Sansho Pepper Substitutes: Replacing Its Tingle and Its Citrus

Out of sansho? Reach for Sichuan pepper. It’s the only common spice that covers both of sansho’s jobs, the tingle and the citrus. Just One Cookbook describes sansho’s “strong citrus flavor” with “a pleasant, lasting tingle and a cooling sensation.”¹ Sichuan pepper brings the tingle, with a punchier result and less of that lemony lift. No Zanthoxylum pepper at all? Lemon zest and pepper can cover the citrus and some of the bite, but nothing else tingles.

Quick answer

How the ratios on this page are labeled

Every ratio carries one of four labels.

• Computed: based on a measurable physical relationship.
• Attributed: a named source publishes this ratio. We quote it as theirs.
• Disputed: named sources give different answers to the same swap. You get each one, side by side.
• Method: our starting point, based on how the two compare. Taste and adjust.

If sansho is there for the tingle and the citrus

1. Sichuan pepper

Sichuan pepper is the closest swap because it comes from the same genus and does the same thing. Gernot Katzer describes Korean chopi, the same species as Japanese sansho, as “very similar to Chinese jiao.”²

Why it works. Most Zanthoxylum species get their tingling, numbing bite from compounds called sanshools.² The Spice House says sansho and Sichuan pepper “both provide a slight tingle and numbness sensation on the tongue.”³ Their smells overlap but aren’t the same.

Where it falls short. Just One Cookbook says the Chinese pepper “has a punchy and strong flavor” while the Japanese pepper “is more delicate.”¹ The Spice House calls the two “very different in flavor.”³ Expect a stronger, more numbing result with less of sansho’s lemony lift.

Like sansho, Sichuan pepper is sold as husks with the seeds removed. Katzer notes the seeds get tossed mostly for their gritty texture.² The Woks of Life recommends toasting the peppercorns lightly and grinding your own, and warns that ground Sichuan pepper loses its punch after a few months. It also notes that green Sichuan peppercorns usually numb more than red ones,⁴ so start lower if yours are green.

Ratio (Attributed, in a blend): The Daring Gourmet’s shichimi togarashi recipe lists “1 teaspoon sanshō or sichuan peppercorns,”⁵ treating them as interchangeable at the same amount inside the blend. PepperScale’s homemade shichimi togarashi skips sansho entirely and uses Szechuan peppercorns: 3 teaspoons, the same amount as its ground red chili.⁶ That’s a recipe amount, not a published swap ratio, so it doesn’t change the 1 part above.

Ratio (Method): Since sources call the Chinese pepper punchier, start with about three quarters as much, taste, and add more. The Woks of Life notes that you won’t notice the numbing in small quantities,⁴ so taste a real bite of the dish, not a lick of the spoon.

2. Other Zanthoxylum peppers

Nepal’s timur (Z. armatum) is one of the species used for Sichuan pepper, and it tingles too. Katzer says its aroma “reminds more of rose and cassia than to lemon,” and that the Nepali spice is a lot more pungent than the Chinese ones.² Use it only if that floral note suits the dish. See timut pepper.

Ratio (Method): Start with half as much and taste.

If sansho is there for citrus and pepper only

With no Zanthoxylum pepper on hand, you can replace the citrus and some of the bite, but not the tingle.

1. Lemon zest and black pepper

Limonene dominates lemon’s smell,⁷ and it’s also a main component of unripe sansho fruit.² Black pepper adds bite. Neither one tingles. Katzer notes that outside Japan, in teppanyaki, sansho is “often substituted by the cheaper white pepper.”² So people do make the swap, though that doesn’t mean it tastes the same. See white peppercorns.

Ratio (Method): Start with a pinch of finely grated fresh lemon zest and a smaller pinch of ground black or white pepper for each pinch of sansho, then adjust. Fresh zest smells stronger than dried.

2. Lemon pepper seasoning

Store-bought lemon pepper is mostly salt and black pepper. McCormick’s label lists salt, black pepper, citric acid, onion, sugar and garlic among its ingredients, with lemon oil further down,⁸ and gives 170 mg of sodium per 1/4 teaspoon.⁹ By our math, that’s about 680 mg per teaspoon. Swap it in straight for sansho and you’ll salt the dish.

Ratio (Method): Add a pinch at a time and cut back the dish’s other salt. A homemade mix of zest and pepper (above) skips the salt.

If you want a ready-made sprinkle

Shichimi or nanami togarashi

These blends already contain sansho. S&B’s Nanami Togarashi label lists chili pepper, orange peel, black and white sesame, Japanese pepper, ginger and seaweed,¹⁰ and Just One Cookbook lists nanami togarashi as another name for shichimi.¹¹ Sansho is one of shichimi’s standard ingredients, alongside chile and sesame.¹² Most of the blend’s heat comes from chile, with sansho in a smaller amount. The Daring Gourmet’s recipe uses 1 teaspoon of sansho to 2 tablespoons of chili flakes.⁵ PepperScale likewise says the heat “comes almost entirely from the red chili pepper,” with sansho adding at most a mild kick.¹³ So you’ll get more chile heat than tingle.

Ratio (Method): Use it as a finishing sprinkle, to taste, in dishes that can handle chile heat. It won’t stand in for sansho in a delicate dish.

What isn’t known

• You’ll often hear that sansho has a stronger citrus note than Sichuan pepper. Sources describe sansho as citrusy and the Chinese pepper as punchier,¹ but none measures the citrus in both.

Related

• Sansho pepper, Szechuan pepper and Szechuan pepper substitutes
• Timut pepper, white peppercorns, black pepper
• Lemon pepper and lemon pepper substitutes
• Shichimi togarashi, shichimi togarashi substitutes, nanami togarashi
• Japanese spices, too much pepper?