Sichuan pepper
Chinese spice / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Sichuan pepper (Chinese: 花椒; pinyin: huājiāo; Nepali: टिमुर, romanized: timur) (Zanthoxylum piperitum), also known as Szechuan pepper, Szechwan pepper, Chinese prickly ash, Chinese pepper, Mountain pepper, and mala pepper, is a spice commonly used in Sichuan cuisine in China, in Nepal, and in northeast India. Despite its name, Sichuan pepper is not closely related to black pepper or chili peppers. It is made from plants of the genus Zanthoxylum in the family Rutaceae, which includes citrus and rue.[1]
Sichuan pepper | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Chinese | 花椒 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Literal meaning | Flower pepper | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 málà (Chinese: 麻辣; 'numb-spiciness').