sichuan Peppercorns

>>7299307
Never had these before, what are they like?

>>7299311
not even a little bit like pepper, they are a spice that really stands alone

the stand out characteristic is that they kind of numb your whole mouth andmake your tonge numb

for that reason they don't sit well with many things, mainly paired with hot hot chilli to make sichan food that is close to poison

>>7299318
How hot are they then? Like chilli hot? It seems a bit like rainbow peppers to me.

>>7299311

If you chew up a whole one and then drink a glass of water it seems like you're drinking a carbonated beverage.

They're sort of like sticking your tongue on on a battery.

Have them with steak, use them in Mexican cooking, put them in stews.

There's also a Greenspan/Herme recipe for sichuan peppercorn truffles. I didn't like them that much though, I felt they took away from the richness of the chocolate.

>>7299322
They're not chilli hot, they're more of a numbing-tingling sensation. When combined with chilli hot, they're quite addicitve. They also add a cooling sensation. I personally think they taste quite citrusy so it's like combining coriander with spicy foods.

I really enjoy how they numb your butthole going out just like your mouth going in

>>7299307
I tried cooking with these once and thought they tasted like poison. I'm by no means a fussy eater but both my gf were repulsed by the flavor in the same way I hear some people have an aversion to cilantro. I'm just wondering if we're alone on this or if perhaps there was something wrong with the package I purchased.

>>7300080
I'm afraid I've never heard of this. I used to work in a Chinese restaurant and while some would explicitly mention and avoid cilantro, it no one seemed to be repulsed by or avoid sichuan peppercorns.

>>7299307
i used to get sichuan peppercorn peanuts. pretty good with a citrusy taste.

>>7299307
If people realized that if you cook them long enough the tingling feeling people either don't like or just aren't expecting goes away they could be used more commonly. i like using them in stirfries and asian grocery stores sell peanuts mixed with those and chili pepper slices that are amazing.

first time i had them, i was extremely confused since everything i ate afterwards tasted metalli

>>7302509
I fry them in oil for the flavor and tingling feeling to permeate the whole dish. I don't think cooking them longer would degrade their properties that much because using the strained oil afterwards still packs plenty of numbing feeling since i heat up the oil extremely hot for stir frying. For less of the properties, I found old, brown red ones gave less of an effect which is usually considered bad. Fresh green ones are the strongest.

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I really don't use them in anything but Szechuan food since the flavor is so distinctive; it tends to overwhelm anything that's not already very spicy and full of sour/savory flavor. On the other hand they are absolutely essential to Szechuan food and elevate it to god-tier cuisine. You really can't replace it. My favorite is mapo tofu (I use this recipe: http://www.thepauperedchef.com/2010/06/how-to-fall-in-love-with-sichuan-food-mapo-doufu.html), but they're also really good in dry-friend chicken and dandan noodles.

If you want the flavour but not loads of the corns in the finished product, frying them for a minute or two in oil then removing the corns leaves the oil with a good flavour.

Toast them in a dry pan with cumin seeds. Grind and use on shoulder of lamb as a dry rub. Slow roast.

Where do you guys get your peppercorns? I ordered mine off of amazon but they were full of twigs and tasted weak.

>>7305587
i got mine off amazon too but they were very fresh and smelled floral/tea when they arrived. it was also purely just the pepper and absolutely no seeds which are hard and gritty and give no flavor. i got them from this seller.

http://www.amazon.com/Helen-Sichuan-Specialty-Dressings-Peppercorn/dp/B00MPJD74U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453690393&sr=8-1&keywords=helen+ou%40hanyuan

As a side note the other ones i ordered off amazon that were very bad/old/brown and had tons of twigs and seeds was from Ajika.

Thanks. I ordered from Whole Spice which were the ones that were poor. I made two dishes in a row with them this weekend and barely tasted that "numbing" flavor at all with them.

Sichuan pepper in Nihon (Japanese) Kare (curry) is 10/10 the citrus aji (Japanese for flavor) really helps