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| Zanthoxylum flower |
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| Sichuan pepper branch with fruits |
The several species of Sichuan pepper are widely distributed over Asia, but are not used as spice throughout the region. Sichuan pepper is most important in the cuisines of Central China and Japan, but the related species (which I shall call
Sichuan pepper
as well, for simplicity) is also known in parts of India, the whole Himalaya region, and in selected spots in South East Asia. Its usage has, however, not spread to the most of South East Asia. In China, the spice
Sichuan pepper
(
jiao) is obtained from several local species of
Zanthoxylum, and therefore the quality of the spice varies regionally. Although it is often claimed that
Z. piperitum is the canonical source of Sichuan pepper, it appears that actually
Z. bungeanum,
Z. simulans,
Z. planispinum and
Z. armatum are most commonly used. According to reports from the field of Traditional Chinese Medicine,
Z. bungeanum is the most valued of these, and the others are considered as inferior substitutes.
Chinese Sichuan pepper is part of the
five spice powder (see
star anise). It is most characteristic of, but not restricted to, the cooking style of Sichuan, a cool highland province in Central China. For examples of the usage of Sichuan pepper in Sichuan-style Chinese cooking, see
orange (on the beef stew
au larm) and
sesame (on the spicy bean cheese food
mapo doufu ; see also
cassia on the pan-Chinese
master sauce cooking technique.
The characteristic
biting
or numbing taste of Sichuan pepper makes it an indispensable spice for Sichuan cookery; if it is omitted or substituted by
black pepper or
chiles alone, the foods would appear flat or lifeless to any true Chinese connoisseur. In Chinese culinary theory, this type of pungency is important enough to get its own name (
ma , to have a clear distinction to the type of heat provided by other hot spices (which is named
la . To increase the
ma-ness of food at the table, Sichuan pepper is often used as a condiment; a
chile-laden Sichuan stew covered with a thick layer of freshly ground Sichuan pepper is indeed a food one does not forget easily. The two types of
hotness
very well complement each other (
ma la [
麻辣]
hot-and-numbing
). Combination of
chiles fire and tickling
ma is typical for Sichuan cooking; yet similar creations are, in a lesser degree, found, e.g., in Brazil and Indonesia, where
paracress takes up the part of Sichuan pepper.
Many Chinese foods, especially such originating from Sichuan, have an intensive
ma-la flavour. Apart from the former mentioned
mapo doufu, one cound mention a Sichuan version of beef stew,
water-cooked beef
shui zhu niu rou [
水煮牛肉]. The dish draws its extreme pungency from a combination of
chile-bean-paste (
doubanjiang),
chiles browned in hot oil, and Sichuan pepper that has undergone the same procedure. Stock is added to yield a fiery liquid that is used to rapidly cook vegetables and thinly sliced beef (sometimes pork). On serving, the whole dish is topped with crushed chiles and Sichuan pepper.
In Chinese cooking, Sichuan pepper is often used in the form of flavoured salt (
jiao yan [ or
hua jiao yan . To prepare this typical Sichuan flavouring, coarse salt and dried Sichuan pepper are toasted together until some smoke evolves; after cooling, both are ground together to coarse powder. This
peppered salt
is a common table condiment in China. Occasionally, flavoured salt also prepared from
black pepper instead of Sichuan pepper (
hu jiao yan
A similar usage is found in Japan, where the spice (
sansho, sanshō, sanshou is produced from the species
Z. piperitum: The popular condiment
shichimi tōgarashi らし] is composed of hot red
chiles, Sichuan pepper, tangerine or
orange peel and smaller amounts of black and white
sesame seed,
poppy seed and sea weed (
nori ,
のり]). All components are ground together to a coarse texture.
Shichimi tōgarashi is mainly a table condiment which is sprinkled over noodle soups and hotpots.
The Japanese variant of Sichuan pepper is also used to flavour meats fried on a hot plate (
teppanyaki ; unfortunately, it is often substituted by the cheaper
white pepper, particularly outside of Japan. Japanese Sichuan pepper is mostly traded ground, and it has both a fresh, pleasant
lime fragrance and a well-developed pungency.
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| Ripe Sichuan pepper fruits |
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| Sichuan pepper fruits |
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| The Nepali variety of Sichuan pepper, Z. alatum |
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Korean cuisine is probably the only in the world that utilizes two different
Zanthoxylum species.
Chopi [
초피] is exactly the same species as Japanese
sansho and very similar to Chinese
jiao; it is used for a wide variety of foods (meat, fish, vegetables), sometimes even for
kim chi (see
chile). On the other hand,
sancho [
산초] derives from the related species
Z. schinifolium and is a uniquely Korean flavouring wholly distinct from Japanese
sansho; is has a mild, aromatic flavour somewhat in between of Thai
horapha basil and
star anise. The ground seeds often flavour pickles and hot sauces.
In Western and South Western India, cooks sometimes use another relative of Sichuan pepper with slightly larger capsules (
Z. rhetsa =
Z. limonella); it is called
tirphal [
तिरफळ] in Marathi and
triphala [
ત્રિફળા] in Gujarati. Usage of that otherwithe unknown spice is mostly restricted to India’s West coast (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka), where it is used for fish dishes. Contrasting the conventional Indian cooking habits, it is normally not combined with other spices since its flavour is considered delicate and gets easily lost among other spices. Chinese Sichuan pepper is a fully satisfying substitute.
In Nepali cooking, a local species of Sichuan pepper (
Z. armatum =
Z. alatum) is used as a spice. The dark, almost black, capsules are significantly more pungent than the Chinese ones; their scent is very strong, almost pervasive, and very spicy; it reminds more of
rose and
cassia than to
lemon, although it lacks any sweet quality. Nepali Sichuan pepper is used for curries and pickles; it’s one of the most frequently used spices in the cuisine of Nepal.
The same type of Sichuan pepper Sichuan pepper is one of the few spices important in the cuisines of the Himalayan peoples, for example in Tibetan and Bhutanese cookery. Because of the unique climate, few spices can be grown in Tibet; instead, flavourings of animal origin are used, especially various types of cheese. The national dish of Tibet and Nepal is a kind of stuffed pasta called
momo The most popular version of this dish,
sha momo, uses a stuffing of ground meat (typically, mutton or yak) flavoured with Sichuan pepper,
garlic,
ginger and
onion. The noodles are traditionally simmered in yak broth, but today more often steamed due to Chinese influence. They are served dry, often topped with chopped
chives, and together with either
garlic water or a fiery
chile sauce. Sometimes, they are fried after steaming. Particularly among the Tibetan diaspora in India, vegetarian
momo stuffed with cheese, potatoes oder green vegetables have become popular.
Tibetan cooking also makes use of the combination of
chiles with Sichuan pepper, quite obviously a culinary loan of
mala foods from China; after all, Tibet borders the
fiery
Sichuan province, and today that province also houses a significant number of Tibetan families. The spicy noodle soup
malaphing [
མ་ལ་ཕིང་] could also be served in a Sichuan restaurant: Cabbage leaves and flat noodles are cooked in a quite salty broth augmented with soy sauce, which is remarkably close to the liquid used for the
water-boiled beef
; on serving, it is flavoured with chile paste, crushed
garlic, dark
sesame oil and ground Sichuan pepper.
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| Twig of the Indonesian relative of Sichuan pepper, Z. acanthopodium |
Yet another type of Sichuan pepper grows wild on the Indonesian island Sumatra, where it is used as a spice by a few ethnic groups. In Indonesian cookbooks, this spice is sometimes termed
Indonesian lemon pepper
, which must not be confused with the
lemon-flavoured
black pepper found in Western supermarkets. The spice, in Indonesia known as
andaliman, is less pungent than other types of Sichuan pepper and has a more intensive
lime fragrance, similar to the Japanese species. It could perhaps be substituted by a mixture of Chinese or Japanese Sichuan pepper plus some fresh
lemon grass or better
lemon myrtle leaves.
Indonesian Sichuan pepper is most characteristic for the cuisine of the Batak, a formerly animistic and now Christian people inhabiting a small area in the Northern part of Sumatra. Batak food is quite hot and spicy, e.g.,
sangsang, bits of pork meat and viscera stewed in a thick, spicy sauce containing pig’s blood. See also
lemon grass for Indonesian cookery in general.
On Indonesia’s main island, Jawa, there is another local type of Sichuan pepper in culinary use:
Z. avicennae, also known as
karangeang in Western Jawa. According to my sparse literature, the leaves have a
coriander flavour, and the fruits remind of
anise.
Sichuan pepper cannot really be called
fiery
, but it has an unusual
tickling
pungency, which gives way to a characteristic
numb
sensation (
ma in Chinese). Thus, Sichuan pepper cannot be used to prepare
hot
food. The only other spices with a similar anaesthetic power are
Tasmanian pepper, which additionally can provide true peppery heat,
paracress, and, to a lesser extent,
water pepper leaves. Water pepper seeds have a much increased pungency, and it is remarkable that this spice is not used traditionally in the cooking of any country, despite its easy availability and large distribution in Eurasia. See also
negro pepper for a more detailed discussion of hot spices.
Import of Sichuan pepper to the USA was banned in recent years in order to prevent spread of the
citrus canker disease. Citrus canker is caused by a bacterium (
Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri) that infects several members of family
Rutaceae, particularly citrus fruits; being highly contagious and impossible to cure, citrus canker now poses a severe threat to the orange industry in Florida. For fear of importing new strains of the pathogen, the
Food & Drug Administration (FDA) had set a general ban on several herbal products, including Chinese Sichuan pepper. The ban was lifted in 2005 for Sichuan pepper that had been heat-treated in order to kill any bacteria present. Since then, lovers of Chinese food in the USA do no longer rely on smuggled spices.
Nepali Topi is the the national cap of Nepal - it's rather the part of the national dress for men. Many Nepalese were Topi proudly and it makes them feel good. One of the best ways to show that you care about Nepal and Nepalese is to wear this cap. Many visitors take back home a Nepali topi and use it in special occasions such for receiving Nepali friends at airport or during celebrations. Nepali Topi makes an unique and simple method to show your affection for Nepal and Nepalese. If you can, wear a Nepali topi while traveling in Nepal - for a Nepali topi on your head you feel like a Nepali and what better experience can be more than that!
Revel in a day of discovery with our full day excursion to the Ayurvedic Herbal Pharmacies in Banepa and Arubari. Today we will learn about a variety of medicinal herbal and aromatic plants and the way they are used in Ayurveda to help cure and prevent diseases, and promote good health. 
