Honey Barbeque Sauce: Sansho Pepper

Friday 31 August 2012

Sansho Pepper

Sichuan pepper or Szechuan pepper, a common spice used in Asian cuisine. is derived from at least two species of the global genus Zanthoxylum, including Z. simulans and Z. bungeanum. The botanical name of the genus is composed of two Greek words that together mean "yellow wood" (referring to the brightly colored sapwood possessed by several of the species). The genus belongs in the rue or citrus family, and, despite its name, is not closely related to either black pepper or chili pepper.

The husk or hull (pericarp) around the seeds may be used whole, especially in Szechuan cuisine, and the finely ground powder is one of the blended ingredients for the five-spice powder. It is also used in traditional Chinese medicine. The pericarp (hull or husk) is the part that is most often used, but the leaves of various species are used as well in some regions of China.