[CH] More than you ever wanted to know about...
Gary Allen (gary.allen@usa.net)
Wed, 10 Jun 1998 11:41:52 -0400
Szechuan Pepper (Zanthoxylum piperitum)
OTHER COMMON OR ETHNIC NAMES:
Aniseseed, Ash Berries, Badiana, Brown Peppercorns, Chinese Anise, Chinese
Aromatic Pepper, Fagara, Japan Pepper, Prickly Ash, Sichuan Pepper
The Genus is sometimes misspelled Xanthoxylum.
China: Faa Jiu, Hua Jiao, Hu Chiao
England: Anise Pepper
Japan: Kinome (leaves), Sansho (seed)
Nepal: Timur
FAMILY:
Rutaceae
RELATED SPECIES:
Correosa, Wild Lime (Zanthoxylum fagara)
Clavalier -- France, Frassinospinosa -- Italy, Prickly Ash, Suterberry,
Toothache Tree, Yellow Wood, Zahnwehgelbholz -- Germany, (Zanthoxylum
americanum -- sometimes Zanthoxylum fraxineum)
Indian Pepper (Zanthoxylum Fagara -- sometimes listed as Fagara rhetsa).
Sansho -- berries, Japan; Kinome -- young leaves, Japan (Zanthoxylum
avicenne -- sometimes Zanthoxylum piperitum)
GROWTH HABITS:
Small evergreen tree
Origin: Northern China, Korea and Japan
Range: To zone 7
CULINARY USES:
Before the discovery of the new world and its hot peppers, Szechuan Pepper
and Black Pepper (Piper nigrum) were the only sources of heat in Szechuan
cooking. The interesting aspect of this "lack" is that both of the
indigenous peppers possess rich, complex, aromatic qualities that are
absent in members of the Capsicum genus.
Szechuan Pepper has a minty, resinous personality combined with a curious
slight numbing of the tongue. It is interesting that English has no words
that distinguish between "hot" (temperature) and "hot" (spicy). Chinese not
only has words for these two qualities, but also for the numbing heat of
Szechuan Peppercorns. The absence of this Pepper in Szechuan food leaves
the food flat and lifeless -- even if its heat level is maintained with
Chile.
The Chinese use these brown peppercorns in Five Spice (a mixture that adds
a characteristic sweetness to many red-cooked dishes as well as Roast
Pork). There is another Chinese spice mixture, for which I have found no
name, that deletes Cinnamon from Five Spice, and adds Cassia, Chile Pepper,
Coriander Seed, Nutmeg and Turmeric. I have not tried it, but it sounds
like a Curry mixture -- which suggests that is probably used in
Southeastern China.
Sansho, or the leaves of Szechuan Pepper, are also known as Pepper Leaf. In
Japan, the bark is also used as a substitute for Black Pepper.
Szechuan Pepper is an ingredient in shichimi (seven spice mixture) -- along
with Black Hemp Seeds, Chile, Mandarin Orange Peel, Nori (seaweed), Poppy
Seeds and Sesame Seeds. I have seen recipes that substitute Rape Seed for
Poppy Seed.
It is sometimes used as one of the ingredients in the Moroccan spice
mixture called Ras el Hanout.
The young flowers and leaves, called Kinome, are used as a garnish in Japan
-- either fresh or pickled in soy sauce. They are added to rice dishes,
Soba (buckwheat noodles) and soups. "Tsukudani" are Sansho seeds, pickled
by cooking in shoyu and mirin (soy sauce and sweet rice wine).
The bark of Indian Pepper (Zanthoxylum fagara) is used as a seasoning in
Southeast Asia. It is said to have a peppery lime-like flavor. Its leaves
are used to flavor rice beer in Vietnam. The zest of unripe fruit, with its
orange-like aroma, is used as a spice -- as are the ripened seeds, which
have a hot, peppery lemon flavor.
CAVEAT:
Zanthoxylum avicenne is not listed in _Hortus Third_, and Sansho and Kinome
are sometimes listed as Zanthoxylum piperitum. The final determinations of
their species remain to be made.
There is some confusion regarding the common names and usages of plants
named "Ash." See also Prickly Ash (Aralia spinosa), Ash (Fraxinus
excelsior), and European Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucuparia).
OTHER USES:
Bark used as incense in Japan.
---------------------------------------------
This excerpt from my book -- AN HERBALIST IN THE KITCHEN -- that has been
in progress for years (and will no doubt continue as such for years to
come) is provided for the use of fellow ChileHeads. It is not public domain.
Copyright 1998, Gary Allen