12 Szechuan Peppercorn Recipes – How To Cook With Sichuan Peppercorns

Szechuan peppercorn, sometimes called Sichuan peppercorn or Szechwan peppercorn, is a Chinese spice with a pleasant aroma and exciting taste and is mainly used in Szechuan cuisine.

It enhances the flavor in most Szechuan dishes. It is not a hot spice, contrary to what most people think. It is less spicy than black pepper.

However, it is hardly ever used alone. It is used with other spices like chili, which results in the hot Szechuan dishes. Szechuan peppercorn is not a pepper. It is created from wild berries.

Sichuan pepper originated from the Sichuan province, which is found in the southwest region of China. It is used in many Chinese cuisines.

Szechuan has an incredible fragrance that is quite lemony, is mouth-numbing, and enhances the flavor of every dish it is used it is added.

The mouth-numbing quality known as Ma in China is what makes this spice unique and so popular.  

Another misconception is that the Szechuan peppercorn is related to the black peppercorn in India. This is not true, and it has existed longer than the black peppercorn.

You can use the Sichuan peppercorn in two ways.

How to use Szechuan peppercorn

• Powdered form

This is one of the 5 Chinese powders. You can find it in your local grocery store. However, you can also grind it yourself t have it fresh and more flavourful. How to grind the peppercorn is easy.

First, fry your whole peppercorn in oil until they turn from red to brown. Then drain off the oil. Finally, grind your Sichuan peppercorn.

This form of Sichuan peppercorn eliminates the mouth-numbing sensation that Sichuan pepper is known for.

However, the aroma is added tenfold. I use this powdered Sichuan in fried and cold dishes. You will have to use a lot of it since frying it made it less powerful.

• As the whole form

When Sichuan is still in its whole berry form, it is potent, and you will need to use just a little of it. You can use it when you are braising, stir-frying, as a salad dressing, in marination, dumpling seasoning, etc.

I prefer to use it when braising meat like a lamb. It eliminates the game flavors that I do not like in lamb and gives the meat nice umami flavors.

Sichuan peppercorn has many uses. It is a curative herb that is used in traditional medicine in most of Asia.

The berries and the plant’s bark are said to purify the blood, are antirheumatic, and helps with digestion.  

It is also believed to have other health benefits like reducing anemic tendency since it increases the iron levels in your body. It can be a painkiller, too, and has zinc that boosts your immunity.

It also works as a multivitamin and reduces the loss of appetite. In addition, it is an antioxidant and also helps in bone strengthening, especially in age-related conditions.

The Sichuan peppercorn is used for culinary purposes in many Chinese dishes. It is used in meat, chicken, and fish dishes and is also used in baking.

You can alternatively use it as a spice to add flavor to your food at the table. As an oil form, you can use it to stir fry dishes.

You might wonder about the kind of recipes that use Sichuan peppercorn. I have prepared a list of such amazing recipes that can fit for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a snack. I hope you enjoy

Sichuan recipes

Szechuan beef

Szechuan beef was the first dish that introduced me to the Szechuan spice. I could not believe how much I have missed out in my life, and since then, I have never looked back.  

Szechuan beef tastes so good. I promise you will make beef that will rival your favorite restaurant’s beef. You might never order takeout again.

This Szechuan beef is buttery and tender and coated with a delicious spicy but sweet sauce made of dynamic spices like garlic, chiles, ginger, and our favorite spice Szechuan peppercorn.

To have the best beef, marinate it first. This will ensure the different flavors are absorbed into the meat and the meat becomes tender.

Then, with your homemade sauce ready, all you will have to do is a quick stir fry. Dinner will be ready in no time.

I bite into this beef explodes with layers of different, complex flavors, and unless you were in the kitchen making the beef, you might be unable to tell what exactly was used to make the beef.

We like to play a game with my husband where when the food is on the table. He guesses what is in it if I was the one who cooked and vice versa. Unfortunately, he has never got it right with this Szechuan beef.

If you have a Chinese takeout craving, go to the kitchen and make this. Once you taste the sweet, savory, and spicy combination of flavors that this beef is, the cravings will go away.

Stir fry your vegetables first before you combine them with stir-fried beef. Then add the sauce and serve. Serve it with rice, either plain white or brown, zucchini, quinoa, or cauliflower rice.

You can also serve it over noodles. Finally, pair it with wontons, Chinese chicken rolls, Chinese lettuce wraps, or/ and wonton soup.

Here is the recipe.

Oxtail with orange, Szechuan peppercorns, and star anise

This is another fantastic chine dish. The oxtail is tender, and the orange and peppercorn bring an aromatic experience and star anise.

If you are looking for a dish to make this coming weekend, then go no further.

This meal is nutritious and boasts many proteins and healthy fats with only 4 grams of sugar and carbohydrates.

All you need for this recipe are readily available ingredients like atar anise, red wine, dark soy sauce, spring onions, sesame seeds, ginger, garlic, cinnamon stick, orange peels, and black and Sichuan pepper.

Garnish your food with spring onions and sesame seeds and serve it hot over rice and with pak choi. This delicious, finger-licking dish will have your children coming back for seconds.

Here is the recipe.

Szechuan chicken

I love Chinese cooking because there are so many ways of cooking chicken, and every day I come across a new recipe that makes me believe I haven’t seen anything yet. So that was my exact reaction when I came across this Szechuan chicken recipe.

This is an easy one-pot dish. Despite its simplicity, expect a burst of complex flavors that arise from every bite of the chicken you will take.

Strangely, every bite I took felt new and different from the last one. This made me want to eat more and more. I can never get enough of this mouth-watering chicken.

This recipe is similar to an authentic Chinese Szechuan chicken recipe. All you need is a few available ingredients and the famous Sichuan peppercorn. The stir-fried chicken is sweet and spicy with a complex aromatic flavor brought by Sichuan pepper.

Serve Szechuan chicken for dinner when having guests while still hot. Serve it over rice the Chinese way.

On the side, you can have a green salad, egg rolls, steamed dumplings, fried wontons, crab Rangoon and soup if it is a feast.

Alternatively, you can serve the chicken on plain salad and serve the rice or noodles as a side dish.

Here is the recipe.

Szechuan Pork Stew with ginger and chiles

Szechuan peppercorn gives food a unique, iconic flavor and aroma that you will never find in another spice.

This is why when I served my guests Szechuan pork with ginger and chiles, they kept asking me what I had used.

The first impulse was to keep it a secret, but how can you keep such goodness a secret? So I shared this recipe, and for weeks, they kept calling back thanking me.

This pork stew is delicious, savory, and spicy. Very spicy; therefore, it is not ideal for children. However, you can tweak the recipe, maybe reduce the chili for your kids’ sake because it would be regrettable if they missed out on this divine pork.

It is quick and straightforward to make, like most Chinese dishes.

Serve this dish over rice and a side of salad.

Here is the recipe.

Sichuan peppercorn oil

Every tiny thing in a recipe makes a difference on a dish. Today the culinary world is shifting from regular oil to sophisticated oils like sesame oil and avocado oil.

Sichuan peppercorn has not been left behind, and it is one of the most prestigious oils existing today.

I love cooking meat with Sichuan peppercorn oil because it brings a unique flavor to my food without adding any spices.

I also use it in salad dressing and sauces. However, due to its uniqueness and rarity, Sichuan oil can be quite expensive if bought in an Asian store.

However, just because it is a little expensive or relatively rare, you still need it on your shelves if you are a lover of Chinese dishes.

That is why I found this DIY recipe very helpful. And since then, I do not buy my peppercorn oil from the store. I make mine at home.

Check out this recipe and try it out and enjoy that unique zing in your meal that this oil will add.

Here is the recipe.

Sticky Sichuan pork

This pork is known for its bold and striking flavors.  I do not know who needs to hear this, but you have had nothing of Chinese dishes if you have never tasted the sticky Sichuan pork.

Looking at this tantalizing brown sticky pork is enough to make you hungry. This finger-licking pork is one of my kids’ favorite dishes, and it will be your kids too once you try it.

This dish is not for the people who like to play it safe. It is meant to be bold with all the flavors and spiciness. However, when I am making it for my kids, I go easy on the spicy bit.

The cooking is relatively straightforward. Prepare your seasonings, spices, and Sichuan peppercorn, brown the pork and then braise it in the broth. Coat the meat in the sauce, and that is it. How easy is that?

Garnish the pork with sesame seeds and scallions, and then serve while hot. Serve it with a bowl of rice or noodles on the side.

Here is the recipe.

Sichuan Mala chicken

If you fancy hot spicy foods, then here is one fantastic recipe for you. This chicken is spicy hot yet very addictive.

The first time I ate it was when I realized how much I could stand the heat from food as long as it was delicious.

Sichuan Mala chicken is crispy and aromatic from different spices, mostly Sichuan peppercorn. It is smothered with a lot of chili peppers.

To describe it in an American way is delicious fried chicken dipped in hot sauce, only more delicious, of course.

This meal comes with the chili peppers uncut, just gigantic and whole mixed with the meat. The first bite might be too much, actually even scary, but you will end up loving this dish over time.

The dish is spicy and smoky from the pepper, nutty from the sesame seeds, numb tingling and aromatic from the Sichuan peppercorn, salty and sugary. All these flavors blend to form a complex flavor that is addictive.

Eating Sichuan mala chicken needs some expertise, attention, and patience. Yopu need to be cautious not to chew on bones, dig deeper between the pepper to find your meat, and be careful not to eat on the chole Sichuan peppercorns because you will lose your tasting element for some minutes.

Serve it with a side bowl of noodles, soup, and salad.

Here is the recipe.

Szechuan sauce

Szechuan sauce is a flavourful sauce used to marinade different meat like beef, shrimp, chicken, and tofu. It is also used as a stir-fry sauce for noodles and, at times, veggies.  Making this sauce at home will only take 5 minutes.

I prefer making it at home instead of buying since it is healthier this way, with no added preservatives, no sugar, gluten-free, and vegan.

This authentic Szechuan sauce recipe will yield a Szechuan sauce that will last up to 10 days in a refrigerator. This Szechuan sauce is more flavourful than the storebought one.

You can make it as spicy as you want or make it mild if you have a family member who can’t stand spicy.

You will use whole Szechuan peppercorns, but you can use the powdered form of black pepper if you do not have them.

However, using black pepper won’t be as aromatic, and I do not think it will be a Szechuan sauce but a black pepper sauce.

The Szechuan sauce has this mouth-numbing zing that you will not get in another spice. Use this sauce to make your meat taste another kind of better.

Here is the recipe.

Leftover Sichuan-style hot and nad numbing sliced turkey recipe

I love Thanksgiving. It is my favorite holiday, and I can almost bet it is yours too.

I love it not only because I get to see my whole family but also because I get to cook and eat as much turkey as I want without judgment.

On Thanksgiving, I tend to choose and buy a giant turkey. I always do this even with the knowledge that my family will not finish the whole turkey and we will have a lot of leftovers for the next day.

The problem with meat is that you can get fed up with it if you eat a lot. That is why most of my leftover meat went to the garbage for years because my family could not eat anymore; well, that was before I came across this recipe.

This recipe makes the leftover thanksgiving turkey taste a whole other level of delicious-different.

Vinegar, Sichuan peppercorns, and chile oil blend well together to give a flavourful divine taste. You can either use homemade chile oil(which I prefer) or storebought one.

You can use this recipe on other meat too, like chicken and pork.

Serve while it is sizzling hot as a main dish or a snack. Enjoy.

Here is the recipe.

Dumplings with Sichuan peppercorns

Dumplings are one of my favorite dim sum dishes. Whatever filling they have, I will eat them. So if you ask me the best places to have the best dumplings in the united states, I will list most of them.

However, none of them compares to dumplings with Sichuan peppercorns that I make at home.

If you are into spicy foods, then you will find these aromatic, tingly dumplings extraordinary. In this recipe, you will get to mix the meat filling with Sichuan peppercorns before wrapping it.

I know you might think, but can’t you use Sichuan peppercorns sauce as the dipping sauce instead? I promise you; it does not taste the same.

The Sichuan pepper on the filling makes sure that the dumpling is flavourful from the inside out. This results in flavourful juicy dumplings that are divine.

Since the peppercorn has a strong aroma, choose a meat filling that is solid and hearty, like lamb or beef.

This recipe does not work well with chicken or pork. Next, add your garlic, onions, and leeks, then finish it with stock and wine. Amazing!

Enjoy these dumplings with your family as a snack or part of the main meal.

Here is the recipe.

Dan Dan noodles

Noodles are one famous Asian dish. They come in different types, tastes, and sizes. However, the most celebrated noodles would be the dan dan noodles.

This noodles could easily be the best noodles I have ever eaten. I am not a big fan of noodles, but I could enjoyingly eat this noodles every day for a month.

These noodles are made with a complex sauce that combines many flavors from many spices brought together.  

You will enjoy the spice and smokiness from chili peppers, savoriness from Tianjin, oiliness ad nuttiness from sesame seeds, and sometimes chili oil.

Finally, there will be the mouth-numbing, flavourful aroma from our favorite spice, Szechuan peppercorns.

To have the authentic Dan Dan noodles, you need to add meat. You will use the meat to garnish the noodles.

You can either use pork that has been cooked in spices, oils, and pickles. This meat is crispy on the outside and soft ad juicy on the inside. You can also use minced meat.

Dan Dan noodles are addictive, delicious, and easy to make.

Here is the recipe.

Deep-fried salty shrimp

 

I love simple recipes. They are easy to follow, and nothing can go wrong. This deep-fried salty shrimp with Szechuan peppercorn recipe is a fantastic variation to the usual fried salty shrimp you are used to.

You have to deep-fry the shrimp, which takes only 5 minutes. After that, you will toss your fried shrimp on browned garlic, red chili pepper flakes, and green onions, and voila, your deep-fried salty shrimp will be ready.

Serve this dish while hot with a side of soup, a bowl of rice, green salad, and dipping sauce.

Here is the recipe

Conclusion

Sichuan peppercorn is a spice that can hardly ever be replaced. Authentic Chinese chefs recognize this spice and include it in most spicy Chinese dishes. So if you are wondering where you would get this fantastic spice.

You can get Sichuan peppercorn in your nearby Asian store.

When using Sichuan pepper, remember to use just a little bit if you are using the whole berry. But you have to use a large amount of the powder form if you want the flavor to pop.

The above recipes will jumpstart your journey with Sichuan pepper. I guarantee you will never look back. Enjoy!