Sourcing Huajiao (Sichuan Pepper, Sichuan Peppercorn)
Published Jun 03, 2014, Updated May 04, 2024
My Favorite Buzz: Sichuan Pepper
“My mouth is sleeping,” Fongchong said as she worked her way through a plate of mala-flavored cabbage stir-fry. “But she opens and lets me eat.”
And there you have it in a nutshell, the addictive power of Sichuan pepper.
If there is one taste most closely associated with Sichuan cuisine, it is Sichuan pepper, the numbing spice. The bride of the chili pepper in many Sichuan dishes, it is the má—numbing—to chili pepper’s là—spicy hot—in the word málà, which is practically synonymous with Sichuan food. While many cuisines make use of the chili pepper, no other cuisine features Sichuan peppercorn—which the Sichuanese call huajiao, or flower pepper, because of its flowery shape when dried—so abundantly and unabashedly.
My daughter Fongchong came to us straight from Guangzhou (Canton) at age 11, and we assumed that she would shun Sichuan pepper. However, I knew she liked spicy food, so after a couple of months I made that mala cabbage, stir-fried with dried chili peppers and Sichuan peppers. In this case, I used whole Sichuan peppercorns, as it was merely meant to flavor the oil. But I used too much and it was too numbing, even for me. But not for Fongchong. At some point in her Cantonese life she had acquired a taste for mala, and while Sichuan pepper’s definitely an acquired taste, it quickly turns to an addictive one.
However, it’s important to learn how to eat huajiao. You don’t put a whole Sichuan peppercorn in your mouth and bite down—unless you’re looking for some anesthesia. It will indeed numb your tongue and mouth, and while that is not totally unpleasant, it is weird. Like the hot sensation of chili pepper, the numbing of Sichuan pepper is detected not by the sensory nerves for taste but by those for touch. Very recent research shows that those Sichuan pepper vibrations are actually about 50 hertz strong, which explains the tingling. So if you see a whole Sichuan peppercorn in a dish, avoid chomping on it. It’s there for flavor only, and a slight buzz. The more appealing way to eat it is ground into tiny chunks or powder.
If you have had Sichuan food in America during the past few years made the Sichuan way (vs. the Canto way), you probably encountered huajiao. But this wasn’t always the case in the U.S., where Sichuan pepper was suspiciously absent from “Szechwan” food for most of its history here. The reason is fairly obvious, since almost all of America’s Chinese restaurants were historically run by immigrants from Canton and other southern China provinces. Their cuisines don’t even make use of chilies, much less Sichuan pepper. Those tastes were just too overwhelmingly bold for their liking, so when they made Sichuan dishes they cut down on the chilies and jettisoned the Sichuan pepper altogether, robbing the food of its kick and, therefore, its true identity.
Another reason “Szechwan” food in America was long missing its mala mojo was that the USDA banned the Sichuan peppercorn from importation for 37 years. Now that the ban has been lifted, Sichuan pepper has come in with a roar befitting its roar of a taste. Two recent Chinese-food cult figures, Peter Chang and Danny Bowien, have ridden it to fame, and even your local Sichuan restaurant is probably going heavier on the ma nowadays.
Sourcing Sichuan Peppercorn
Sichuan pepper is not truly a pepper but the seed pod of a shrubby tree in the citrus family. There are dozens if not hundreds of edible Sichuan pepper species and varieties grown in China as well as in Japan and some other Asian countries. It is sometimes called prickly ash, a species of which also grows in the U.S. As the little berries dry, they open and release their seeds, which are not eaten.
In Sichuan, you find huajiao in an array of colors, from green to brownish red to bright red, and you also see it freshly picked during some times of the year. The Chengdunese make liberal use of the fresh-on-the-vine green Sichuan pepper, or tengjiao, as an ingredient and garnish. Green Sichuan pepper is sometimes also called rattan pepper in English.
Most Sichuan pepper has a strong citrus fragrance and flavor ranging from lemon and orange to grapefruit and pomelo. Everyone seems to have a different opinion about whether the red or green is more strong and numbing. I feel the green is more intense, but it also just has a different flavor, more fresh and vegetal, while the red tends to be more warm and woodsy.
The most famous red huajiao has historically been grown in Hanyuan County, Sichuan, and in the summer of 2017, after a dozen trips to Sichuan in as many years, I finally visited Hanyuan and the village of Qingxi, the historic center of Sichuan pepper production. I was there to do research for importing spices and also to write about the history of Sichuan pepper in the U.S. (for Roads & Kingdoms, Slate, and Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown).
The tortured path of Sichuan pepper from farm to American table is a fascinating story, and I hope you’ll read about it in detail in one of those publications, but long story short, Sichuan pepper was banned in the U.S. from 1968 to 2005 for fear it could spread citrus canker. The ban was lifted in 2005 with the caveat that all Sichuan pepper had to be heated to 140° for 10 minutes or more to kill any possible canker bacteria—a heating process thought to diminish the quality. What I discovered in my research was that sometime in the recent past the USDA had quietly lifted the requirement for heat treatment, stating that Sichuan pepper “poses negligible risk.” As I wrote in that article:
Sichuan pepper was banned outright for 37 years, then forced to endure unnecessary heat treatment for a dozen more—making it difficult for kung pao chicken, mapo doufu, and other Sichuan classics to wield their full numbing power for nearly 50 years in the U.S. And this whole time, there was “negligible risk”?
I also discovered, however, that none of the big processors and suppliers I talked to in Sichuan knew about the change and were still heat-treating all Sichuan pepper for the U.S. market. They didn’t believe the law had changed, but just this past January I finally convinced our supplier not to heat treat our latest shipment.
The Sichuan peppercorns found in Asian markets in the U.S. [in 2014] are usually lowest quality and quite inexpensive, full of brittle black seeds and stray twigs. They are also fairly old, not having a big turnover, and have often lost whatever aroma, flavor and numbing quality they ever had. I would therefore recommend buying Sichuan pepper from a spice shop or dedicated seller. You truly do get what you pay for.
And of course I would recommend buying it from The Mala Market. We source two species of red Sichuan pepper and one of green Sichuan pepper. The Big Red Pao (dahongpao) species is grown in Gansu province, as much quality huajiao is nowadays. As the name, which literally translates as big red robe, so wonderfully implies, it is large, bright red and delivers a big, earthy, citrus pow. The Hanyuan red peppercorn is smaller and darker red and is more lemony tart. Green huajiao is generally grown in warmer climates. Ours comes from the famed growing area of Jinyang County, in southern Sichuan near the Yunnan border.
All three species are from the most recently harvested crop, and have the intense fragrance, flavor, and numbing sensation Sichuan pepper is meant to have. And as a premium product, they have been carefully hand-sorted to have few twigs and seeds.
Cooking With Sichuan’s Favorite Spice
There are no hard and fast rules about which Sichuan pepper to use in which dish. It’s really a matter of preference. Green huajiao is very often used in fish dishes such as fish hotpot or fish with pickled vegetables (suancaiyu) or fish in green pepper sauce as well as with rabbit. Chongqing features the green in its famous noodle dishes. The more woodsy red huajiao goes better with heavier tastes like pork and dishes with chili bean paste (doubanjiang).
Sichuan peppercorns should be heated before eaten or ground. Use whole peppercorns as called for in recipes, usually to flavor the cooking oil. In some recipes it’s chopped up roughly with other ingredients as an ingredient or garnish. But mostly, you’ll use it ground into a powder. First, you lightly toast the peppercorns in a dry skillet until very fragrant. Then cool and grind in a spice or coffee grinder. I usually sift the powder, since some bits of the husk don’t break down well. Like any ground spice, it will lose its punch after a few months, so don’t store too long. Store extra Sichuan peppercorns in the freezer.
Shop The Mala Market
Da Hong Pao Sichuan Pepper (Hua Jiao)Buy on Mala Market
Sichuan Flower Pepper (Special-Grade Da Hong Pao Sichuan Pepper)Buy on Mala Market
Sichuan Tribute Pepper (Hanyuan Sichuan Pepper, Qingxi Gong Jiao)Buy on Mala Market
Green Sichuan Pepper (Qing Hua Jiao)Buy on Mala Market
Sichuan Pepper Grinder (Da Hong Pao Hua Jiao)Buy on Mala Market
Sichuan Pepper Sampler (Hua Jiao)Buy on Mala Market
I have a couple questions regarding Hua Jiao (Sichuan Peppercorn).
In some texts I see that only the husk is used, and the black seed inside the husk is discarded. In some texts it’s the opposite. In some, the entire peppercorn is used – husk and seed alike. What is your experience in using hua jiao? What is the most common use? Thanks, Jeff
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for your great question. The seed pod of hua jiao, which literally means flower pepper, usually “flowers,” or opens up, when dried and releases that black seed. It is the seed pod, or husk, itself that is eaten. Processors apparently sift the seeds out, but there are always a few remaining in a batch of Sichuan pepper—and usually some small twigs as well. I usually pull out the biggest twigs by hand but don’t worry too much about either them or the seeds. After roasting and grinding, I do sift out the yellow bits of the husk that don’t break down well.
Hi Jeff,
I Always remove the seeds if I found some, I hate the grit.
A machine used to remove the seeds
http://img15.hostingpics.net/pics/747146871.jpg
Hi! What is the machine you are talking about? Thanks!
Where to buy hua Jiao pepper plants:
I am growing two beautiful hua jiao plants – I purchased one plant from each of the two following nurseries: http://www.bayflora.com/ Szechuan Pepper will be a link in the left side menu. It came as a tall, thin, healthy stalk with a great root system. The second location is https://www.nicholsgardennursery.com on this site, enter Zanthoxylum in the search box. This was delivered as a short, multi-stalk bush. Delivered a little dry, but reasonably healthy with a good root. Seems to be growing well.
Interesting! I didn’t know you could buy Sichuan pepper trees in the U.S. Thanks for the info!
Taylor, I feel so bad. I didn’t know so many people loved this pepper. I live in Southern California and have a huge tree that I practically trim down every year. The peppercorn pop their seeds and the fruit dries on the branches. The only ones enjoying them are the birds.
Oh, no! You could be selling them! 😁 Your tree sounds old and valuable, at least to some of us. Maybe we should trade, because I’d love to taste some hua jiao grown in the U.S.
So I was running out of my first batch of red Sichuan peppercorns I bought many years ago, and decided to splurge on some proper ingredients this weekend. Fortunately there are several well-stocked Asian grocery stores in my town, and I was able to get both green peppercorn, Pixian douban jiang (qinglin brand? It said Pi county on the label) and prickly ash oil. Yesterday I made Dan Dan noodles, and was a bit underwhelmed. Even after making my own chili oil it just did not seem to have the same kick as before. I tried the fiery beef today, and it was quite a difference maker. Less of the intense chili heat on the back of the mouth and more of the lip and tongue numbing ma la. Can hardly wait to do the water boiled beef with the proper broad bean paste.
Hi Spike,
Did you go to Great Wall? The one in Duluth is the best Chinese supermarket I’ve ever seen in the U.S. I wish I could get to Atlanta more often.
Don’t quite understand your comments on the dishes. Did your new Sichuan peppercorns taste markedly different than the old ones?
I went to Buford Highway Farmers Market – it’s huge and has a lot of large specialty sections (Eastern European, Hispanic, Caribbean, separate Japanese, Chinese, etc.) so it’s a bit more useful to me as I cook in a variety of styles. The green peppercorns do taste markedly different than the red to me. It just seemed that frr some reason the actual ma la effect varied so much between recipes. I got some red ones (“Dragon brand dried capsicum”) and I make dan dan noodles all the time so I’ll see if it makes a difference. Time for some new recipes here btw – I need some more things to try! 🙂
Oh, I know it well. Love BHFM!
I do indeed need to add some new recipes. I’ve plenty to work on, just no time. Will try to get back to it soon!
Whenever I eat Sichuan food in a restaurant in California, and order la zi ji or others, their dishes are extremely numbing.
Whenever I buy “hua jiao” or even “hua jiao you” in stores for recipes calling for “Sichuan peppercorns”, they are disappointingly not as numbing.
Then I learned there is “hua jiao” and “ma jiao”. What is the difference between these? Are they different species of peppercorns? Are “ma jiao” and not “hua jiao” used in numbing dishes such as “kou shui ji”
Hi Chris,
Hua jiao is the Sichuan name for Sichuan pepper, and means flower pepper. Ma jiao just means numbing pepper. They are the same thing. There are different species of Sichuan pepper, but I’m guessing yours were weak because they were just too old. By the time they are imported here and sit on the shelves awhile, they can lose a lot of their potency. They also sometimes take on a weird chemical smell. I would recommend buying Sichuan pepper from a spice store that has a lot of turnover and guarantees their freshness. Or at Asian markets, look for bright colored ones with a recent production date (which is usually printed on the package somewhere). It can make a huge difference.
Another link with differents names and growing area of the Sichuan pepper :
http://shop.bytravel.cn/tc/huajiao.html
Thanks, Sub. This is interesting. I’m surprised how many different provinces grow Sichuan pepper.
I have been buying the vacuum packed green Sichuan peppercorns from Hong Kong Supermarket on the corner of Hester and Elizabeth Streets in New York’s Chinatown, and they are by far the best quality I have found outside of China. They have made a marked improvement in my dishes. I won’t be buying the stale tasting conventionally bagged or jarred ones again.
Incidentally, the same store also has Sichuan “Facing Heaven” dried peppers at the moment — but they seem to be going fast and they didn’t have too many left on the shelves when I was there yesterday.
Hi Rob,
Do you mean the vacuum-packed fresh green pepper, as shown in my photos? Or dried? I’ve never seen the fresh here.
Sorry, these are not fresh as in “just picked,” but rather “fresh” in the sense that they are dried but vacuum packed such that they are quite fragrant and not at all stale.
Thanks for clarification. I will look for them!
Hi Taylor,
Discovered your site over the weekend and am beyond elated to connect with a like minded group of devotees to Mala and the incomparable delights of authentic Sichuan cuisine! I am a non-Asian guy (Eastern & Western European heritage) who married into an amazing and wonderful Chinese-American family in which sharing/teaching the art and technique of fine, authentic regional Chinese cooking here in the US has been a ongoing tradition for well over 60 yrs. My in-laws authored/co-authored & published several successful Chinese cookbooks beginning in the late 60’s with “An Encyclopedia of Chinese Food and Cooking” (first edition 1970 Crown Publishers, https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Chinese-Food-Cooking/dp/0517506610) now long out of print despite over 20 some-odd printings I believe. And so I have been beyond fortunate to receive an excellent education in that other love of my life 😉
My father-in-law, now a remarkably healthy and vital 98 yr old man who still swims ~600 meters almost every day (!!!), recently authored and self-published another unique volume titled “Chinese Cooking Along the Grand Canal”. Not pitching here, just proudly sharing… My wife inherited her parents’ culinary talents and from the time we began dating in the early 70s I was mentored by them as well
That said, I am not the least bit ashamed to admit I am addicted to Mala! haha Your site is an amazing find and what a great community of fellow aficionados of the indescribable joys of Sichuan cooking. We live in NJ about an hour south of NYC and I appreciated one of your other commenters having shared his go-to source for vacuum packed dried green Hua Jiao peppercorns.
Somehow we are also fortunate to have a smallish, rather unassuming authentic Sichaun restaurant not far from our home (15 to 20 mins!) that while small and offering a somewhat limited menu does it right day in and day out. The owner, his wife and we have become friends over the time we’ve frequented their modest establishment, and frequent is definitely the right term there! lol Kind of a standing joke among us all but I know they greatly appreciate the fact that WE appreciate them and their consistently outstanding creations.
Not to go on ad nauseum here, just could not resist expressing my delight at finding your terrific site. Xiè xie nǐ!
Alan,
Thank you so much for this completely delightful and enlightening letter. I’m happy to know about your in-laws’ cookbook—it has great reviews on Amazon and is obviously a classic that I have somehow failed to know about. And you should definitely promote any Chinese cookbook written by a 98-year-old, life-time cook. Where can we find that one?
Welcome to our mala community! I’m glad you have your own Sichuan restaurant gem nearby. More and more people tell me that…so I think the real-Sichuan-cuisine revolution is upon us.
I found the book mentioned in the above letter at Amazon. It looks like a wonderful book.
https://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Cuisine-Along-Grand-Canal/dp/1511641371/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480837592&sr=8-1&keywords=Chinese+Cooking+Along+the+Grand+Canal
It DOES look wonderful. I didn’t realize that Mr. Chang was a founder of Flavor and Fortune magazine with Jacqueline Newman. What a history he has! Thanks for sharing.