Épices de Cru Green Sichuan Pepper

In a nutshell: Prized for its characteristic tongue-numbing qualities along with red Sichuan, it has a lovely lemony aroma and is a crucial ingredient (with chillies of course) of much Sichuan cooking.  

Green Sichuan pepper has a more pronounced earthy and citrus flavour than its better-known red cousin. Along with red Sichuan and Japanese sansho pepper, it is not actually a true pepper but actually one of many varieties of the prickly ash tree (zanthoxylum simulans), part of the rue family. It is found in Chinese five-spice powder and widely used for both culinary and medicinal purposes in China. Prized for its characteristic tongue-numbing qualities along with red Sichuan, it is a crucial ingredient (with chillies of course) of much Sichuan cooking. especially pork and chicken recipes and dipping sauces. The lovely lemony aroma makes it ideal for seasoning fish, pork and poultry. Toast some crushed green sichuan peppercorns then grind with sea salt and chillies to create an amazing mix to add to flour before frying squid and prawns. We sprinkle some over salmon and avocados, add to our stir-fried vegetables and noodle soups.

Details 20g

About Épices de Cru
Épices de Cru began in 1982 as a catering partnership between Philippe and Ethné de Vienne. Their mission was a kind of “cooking pot anthropology:” learning the secrets of family cooking around the world and applying these techniques to the needs of hungry Montrealers. The secret, they learned, was spices. Over the last two decades, Philippe and Ethné have searched for the world’s best spices, accompanied by their children, Marika and Arik. The de Viennes believe in direct sourcing spices: visiting growing regions, spending time with growers, and developing personal relationships that last decades. In 2004, they officially opened their first spice shop in Montreal’s fantastic Jean Talon market– it’s since become a mecca for foodies from all over the world. I first visited in 2008 and have been buying and using their spices on a regular basis ever since that first exciting visit. They steadfastly maintain that they do nothing original, only facilitating the exchange of culinary common sense from one place to another. But, what they do is simply quite brilliant - by providing us with the finest quality ingredients, and their superb spice mixes, we can all experiment with unusual spices and recreate delicious recipes from around the world.