Sansho pepper

Flavour and aroma

lemony, tingling, fresh, sharp. Lemony, sharp and lightly numbing.

Heat

Very mild

Forms

powder, whole

How to use it

• use raw

  Sprinkle a small pinch on grilled eel, yakitori or soup at the table; cooking dulls its aroma quickly.

• grind · Dry grinding technique

  If you buy whole husks, remove the black seeds and grind finely just before use.

• Sprinkled on grilled eel (unagi kabayaki)
• Yakitori and grilled meats
• One of the components of shichimi togarashi
• Miso soups and simmered dishes as a table seasoning
• Chirimen sansho (simmered baby fish with green sansho berries)

Identifying good quality

Usually sold as a fine olive-green powder in small tins or jars. Good powder smells sharply of lime peel; if it smells of nothing, it is stale. Whole dried husks are small, greenish-brown and split.

• Not to be confused with Sichuan peppercorns: Sichuan pepper is red-brown, woodier and more numbing; sansho is greener and more citrusy.

Origin and history

Origin: Japan and Korea (Zanthoxylum piperitum).. Grown and used: Grown in Japan (notably Wakayama prefecture) and Korea; used mainly in Japanese and Korean cooking..

Sansho is native to Japan and has a long history there as a seasoning; ground sansho is the traditional sprinkle for grilled eel (unagi kabayaki) and one of the ingredients of shichimi togarashi. In Korea the related chopi is used with fish soups such as chueo-tang.

Commonly told; not firmly documented