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    Home » Wild Herbs and Spices

    Prickly Ash Recipes

    About

    You can forage Szechuan peppercorns-it's true. Prickly ash, also known as toothache tree and wild Szechuan peppercorns (Xanthoxylum americanum) are a cousin to plants used in Asia, the "fruit" of which is the common Szechuan peppercorn or Sichuan pepper.

    If you're new to this plant, please read The Forager's Guide to Prickly Ash.

    ripe red prickly ash berries on a branch

    Ripe prickly ash berries will be bright red.

    Favorites

    Prickly Ash Sausage| Dried Mushroom Szechuan Chili Crisp |

    Szechuan Peppercorn Jerky

    Edible Parts

    Most people will know the numbing seed husk that you can buy in Asian markets, but the wild plants have other interesting parts you can use in the kitchen too: unripe seeds, and very young leaves.

    Husk

    The seed husk is the part that is used in cooking, preferably after the gritty tasting seed has been winnowed or removed. I typically dry them and store in the freezer to keep their flavor bright.

    dried prickly ash berries on a branch

    The dried husk at the stage when I harvest it.

    Green Seeds

    The unripe, green seeds are used in Japan where they're known as Sansho pepper and are used to infuse oil and other things. I really like to ferment them in brine or sprinkle them on dishes with fish.

    unripe szechuan peppercorns spilled out from a bag

    Unripe, wild Szechuan peppercorns.

    Leaves

    In Japan the young leaves (kinome) are used and they can be a great addition to certain dishes.

    It's important to know that I've tasted wide variation in North American plants, and most don't taste as good as the Japanese version.

    kinome or young prickly ash leaves

    Young prickly ash leaves are known as kinome.

    Cooking

    You can substitute foraged prickly ash in any dish that uses Szechuan peppercorns. The wild version is typically less numbing than commercial varieties so I usually double the amount called for in recipes if using my own dried prickly ash berries.

    • Dried Mushroom Szechuan Chili Crisp
    • Prickly Ash Sausage
    • Fish Sauce-Pickled Enoki Mushrooms
    • Wild Mushroom Tom Kha Gai (Thai Coconut Soup)
    • Grilled Hen of the Woods with Ginger-Soy Vinaigrette
    • Fermented Knotweed Pickles
    • Szechuan Parsnip Leaf Salad
    • Wild Szechuan Peppercorn Jerky
    • Kinome Leaves
    • Watermelon Pickles With Zanthoxylum
    • Chilled Melon Curry with Kinome Leaves

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    Chef Alan Bergo

    HI, I'm Alan: James Beard Award-winning Chef, Author, Show Host and Forager. I've been writing about cooking wild food here for over a decade. Let me show you why foraging is the most delicious thing you'll ever do.

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