Szechuan pepper

[redbird]

Since I can't eat capsicum-spiced food anymore, cattitude and I have been experimenting, in a low-key sort of way. One thing he wanted to try was Szechuan peppercorns, but it took a while to find them. We were on Canal Street last weekend and L wanted to show marykaykare and sneerpout a Chinese supermarket. Being a market, they had spices, which included big bags of these, so we got some.

This evening, Cattitude made his more-or-less-usual lentil stew: lentils, sausage or leftover cooked meat (in this case, chicken sausages), onions, carrots, cooked in chicken broth. He added a half dozen of the Szechuan peppercorns to the pot.

Conclusion: I think I like them, and they are entirely safe for me to eat. More experimentation is clearly in order. I don't think they will entirely replace the capsicum I can no longer eat, nor are they likely to displace ginger or even horseradish in my affections, but they may restore a bit of what I'm missing. But part of why they won't displace horseradish is that the shape/preparation is so different: horseradish is something I can smear on cold roast beef, and these are something that can be simmered in stew for an hour.

Comments

Re: What my cookbooks say...

[redbird]

I am informed that they can't legally be imported into the US unless they're heated to 160°F to kill any citrus canker that might be on the plant.

Indeed, that is true.

[dakiwiboid.livejournal.com]

However, I am told that one still toasts the peppercorn before grinding it, and then one uses the powder, rather than the whole peppercorn, perhaps because the seeds are so gritty. One chef told me that toasting would release more taste.

I've tried it both ways and got more flavor from the toasted and powdered version than the whole one, without having any seeds hanging around in the dish. Toasting it was a bit of a PITA, however.