ChineseCookingDemystified

[Book] Flavor Profile #11 Two types of “Green Sichuan Peppercorn”

Added 2022-09-16 23:00:04 +0000 UTC

Green Sichuan Peppercorn and Rattan Sichuan Peppercorn 青花椒与藤椒

Introduction

So, green Sichuan peppercorn. You may start to see them appearing on shelves of Asian supermarkets and Chinese ingredient specialists like Mala Market and Weee.

It’s a relatively new phenomenon on dining tables outside of Sichuan. I remember start seeing it around 10 years ago at Sichuan style grilled fish restaurants as a special flavor. Over the years it’s getting more and more popular and even some Cantonese restaurants in Guangdong are starting to use green Sichuan peppercorn in their creative dishes, presenting it to the heat-averted Cantonese eaters.

At first glance, you may think that there’re only two types of huajiao Sichuan peppercorn, red and green. But for the “green looking” Sichuan peppercorn there’re actually two species that boast different traits.

Qinghuajiao (Green Sichuan Peppercorn 青花椒)

The general green Sichuan peppercorn that’s sold in dried form is “Qinghuajiao” (青花椒, Zanthoxylum schinifolium), meaning “green Sichuan peppercorn”. This general green Sichuan peppercorn that you’ll see in Asian supermarkets got a strong numbness that’s more intense than the red ones, and is sometimes added in dishes to amp up that sensation, or loaded up in “super-ma” dishes for that extra numbing felling. And because of this characteristic, it’s sometimes also called 麻椒 (majiao) in Sichuan, meaning “numbing peppercorn”.

Tengjiao (Rattan Sichuan Peppercorn 藤椒)

In addition to the more common and general Qinghuajiao "green Sichuan peppercorn", there’s an even newer ingredient on the market called Tengjiao (藤椒, Zanthoxylum armatum), meaning “rattan-peppercorn”, that’s been gaining popularity over the past decade. It got a milder numbness and a very nice floral fragrance. Rich in oil and tend to lose its fragrance over high heat, it’s generally used in fresh, frozen, or cold pressed oil form. Most of the Tengjiao dishes are flavored with Tengjiao oil together with fresh kernels and chilies, aiming for a more refreshing note.

So in this chapter under “green Sichuan peppercorn”, I want to introduce two flavor profiles, one representing Qinghuajiao, using the numbing dried green peppercorns); and Tengjiao, using the rattan Sichuan peppercorn oil.

For sourcing, you can check out our friends at Mala Market. Below are some links for your reference.
And of course, go check out your local Asian supermarket. I saw huajiao oil (red, green, and tengjiao) here and there both in the States and in Thailand.

Qinghuajiao (dried green Sichuan peppercorn):

https://themalamarket.com/products/green-sichuan-pepper-qing-huajiao
https://www.sayweee.com/zh/product/Big-Green-Szechuan-Green-Pepper-/49051
https://www.sayweee.com/zh/product/Yaomazi-Sichuan-Dried-Green-Pepper/86395 (The Chinese name on this one is a bit confusing as they say Tengjiao, but judging by the look of it, seems like it’s Qinghuajiao.)

Tengjiao (Rattan Sichuan peppercorn) product:

Recipe #1 Sichuan peppercorn Numbing chicken 椒麻鸡

This is the recipe for Qinghuajiao, the numbing green Sichuan peppercorn.

Our version here is an adaptation of the modern classic Sichuan Jiaoma Chicken (Sichuan peppercorn numbing chicken). The restaurant approach of preparing jiaoma chicken is something quite intense, which looks like: stuff and marinate the whole chicken with spices and aromatics for 6-8 hours, poach and soak in a spiced master stock for an hour or so, dried and sit for another 8 hours, then finally serve with a sauce made with aromatic, Sichuan peppercorn, and many other seasonings.

In this recipe, I want to show you a simplified version that’s easier to execute at a home kitchen based on the restaurant approach, together with a numbing green Huajiao sauce based on an older and simpler recipe from a famous Sichuan homestyle cook book (大众川菜, General Sichuan Food) that’s published in early 80s.

Ingredients:

Chicken thighs or wings (鸡腿/鸡翅), 700g

For marinate:

Scallion (葱), 1 spring, cut into 1 inch section
Ginger (姜), half inch knob, smashed
Cilantro (芫荽), 1 sprig, cut into 1 inch section
Salt (盐), 1/2 tbsp
Liaojiu, a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒), 1 tbsp
White pepper power (白胡椒粉), 1 tsp
Huajiao Sichuan pepper power (花椒粉), 1 tsp

For poaching stock:

Ginger (姜), 1-inch knob, smashed and sliced
Scallion, (葱), 1 big sprig, loosely tie into a knot
Salt, 1 tbsp
Liaojiu, a.k.a. Shaoxingwine (料酒)1 tbsp

For the poaching stock, spices:

White pepper powder (白胡椒粉), 1 tsp
Star anise (八角), 1 piece
Cinnamon stick (桂皮), 1/2 stick
Clove (丁香), 3 pieces
Bay leave (香叶), 1 piece
Sand ginger or dried galangal (沙姜/高良姜), 3-4 slices, about 2g; or sub with fresh galangal, 1 inch knob sliced
Dried lemongrass (香茅), 5g; or sub with fresh lemongrass, 1 stalk, smash the root
Red Sichuan peppercorn (红花椒), 1 tsp

For the poaching stock, optional spices:

White cardamon (白蔻), 2 pieces, or sub with 1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
Black cardamon (草果), smashed, 1 piece
Licorice root (甘草), 2 pieces
Dried aged tangerine peel (陈皮), 1 piece, about 0.5g, or sub with 3g of lemon zest

For the green peppercorn sauce for serving:

Scallion green, (葱叶), 15g
High quality green Sichuan peppercorn, (一级青花椒), 2 tsp
Chicken poaching liquid, 3 tbsp
White soy sauce or fish sauce (酱油或鱼露), 1/2 tbsp
Toasted sesame oil (麻油), 1 tbsp
Drinking water, 1/4 cup
Salt, 1/4 tsp
Sugar, 1/2 tsp
Chicken bouillon (鸡粉), 1/4 tsp
MSG (味精), 1/4 tsp
Optional for extra numbing-ness: extra green Sichuan peppercorn powder, (青花椒粉), 1/4 tsp

Process:

Pat dry the chicken, massage all the ingredients in the marinate onto it, till the aromatics turn obviously bruised and releasing juice. Marinate in the fridge overnight.

Next day, take out the chicken, quickly rinse off the marinate on the surface, set aside.

Bring a pot of 1.5L water to a boil together with all the ingredients listed under “poaching stock”, let it simmer for 10 minutes first.

Put in the chicken pieces, turn the heat to medium and poach for 10 minutes. Then heat off, let the chicken soak for 1 hour or till the liquid cools down.

Take it out, let it drain to dry for 5-10 minutes. Then chop it into 3cm wide pieces or tear it up with hands.

While the chicken is draining to dry, mince up the scallion green and then pound it with green peppercorn into a coarse paste, mix it with all the other seasoning listed under the “green peppercorn sauce for serving”, set aside.

Place the chicken piece on your serving plate, pour the sauce onto the chicken. Optionally garnish with some curled up shredded scallion.

Note:

The sauce in this recipe is an interesting example of how Sichuan food is not always heavy tasting. This green Sichuan peppercorn sauce from the early 80s Sichuan cookbook is quite light and delicate, with a light numness and fresh scallion fragrance. It feels very different from what will come to one’s head when they think of “green Sichuan peppercorn dishes” nowadays, which’re very much f-you in the face spicy and numbing. And I appreciate this one a lot because it also shows some traits of how food trends changes.

About adjusting the seasoning if you want it to be heavy tasting. Because the qinghuajiao taste in it is quite light, if you want to amp up the ma-ness, you can add some red or green Sichuan peppercorn oil and/or powder to the final sauce. Taste it as you adjust since too much huajiao may cause bitterness.

You can poach a whole chicken, when doing so, remember to rub the marinate both inside and outside the chicken, and you’ll likely need to up the poaching liquid (and its seasoning) by 50% or more in order to cover the chicken. Poach for 25 minutes and then let it sit to cool (you can refer to the bak chit gai video for the poaching process and time).

Lemongrass and galangal are two spices sometimes seen in Chinese kitchen application like master stock, for example the famous Teochew master stock, though these two spices are usually used in dried form. Being in Thailand however, reaching out for fresh makes the most sense since we can get small bundle of lemongrass and galangal right outside at the street corner.

Recipe #2 Tengjiao sauce soaked Chiba tofu 藤椒豆腐

This is a popular formula for a type of “cold soaked” snack that you’ll see around the country nowadays. It’s a refreshing soupy base with cooked food soaked inside to absorb flavors, often served cold. At some snack + milk tea places, you can often find chicken feet soaked in this sauce as a snack to munch on as you enjoy your milk tea or dessert sweet soup, tengjiao being a popular fiery option and another popular flavor is a sour and spicy lemon chili sauce that originated in southwest Yunnan.

Ingredients:

Chiba tofu (千叶豆腐) or Seitan (面筋), extra firm, 1.5 block or ~700g

For soaking sauce:

Xiaomila chili (小米辣), 10g-20g, minced, or use Thai birds eye
Ginger (姜), 20g, roughly minced
Scallion (葱), 20g, roughly minced
Cilantro (芫荽), 2 sprigs, about 20-25g, minced
Soy sauce (酱油), 1/4 cup
Oyster sauce (蚝油), 1.5 tbsp
Dark vinegar (陈醋), 2 tbsp
Chili oil (辣椒油), 1 tbsp
Green Sichuan peppercorn oil (藤椒油), 1.5 tbsp
Stock or drinking water, 1 cup
Salt, 2 tsp or 10g
Sugar, 1 tbsp or 15g
Chicken bouillon powder (鸡精), 1 tsp
MSG (味精), 1/4 tsp

Process:

Blanch the tofu or seitan, or whatever you’re adding to the sauce. Cool it down with iced or running water. Set aside to drain.

While it’s draining, mix everything listed under the soaking stock, then add in the tofu.

Wrap it up and let it soak for at least an hour before serving, up to 4 hours. (Check note for soaking time of various ingredients.)

When ready to eat, take it out, plate and serve. Optionally top it with some fresh cilantro and sesame for more texture and fragrance.

(A quick soaked cabbage and cucumber for lunch)

Note:

This batch of sauce can soak up to about 700-800g ingredients. You can use purely chiba tofu or seitan. Other tasty and popular options include kelp noodles/konjac noodles, eggs, peeled broccoli stem, celtuce, deboned chicken feet, certain crunchy organs like pig stomach or tongue. Basically, anything crunchy and great to eat while cold, you can add that in, just prep them accordingly.

(Kelp noodles)

For soaking time: if you’re adding in some noodle like object or leafy greens like me, soak them for 5 minutes and take it out because you don’t want it to be too salty. For other firmer/tougher ingredients like tofu, seitan, egg, or broccoli stem, soak them for 1-4 hours. Because this is a sauce that boasts refreshing-ness, we want the herb to taste fresh and not become stale in this strongly flavored liquid.

If you want to soak it for overnight, swap the scallion for the same amount of garlic in the sauce since scallion is most likely to taste off after a long soak.

Heat level: I used 10g Thai bird’s eye in this recipe and it has a very comfortable heat level for me. Feel free to adjust the fresh chili quantity according to your own taste. You can start from 5g and add more into the final sauce if needed.

The tengjiao oil is mostly for fragrance in this recipe, don’t be too aggressive as it may turn bitter.

For extra refreshing feeling, you can squeeze some lime or lemon juice onto the tofu when serving.