Fresh Japanese Sansho Peppercorn 500g

What is Mi Sansho?
Mi sansho (実山椒) is the berry of the Japanese prickly ash, from Kyoto — celebrated for a vivid citrus aroma and the signature tongue-tingling spice of sansho. The fresh berries are harvested in a brief May-to-July window, and Kyoto-grown sansho is considered among the finest in Japan. These are the fresh berries, frozen at harvest to hold that peak-season quality year-round. This pack is 500g.

Fresh mi sansho is different from the dried, ground kind — it's a cooking ingredient rather than a finishing powder. The whole green berries are simmered into preserves, pickles, and tsukudani, cooked into chirimen sansho with young sardines, or used to flavor simmered dishes. The aroma is brighter and greener than dried sansho.

Specifications

How to enjoy

Thaw, then blanch the berries briefly in salted water to soften the bitterness before using. From there, simmer them into tsukudani, cook them with chirimen (young sardines) for chirimen sansho, add them to a soy or miso simmer, or pickle them. They also go into simmered fish and meat dishes, and a few can be chopped over grilled unagi or meats. A little brings a bright, citrusy lift and a gentle numbing warmth.

Pairing notes — chirimen sansho, tsukudani, simmered fish and meat, grilled unagi, and rice.