June 2022 Part 2: Sichuan Pepper Sampler (and How To Grind It)

Can't decide which Sichuan pepper to try? Want to have three different and distinct flavor profiles to choose from for making Sichuan dishes? Then this collection of three varieties of top-grade Sichuan peppercorns may be the answer. Included in the Sichuan Pepper Sampler are 1 ounce each of red Da Hong Pao, Green Sichuan Pepper and the rare red Tribute Pepper. (About 1/2 cup of each type.) 

The most famous red hua jiao, as Sichuan pepper is called in Sichuan, is grown in Hanyuan County, Sichuan, in a village called Qingxi. It is also known as gong jiao, or Tribute Pepper, because it was the favorite of the emperors, demanded in tribute (tax) through the centuries. There is still much more demand than supply of gong jiao in China, so we are privileged to be able to source it. Tribute Pepper boasts fresh citrus and floral notes.

Also widely loved in Sichuan nowadays is Da Hong Pao, or big red robe, which is large, bright-red and virtually seed-free, with a warm and woodsy flavor.

Green Sichuan pepper, which is bright and lemony, has become wildly popular in Sichuan and Chongqing over the past couple decades. It is a good match for fish, chicken and vegetable dishes and is almost always found in hot pot.

Though the three varieties of hua jiao have distinctly different tastes, they are generally interchangeable. There are no hard and fast rules about which Sichuan pepper goes in which dish—that is entirely up to you!

Don't dally! This is (most likely) a summer-only special.