Browse our products

Free delivery on all UK orders over £24.99

Shop in confidence

Sichuan Peppercorns Szechuan Pepper

Description Price Quantity
Sichuan Peppercorns Standard Jar - 28g £2.25
Sichuan Peppercorns Szechuan Pepper

View larger Image

Steenbergs Sichuan Pepper - or Szechwan Pepper - comes from China and is one of the classic flavours that comes through in good Chinese food.  From China, Sichuan pepper are dried berries from the prickly ash tree tree, a small deciduous tree that is about 10ft tall.  Sichuan pepper has a unique warm and fragrant flavour, not as pungent as black pepper with slight lemon overtones; if you put some on your tongue, you are initially lulled into a false sense of security and then it seems to fizz like a feisty and strong sherbert on your tongue, numbing it slightly.  Sichuan pepper is an important constituent of Chinese five spice powder - dry roast for the best flavour.


Sichuan pepper - also known as Szechwan Pepper - comes from the dried berries of the prickly ash tree, Zanthoxylum piperitum, which is a deciduous tree that grows to some 3m (10ft) high.  The sichuan pepper tree has sharp, spiny prickles on its stem and branches, hence its name "prickly" ash.  The sichuan pepper tree has 30cm long leaf clusters that are divided into 5-11 oval leaflets that resemable small bay leaves.  In late spring, small greenish-yellow flowers appear before the leaves, followed by spherical, red berries that grow up to 5mm (0.25 inches) in diameter.  the Sicuan pepper berries are picked when they trun from red to a reddish-brown and split open, whereupon they are dried.  On drying, these Sichuan pepper berries have short thin stems and split to reveal a tiny black seed that is gritty when crushed and has a bitter taste.  The aroma is warm, peppery, fragrant with some citrus notes, while its flavour is fragrant, peppery and tangy, but in time becomes resinous then builds to a lingering and numbing sensation on the tongue when tried, which is called ma in Chinese, meaning "anaesthetic" or "pins and needles"; this effect comes from sanshools, chemicals in the husks, that react with taste receptors on the tongue and around the lips.  It is best to remove as many berries as possible before grinding as these are bitter in flavour so can impact the general taste.  The powdered leaves are used in Japanese cooking and called sansho, having a milder more lemony flavour.  For more on Sichuan pepper, try Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages.


Sichuan pepper is traditionally used in Chinese five spice blends, but we use black pepper as sourcing the Sichuan as organic is difficult.  Dry roasting them before making your own Chinese five spice adds extra fragrance and nuttiness to the taste.  In Japan, Sichuan pepper leaves (sansho) are used in the spice blend, shichimi-togarashi with salt, black sesame seeds and monosodium glutamate.  Mix Sichuan pepper with ginger and grind down to a powder then use to rub into meats, especially fatty ones like duck, before cooking.  Or to add sex appeal to deep fried foods - mix 1 teaspoon of Sichuan peppercorns and 3 tablespoons of salt then dry fry over a low heat until the peppercorns start smoking and the salt is brown, cool then grind.  For some cooking ideas, try Allrecipes or the BBC.


More recipe ideas using Steenbergs Sichuan peppercorns:


From Dave at Fine Dining at home the delicious: http://www.fdathome.co.uk/tea-and-orange-marinated-rump-with-parsnip-puree/


Steenbergs Sichuan Pepper is part of the Steenbergs range of over 400 organic spices, blends and seasonings, peppers, herbs, bakery ingredients and flavoured sugars.  For your local Steenbergs' stockist follow the link, or call 01765 640088 or email enquiries@steenbergs.co.uk.

+ Show Nutritional/Allergy Information

Values per 100g:
Energy 168kCal; 706kJ
Protein 22.5g
Carbohydrates 14.5g
Fat Trace

Values per 2g teaspoon:
Energy 3kCal; 14kJ
Protein 0.2g
Carbohydrates 0.3g
Fat Trace

You might also like

This product is used in the following recipes

Your basket

Top sellers

  1. Turmeric Powder Organic Fairtrade - 40g
  2. Za'atar Spice Blend - Zatar - Zaatar
  3. Sumac Ground Powder Spice
  4. Organic smoked paprika 55g
  5. Dukkah Spice Blend Organic Arabic Seasoning
  6. Rose Water Organic Steenbergs
  7. Cardamom Ground Organic - 50g
  8. Rose Petals Standard Jar Edible Flower
  9. Ras Al Hanut Spice Blend

Latest from the blog

Is social media really so benign?
25 June 2012, 4:10 pmThe penny finally dropped today about the creeping commercialisation of all of our private conversations and lives.  On the BBC…... Read more
Cooking With A Wonderbag
5 June 2012, 12:53 pmSophie came across the Wonderbag on the radio and then The Guardian, so one arrived several weeks thereafter.  Basically, a…... Read more
Dosas – Southern Indian Pancakes
25 April 2012, 12:59 pmMy parents have recently come back from a wedding in Southern India and they have been to one of my…... Read more
Decoration