Sichuan pepper is a signature spice of the Sichuan cuisine of China’s southwest. When eaten it produces a tingling, numbing effect due to the presence of hydroxy-alpha sanshool. It is commonly used in dishes such as mapo doufu and Chongqing hot pot.
About Sichuan pepper in brief
Sichuan pepper is a signature spice of the Sichuan cuisine of China’s southwest. When eaten it produces a tingling, numbing effect due to the presence of hydroxy-alpha sanshool in the peppercorn. It is commonly used in dishes such as mapo doufu and Chongqing hot pot, and is often added together with chili peppers to create a flavor known as málà. It belongs to the global genus Zanthoxylum in the family Rutaceae, which includes citrus and rue.
Related species are used in the cuisines of several other countries across Asia. Z. piperitum is harvested in Japan and Korea to produce sanshō or chopi, which has numbing properties similar to those of Chinese SICHuan peppercorns. In Indonesia’s North Sumatra province, Z acanthopodium is harvested and known as andaliman. Research has revealed that Zoxylum bungeanum has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antioxidant effects.
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This page is based on the article Sichuan pepper published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 04, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
