Sichuan pepper
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Sichuan pepper is a spice in Chinese cuisine that is commonly used in the Sichuan cuisine from China's west-central Sichuan Province. Sichuan pepper's unique aroma and flavor is neither hot like chili peppers nor pungent like black pepper. Instead, it has slight lemony overtones and creates a tingly numbness in the mouth, known in Mandarin as málà (Template:Nowrap; "numb-spiciness"), due to its hydroxy alpha sanshool molecules.
Despite its name, Sichuan pepper is not closely related to either black pepper or the chili pepper. It is derived from at least two species of the global genus Zanthoxylum, including Z. simulans and Z. bungeanum. The husk or hull (pericarp) around the seeds may be used whole, especially in Sichuan cuisine, and the finely ground powder is one of the ingredients for five-spice powder. It is also used in traditional Chinese medicine. The pericarp is most often used, but the leaves of various species are also used in some regions of China. While the exact flavor and composition of different species from the genus Zanthoxylum vary, most share the same essential characteristics. So while the terms "Sichuan pepper" and sanshō may refer specifically to Z. simulans and Z. piperitum, respectively, the two are commonly used interchangeably.
Related species are used in the cuisines of Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, Thailand, and India (the Konkani and Kumaoni people) and Toba Batak peoples. In Bhutan, this pepper is known as thingye and is used liberally in preparation of soups, gruels, and phaag sha paa (pork slices).Template:Citation needed In Nepal, timur is used in the popular foods momo, thukpa, chow mein, chicken chilli, and other meat dishes. It is also widely used in homemade pickles. People take timur as a medicine for stomach or digestion problems, in a preparation with cloves of garlic and mountain salt with warm water.
