Sansho

Where it comes from

Sansho is the dried fruit of Zanthoxylum piperitum, the Japanese prickly ash, a small thorny tree native to Japan and Korea. Wakayama, Hyogo, and Iwate prefectures produce most of the domestic crop. The young leaves (kinome) are used as a fresh garnish; the dried fruit husks are ground into the powder sold as sansho-ko.

Flavor & pairing

Like its Sichuan cousin, sansho contains sanshool compounds that produce a tingling numbness on the lips and tongue. The aromatic profile is brighter and more citrus-leaning than Sichuan pepper, with a green woody freshness. Sansho pairs with grilled freshwater fish, chicken, mushrooms, soy sauce, mirin, and miso.

How it’s used

Unagi — grilled freshwater eel over rice — comes with a small jar of sansho powder at every traditional restaurant. Yakitori skewers may take a dust before serving. Shichimi togarashi seven-spice blends include it as a defining note. Soba broths, tsukudani simmered seaweed, and certain miso soups carry it. The fresh kinome leaf is a prized spring garnish on grilled fish.

Trade history

Sansho is one of the oldest spices documented in Japanese cuisine, mentioned in the 8th-century Manyoshu poetry anthology.