Sichuan pepper

Sichuan pepper
Chinese	花椒
Literal meaning	Flower pepper
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin huājiāo Wade–Giles hua1-chiao1 IPA [xwá.tɕjáʊ] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization fāa-jīu Jyutping faa1-ziu1 IPA [fa˥ tsiw˥] Southern Min Hokkien POJ hoa-chio Tâi-lô hua-tsio

Sichuan pepper (Chinese: 花椒; pinyin: huājiāo, also known as Sichuanese pepper, Szechuan pepper, Chinese prickly ash, Chinese pepper, Mountain pepper, and mala pepper, is a spice commonly used in Sichuan cuisine in China, Bhutan and in northeast India. It is called mejenga in Assam, India. It is called Thingey (ཐིང༌ངེ༌) in Bhutan and is used in preparing Ezay (a side dish similar to chutney), to add spiciness to rice porridge (ཐུགཔ་), Ba-thup and noodle (buckwheat noodles similar to Soba) and other snacks. It is extensively used in preparing blood sausage throughout Bhutan, Tibet and China. Despite its name, Sichuan pepper is not closely related to black pepper or chili peppers. It is made from a plant of the genus Zanthoxylum in the family Rutaceae, which includes citrus and rue.^[1]

When eaten, Sichuan pepper produces a tingling, numbing effect due to the presence of hydroxy-alpha sanshool.^[2] The spice has the effect of transforming other flavors tasted together or shortly after^{[citation needed]}. It is used in Sichuan dishes such as mapo doufu and Chongqing hot pot, and is often added to chili peppers to create a flavor known as málà (Chinese: 麻辣; 'numb-spiciness').

In Nepal, Timur or Timut pepper is a commonly used spice often confused with Sichuan pepper because they look similar and share some characteristics^{[citation needed]}.