Sichuan Peppercorns

These delicious peppercorns from the Sichuan province of China create an irresistible mouth-numbing spiciness with aromatic notes. There are two varieties, red and green, but red are the most commonly used in recipes. Sichuan peppercorns are in fact the dried husks of prickly ash plants, which are part of the citrus family, and unrelated to black, white, pink and green peppercorns. You will find them in some of my recipes in the Indo-Chinese and Tibetan Nepalese chapters. They are easy to source online from Sous Chef and Ottolenghi, as well as in Asian grocery stores.