Sichuan Pepper

Sichuan pepper is not a true pepper but the reddish pericarp of the berries of Zanthoxylum bungeanum, dried and stripped of their black seeds.

Native to the mountains of Sichuan and Shaanxi, this condiment is famous for its characteristic “ma”, that vibrating numbness which takes the tongue after a few seconds, something else entirely from ordinary heat.

A mainstay of Sichuan cookery as of the Chinese pharmacopoeia.

Traditionally used to warm the median sphere powerfully, to disperse the stagnant cold that settles there, and within the register of a transformation (Yun Hua) blocked by cold.

Also traditionally used in pairings within the classical blends of Sichuan. The ma’là of Sichuanese cooking pairs Hua Jiao with fresh chilli.

• Decoction: 3 to 6 g, simmer for 15 to 20 minutes
• Sichuan cooking: dry-toast the grains before grinding, this releases the aroma and softens the excessively numbing sensation
• External use: a concentrated infusion for footbaths or lukewarm compresses, as traditional use has it
• Da Jian Zhong Tang: a classic blend with Gan Jiang and Ren Shen for the very Cold constitutions of the middle region

A hot herb, slightly toxic in large quantity: never exceed the quantities indicated.