Szechwan Brown Peppercorns

Szechwan brown peppercorns (Xanthoxylum piperitum) are altogether different in look, smell, and taste from our familiar Western white and black peppercorns. Often called fagara, Chinese pepper, Szechwan pepper, wild pepper, brown pepper, or “flower pepper” (the literal translation of its common Chinese name), these hollow brown peppercorns are keenly aromatic when whole, and have a pleasantly numbing, as opposed to a spicy or biting, effect. At one time in China it was fashionable to make sachets from Szechwan peppercorns and present them as a token of affection—an idea that I find almost as appealing as cooking with them.