"sf" wrote...
> <maxR wrote:
"notbob" :
>> > Yesterday's San Jose Mercury food section had an article
>> > about the imminent return of Szechuan pepper to the US.
>> > ... The article went on to say that although none
>> > has been found locally, Draeger's is hot on the trail.
>>
>> Jeez. I could say something about that but I won't. Draeger's indeed.
>> Look for it in Chinese spice shops, same as you always should. (Whoever
>> wrote that assertion that "none has been found locally" probably just
>> needed
>> to write a story. That's different from needing to cook.)
>>
> To my knowledge, there has never been a shortage of Szechuan
> pepper in the San Francisco Bay Area. I think I can buy it
> at my neighborhood green grocer's! I should look more
> closely at those packaged spices behind the counter next
> time I'm there.
>
Sorry, sf, but Szechauan pepper is a major part of my spice cabinet, and
it's been a major loss. I don't know what your neighborhood green grocer
has but ... not anything good. It's been banned from the USA for a several
years because of the cancor.
Szechauan pepper is what brought me back to the group after many years---I
couldn't get it ... and still can't get it. I NEED it for a wonderful
stuffed Asian/Chinese eggplant dish that I first tasted in the east in 1970,
and learned to make.
We truly miss that dish. Actually, you all can make the dish, but the
Szechauan pepper mixed with salt as a condiment makes it. I first ate this
dish in a Chinese restaurant on Okinawa, early 1970's (btw, Okinawa got a
major influx of Chinese after the 1948 revolution, probably secondary only
to Taiwan).
STUFFED EGGPLANT (Chinese) 4 - 8 servings
1/2 lb ground pork
6 large dried shrimp, soaked in 2 Tbsp hot water for 30 minutes, then
drained and finely chopped
1 green onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
3 - 4 Asian eggplants (short white and purple) or 2 Japanese eggplants
(skinny aubergines) - sliced to create sandwiches to stuff (European fatto
eggplants won't work because you need the skin)
Beer batter (see below) or other light batter
2 c. peanut oil
Combine filling ingredients until meat holds together. Stuff eggplant
slices, dip in batter, and deep fry in 350°F oil until brown - about 2
minutes on a side. Serve with spiced salt/pepper (Penzey's Sichuan
pepper-salt is perfect).
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