One of the strangest flavor sensations I’ve had recently is that of Sichuan peppercorns. They are very mild with almost no heat. When you bite into them they have a minty/lemony/floral flavor that gradually becomes intensely pine-like accompanied by an explosive, mouth-filling sensation that is prickly and numbing at the same time and lasts for a couple minutes. Food scientist Harold McGee says they “appear to act on several different kinds of nerve endings at once, induce sensitivity to touch and cold in nerves that are ordinarily nonsensitive, and so perhaps cause a kind of general neurological confusion.”
By themselves they are a bit overwhelming—but who eats peppercorns by themselves (except for me in the interests of science). When mixed in with other foods to provide contrast the effect is much less pronounced and quite enjoyable. I can imagine studding a nice piece of bacon with them or tossing them in a stir fry. And I’m dying to try a version of cacio e pepe (pasta coated in cheese and pepper) using these intriguing seeds from the ash plant (so they not really a pepper.)
In these Cold Peanut/Sesame Noodles, Sichuan peppercorns are used to infuse the roasted peanut oil drizzle called Ma La Oil (which means “numbing” and “spicy” in Chinese). The oil adds subtle spice and floral notes and lightens the density of the peanut/sesame sauce coating the noodles. A very nice Asian supper dish. And I highly recommend grinding some additional Sichuan peppercorns over the top if you’ve had a hard day and feel like being numb for a few minutes.
Exploring the Philosophy of Food and Wine 