Wings of Fire

If you've never tried Sichuan peppercorns, try starting here!

Sichuan peppercorns are one of my favorite spices. They were banned in the United States from 1968 to 2005, over a plant disease they could harbor, just as prosciutto di Parma was banned for several decades. I suspect Sichuan peppercorns—which are actually a kind of citrus, not a true peppercorn—are pretty unknown in America outside of Chinese communiti…