Recently I have been incorporating the Sichuan spice huā jiāo into many dishes. Huā jiāo translates as “flower pepper” and also gets called Sichuan Pepper or Prickly Ash Pepper.
Huā jiāo does not have a hot flavor, instead it produces a tingling sensation. Má là is the delectable taste that occurs when a hot spice is combined with the tingling from flower peppers.
I purchase my huā jiāo from 50 Hertz and recently attended an American Botanical Gardens lecture by Yao Zhao, CEO of 50 Hertz. In the online lecture chat I mentioned a brussel sprout dish I concocted and was super pleased with. Yao asked if I could write it down…
Step by Step Story
Ingredients
- Brussel Sprouts – 2 pounds
- Olive Oil – 1/3 cup
- Soy Sauce – 3 tablespoons
- Apple – 1 cup, shredded
- Honey – 1/4 cup
- Green Huā Jiāo Oil – 1/4 cup, or to taste
- Chili Sauce (Sambal Oelek works well) – 1/4 cup, or to taste
- Hard Cheese – 1/2 cup, finely shredded
- Marcano Almonds – 1/3 cup, coarsely sliced/chopped
Recipe
- Heat oven to 400F
- Clean and trim brussel sprouts, cut to evenly sized pieces length-wise
- Toss brussel sprout pieces with olive oil and soy sauce until evenly coated
- Spread in a single layer on a lined/oiled baking sheet
- Place in oven for 20 minutes, stir after 10 minutes for even browning
- Shred apple and combine with honey, huā jiāo oil and chili sauce
- Shred hard cheese and chop almonds
- Mix brussel sprouts into má là dressing
- Stir in most of the cheese
- Garnish with almonds and remaining cheese
Serve warm, any leftovers are also delicious cold.
Quillpig 