Sichuan Peppercorn

These savory, saucy mushrooms are not only an appetizer, but makes a perfect noodle topping too.

Shichimi togarashi is a seven-spice blend that can season soups, noodles, grilled foods, rice, or salads.

Little pot rice noodles are so named because each serving is traditionally made to order in small individual copper pots, and the dish is beloved because it perfectly embodies the spicy and sour flavor profiles of Yunnan. 

This easy-to-savor chile oil is traditionally made with a specific chile, èr jīngtiáo.

Dan dan noodles are a popular Sichuan street snack, named after the bamboo shoulder pole used to carry it.

Fish fragrant sauce doesn’t actually have any fish in it, but the sweet, sour, and spicy elements in the sauce are traditionally used to cook Sichuan fish dishes, and it gives this dish its name.

Some people might be afraid of cooking chicken hearts, but they’re not that much different from any cut of dark chicken meat. These morsels of muscle are perfect for grilling: lean, flavorful, with a perfect bouncy bite.

For dense hand-pulled noodles, you’re going to want the sauce to be saltier and spicier, balancing out the thick wheat noodles with extra aromatics for depth of flavor.

This dumpling combines lamb with delicate green summer squash, which brings a surprising freshness to the filling.

This version is made with up to eight spices. It’s worth using them all for the fullest flavor.

Take crispy chickpeas to the extreme with this recipe of battered, fried garbanzos spiked with Thai basil, Sichuan peppercorns, and a host of fragrant spices including cumin and five-spice powder.

There are only a few ingredients in this party-friendly pomegranate-rum punch.

The homemade Sichuan chili paste and chili oil yield more than you need for this cold ramen recipe, but they will keep for weeks and make for great all-purpose condiments. Or you can just make this dish over and over.

These pillowy steamed buns are delicious in all the same ways as Parker House rolls, with the sweet flavor of cornmeal.

Szechuan peppercorn's unique flavor is tingly and refreshing rather than chile-hot. You can find them in gourmet shops or online. You can also substitute a pinch of red-pepper flakes if you'd prefer a bit of heat instead.

Here's another dessert that was inspired by a wine-tasting dinner. It's often hard to come up with a dessert that pairs well with wine, but this savory-sweet dessert does. At its center is a Seckel pear, a small, reddish pear with a slightly spicy flavor. It has a firm flesh that makes it perfect for poaching. In this dessert I poach the pears in pomegranate juice with some ground black pepper. A chunk of Cabrales cheese, a strong blue cheese from northern Spain, is sandwiched between the top and bottom halves of the pear, and a Szechuan Ice Cream is served with it, sitting on a diamond of baked almond cream.

Though available prepackaged, homemade five-spice powder is far more pungent and flavorful than store-bought. Rub it on fowl, fish, and meat.

A little of this Chinese-style spiced salt goes a long way. Serve it in small bowls for dipping, or sprinkle it over fried chicken.

This Szechwan specialty gets its heat from fresh chiles and its flowery, smoky aroma from Szechwan peppercorns. Since the beef is cut into such thin shreds, it takes little time to cook. Serve this with rice or noodles, along with stir-fried greens (page 463). Other cuts of meat you can use here: pork, preferably from the shoulder or leg (fresh ham); lamb, preferably from the shoulder or leg; boneless chicken.

After a big meal, when I feel like I can’t eat another bite, I like a dessert that’s been infused with an intriguing flavor, like Szechwan pepper, to coax my taste buds back to life. This ice cream starts off comfortably, with the familiar flavor of orange, and then comes alive with a kick from the Szechwan peppercorns.

Sichuan peppercorns are a wonderful ingredient to have on hand—they lend such an unusual fragrance and flavor to foods (and not just savory foods; check out chef Raquel Carena's Mocha Mousse with Sichuan Peppercorns). In China, cooks traditionally toast the peppercorns to release their aroma and then grind them together with salt. Juicy roast chicken liberally rubbed with this spice blend makes a universally appealing dish. Its flavor is warm and subtle—serve the extra spice blend on the side so guests can sprinkle more on if they want to.

In an intriguing play on the combination of chocolate and chiles, this rich mousse gets its faint tingle from Sichuan peppercorns.

The Lisu are one of many distinctive cultural groups who live in the mountains of southwestern Yunnan province.

Visually, this dish speaks softly, but it combines quite a number of sensations: a buttery fish, sautéed for a crisp skin, and a broth of such depth you'll never believe it was simmered for just five minutes. The mixture of enoki and shimeji mushrooms looks gorgeous and lends a meatiness, punctuated by an elusive woodsy smokiness, to the sansho-flecked broth.