output .templatequoteoverflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 32px.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequoteciteline-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0

"...they produce a strange, tingling, buzzing, numbing sensation that is something like the effect of carbonated drinks or of a mild electric current (touching the terminals of a nine-volt battery to the tongue). Sanshools appear to act on several different kinds of nerve endings at once, induce sensitivity to touch and cold in nerves that are ordinarily nonsensitive, and so perhaps cause a kind of general neurological confusion."[13]

Whole, green, freshly picked Sichuan pepper may be used in cooking, but dried Sichuan pepper is more commonly used. Once dried, the shiny black seeds inside the husk are discarded, along with any stems; the husk is what we know as Sichuan pepper or peppercorn.[citation needed]

Sichuan pepper is also available as an oil (Chinese: 花椒油, marketed as either "Sichuan pepper oil", "Bunge prickly ash oil", or "huajiao oil"). Sichuan pepper infused oil can be used in dressing, dipping sauces, or any dish in which the flavor of the peppercorn is desired without the texture of the peppercorns themselves.[16]

One Himalayan specialty is the momo, a dumpling stuffed with vegetables, cottage cheese, or minced yak or beef, and flavored with Sichuan pepper, garlic, ginger, and onion.[19] In Nepal, the mala flavor is known as timur (टमुर).[20]

In Indonesian Batak cuisine, andaliman is ground and mixed with chilies and seasonings into a green sambal or chili paste.[22] Arsik is a typical Indonesian dish containing andaliman.[23]

In Traditional Chinese medicine, Zanthoxylum bungeanum has been used as a herbal remedy. It is listed in the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China and is prescribed for ailments as various as abdominal pains, toothache, and eczema. However, Sichuan pepper has no indications or accepted case for use in evidence-based medicine. Research has revealed that Z. bungeanum can have analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antioxidant effects in model animals and cell cultures.[24] In rabbits, Z. armatum was experimentally investigated for its potential use in treating gastrointestinal, respiratory, and cardiovascular disorders.[25]

From 1968 to 2005,[27] the United States Food and Drug Administration banned the importation of Sichuan peppercorns because they were found to be capable of carrying citrus canker (as the tree is in the same family, Rutaceae, as the genus Citrus). This bacterial disease, which is very difficult to control, could potentially harm the foliage and fruit of citrus crops in the U.S. The import ban was only loosely enforced until 2002.[28]

In 2005, the USDA and FDA allowed imports,[29] provided the peppercorns were heated for ten minutes to approximately 140 F (60 C) to kill any canker bacteria.[30] Starting in 2007, the USDA no longer required peppercorns to be heated, fully ending the import ban on peppercorns.[31]

Sichuan pepper is not truly a pepper but the seed pod of a shrubby tree in the citrus family. There are dozens if not hundreds of edible Sichuan pepper species and varieties grown in China as well as in Japan and some other Asian countries. It is sometimes called prickly ash, a species of which also grows in the U.S. As the little berries dry, they open and release their seeds, which are not eaten.

In Sichuan, you find huajiao in an array of colors, from green to brownish red to bright red, and you also see it freshly picked during some times of the year. The Chengdunese make liberal use of the fresh-on-the-vine green Sichuan pepper, or tengjiao, as an ingredient and garnish. Green Sichuan pepper is sometimes also called rattan pepper in English.

Most Sichuan pepper has a strong citrus fragrance and flavor ranging from lemon and orange to grapefruit and pomelo. Everyone seems to have a different opinion about whether the red or green is more strong and numbing. I feel the green is more intense, but it also just has a different flavor, more fresh and vegetal, while the red tends to be more warm and woodsy.

The Sichuan peppercorns found in Asian markets in the U.S. [in 2014] are usually lowest quality and quite inexpensive, full of brittle black seeds and stray twigs. They are also fairly old, not having a big turnover, and have often lost whatever aroma, flavor and numbing quality they ever had. I would therefore recommend buying Sichuan pepper from a spice shop or dedicated seller. You truly do get what you pay for.

And of course I would recommend buying it from The Mala Market. We source two species of red Sichuan pepper and one of green Sichuan pepper. The Big Red Pao (dahongpao) species is grown in Gansu province, as much quality huajiao is nowadays. As the name, which literally translates as big red robe, so wonderfully implies, it is large, bright red and delivers a big, earthy, citrus pow. The Hanyuan red peppercorn is smaller and darker red and is more lemony tart. Green huajiao is generally grown in warmer climates. Ours comes from the famed growing area of Jinyang County, in southern Sichuan near the Yunnan border.

All three species are from the most recently harvested crop, and have the intense fragrance, flavor, and numbing sensation Sichuan pepper is meant to have. And as a premium product, they have been carefully hand-sorted to have few twigs and seeds.

Dana,

Thanks so much for this info! I think this could be very helpful to the people around the country (world) who are trying to grow their own Sichuan pepper. I admire your effort and persistence. Sounds like it will pay off handsomely at some point.

As for the seed separators, the ones I saw in the factories are quite large contraptions where the peppercorns move through several layers of shaking and filtering. Not sure how you would replicate that at home, but good luck with your harvest.

So jealous of your trees! Keep in mind that the green Sichuan peppercorns used in Sichuan are a green species, not an unripe red. But if your unripe ones are producing enough oil when you squeeze them, then why not try them? I just posted a recipe for suan la fen that is a great showcase for green Sichuan pepper.

Whatever the case, it is interesting to see how botany and culinary cultural practices intersect, seeing how Japan uses the sansho only when it is green. (Even Z. piperitum / sansho seems to ripen to red.)

The dried fruit follicles of Zanthoxylum bungeanum are used as a culinary spice and are particularly popular in Sichuan cuisine (Sichuan pepper). In Japan, Z. piperitum (Linnaeus) Candolle is sometimes similarly used.

Whether these most-used ones are the three mentioned above or whether that includes others (or perhaps, does not even include both of the species mentioned as a kind of qing huajiao, green Sichuan pepper) is not sure.

Aside from Sichuan cooking, huajiao is also one of the 5 spices in Chinese 5-spice mixes (with the others being cassia bark, star anise, fennel seed, and clove). This kind of mix is essential for making stewed meats. See here for an expanded version of 5-spice for a master stock for Guilin noodles.

Sichuan pepper, both whole and ground, is a key ingredient in authentic Sichuan cuisine profile, from soups to stir-fry to dipping sauces, almost for every dish, no matter spicy or non-spicy, with the features of tongue numbness and pungent aromatic fragrance. As a member of the citrus family, it is known as huajiao (花椒) in Chinese, prickly ash, or flower peppercorn, but neither similar nor close to Western white/black peppers. The best Sichuan peppers are, of course, produced in Sichuan and nearby regions in China.

There are two kinds of Sichuan peppers in popular cooking uses: red (红花椒) and green (青红椒). A common misunderstanding is the green one will become red if grow longer. Actually, the green is completely different from red and never becomes red. They even have different chemical components which contribute to their own numbness and aroma. The green one is more aromatic in smell, but slightly less in numbness, while the red is richer in taste. That's why the green one is also called aromatic Sichuan pepper. One variety of green Sichuan pepper is tengjiao (藤椒) in Chinese, whose name comes from its rattan-like or vine-like tree shape. It is also called zhuyejiao (竹叶椒) because its leaves look like bamboo leaves. Tengjiao is bigger in size and richer in oil. It is becoming more and more popular to season fresh and green dishes in Sichuan. See this CCTV video for more about tengjiao

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