My visit to Dali University, Yunnan,
China, as Visiting Professor... Part-4
We
tasted ‘Szechwan pepper’....
During our stay in Dali, Yunnan, China, I and my wife tasted a variety of
Chinese cuisines, but in vegetarian form. Our son, a foodie, through WhatsApp queried
if we have tasted dishes incorporated with ‘Szechwan pepper’. We knew black and
white pepper varieties, but couldn’t quickly pick up this new Chinese pepper....!
‘Szechwan’ or Sichuan pepper or Chinese pepper
is an interesting spice, used in several Chinese non-vegetarian cuisines in
Dali, Yunnan, China. Though it is not uncommon in southern India and even Nepal and
Thailand, surprisingly we had not tasted this earlier, apparently because of our
vegetarianism....
In Konkani
and Marathi, Szechwan pepper is called ‘tephal’ or ‘triphal’. In view of its
pungent, biting taste and deep, penetrating fragrance, it is also called as
‘mistress of spices’. Though grown in several parts of Konkan and coastal
Karnataka, shame it is, we had not seen this plant so far. Sichuan pepper is used I believe mostly in
fish-curries in Maharastra and part of Karnataka in southern India. A species of Zanthoxyllum and member of citrus family Rutaceae, Szechwan is very
pungent and hot, hot.... I tried both fresh and dry pepper, in Dali. Eaten raw, it
numbs your lips....; and it has an interesting, slowly penetrating aroma...!
The dried husk around the black, shining seeds is the ingredient used in
curries.
In most Chinese Szechwan cooking,
they use this pepper. Hot dishes roll out the pepper fragrance all around the
dining hall, within minutes. Prof. Su ensured that a vegetarian alternative was prepared and
served to us in Dali. What an amazing taste it was..!. The tingling and numbing
taste lasted a couple of hours in my mouth...!
Prof. Su took me to Dali University campus and showed a small tree in
the backyard of a staff quarters. I was told that the species we saw is Zanthoxyllum
schiniffolium. I am told that Chinese also use this pepper as an
ingredient in certain herbal medicines.
Said to be
the culinary cousin to black or white pepper, Szechwan is used in some of south
Indian fish-based non-vegetarian dishes for which unfortunately I have no taste
buds. The plant grows like a shrub or a small evergreen tree and produces red, warty
fruits. Raw fruits are very pungent. Dried fruit husks hold the fragrance for a
year, if stored in air-tight containers.
Szechwan pepper is a new entrant in
our kitchen shelf......!
Szechwan pepper tree in Dali with red fruits
It's a small, evergreen tree
Freshly harvested fruits
Dried fruit-husk, as spice...
Vegetarian dish embedded with Szechwan pepper, in Dali
D. Jayarama Bhat
(To continue...)
ಇದು ಇಲ್ಲಿ, ಗೋವಾದಲ್ಲಿಗ್ರಾಮೀಣ ಜನರು ಮಾರಾಟಕ್ಕೆ ಇಟ್ಟುಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಕಾಯಿಪಲ್ಲೆಗಳ ತರಹ ಕಾಣಿಸುತ್ತದೇ. ಅದೇ ಅಲ್ಲವಾ.
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