Sichuan pepper & spices
Sichuan pepper is a citrus-family husk that makes your lips tingle. Pepper is only its nickname.
Get the tingle into your cooking
Pick and toast
Pick out the black seeds and twigs, since only the husk matters. Toast the husks in a dry pan on low until fragrant.
Grind or infuse
Grind it fresh for mapo tofu, because the powder fades fast. Or steep whole husks in warm oil, keeping it below smoking.
Pair it with chili
Peppercorn numbs, chili burns. Together they make mala, the taste of Sichuan. Start with a small pinch, because the tingle builds.
Ma is the tingle. La is the burn.
Good to know
What does Sichuan pepper taste like?
Lemony and woody, with a light tingling buzz on the lips and tongue. Green Sichuan pepper tastes brighter and more citrusy than red.
Is Sichuan pepper spicy?
Not the way chili is. It has no capsaicin, so it numbs and tingles without burning. The heat in mala dishes comes from the chilies.
Why was Sichuan pepper banned in the US?
The plant can carry citrus canker, a disease that threatens citrus crops. The US restricted imports from 1968, and enforcement tightened around 2002. Imports reopened in 2005 for heat-treated peppercorns, and that heat rule was later dropped.
