Ed Grabau and Pam Jacoby wrote:
>
> 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.
>
I posted a bunch of links to afa a few months back, where one could
currently get Szechuan peppercorns through mail order. Here's a repeat of
that post (copied and pasted from google)
----begin paste----

You must have missed http://tinyurl.com/5ugcf . They've had them for a few
months, now. FWIW, the ban has been revised (in January, no less) to allow
heat-treated peppercorns on the market in the US. If the tinyurl link
doesn't work, the homepage is www.adrianascaravan.com (range in price,
depending on size of bag). Just do a search for "Szechuan peppercorns."
Another option is www.buffalocreekspices.com . It's under "Peppercorns,
Whole Sichuan" and is $8/lb. A third option is
http://www.thecmccompany.com/chin.htm but it's $5.95/2 oz there.

I have no experience with the above companies and cannot, personally,
recommend them. I got the information from the good folks on e-Gullet and
their 12-page thread on Sichuan Peppercorns. Several people there
recommend, and have purchased from, both CMC and Buffalo Creek, btw.



-----end paste-----

FWIW, I bought a huge (for me) bag of them at the wholesale food market in
Chinatown in Bangkok. Very fresh, very pungent--smelling, at least!
Haven't cooked with them, yet.

rona
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