Cumin and Sichuan peppercorn sauce is one of the most flavorful, tangy, and spicy sauces out there. It’s made from Sichuan peppercorns, cumin seeds, ginger root, onion, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and wine vinegar to create a flavorful sauce. All these ingredients are crushed and mixed with each other to create a sauce. In most cases, it’s served with cold meat or salads to add flavor. However, it’s quite challenging to find this flavorful sauce in the grocery store, which is why we are sharing some substitutes!
Cumin And Sichuan Peppercorn Sauce Substitute
- Tasmanian Pepper Oil
The first substitute that you can try is Tasmanian pepper oil, which is easily available at specialty grocery stores. These peppers are made from berries that grow on Australian shrubs and are known for their black color. These peppers have a sweet, spicy, and fruity flavor and these flavors are accentuated when the peppers are made into oil. The Tasmanian pepper oil can be used to flavor sauces, curries, soups, salad dressings, and marinades. Keep in mind that its flavor won’t be exactly like cumin and Sichuan peppercorn sauce, it will add the woody, spicy, and fruit flavor to the recipes.
- Grains Of Paradise
This is one of the most unconventional substitutes that you can try to replace the peppercorn sauce. These are the small and red-brown seeds that are plucked from West Africa’s native plants. These seeds are known for their cooling flavor with citrusy, woody, spicy, and herbal tones. To be honest, these seeds will create ultimate spice and heat in the recipe. However, to use it in place of cumin and Sichuan peppercorn sauce, it’s recommended that you mix it with vinegar and add some rosemary to make sure the flavor is good enough for your salad dressing, curries, roasted veggies, sauces, and seafood.
- Crushed Tellicherry Peppercorns
These are one of the most popular peppercorns native to Tellicherry, India. These are bigger and black peppercorns as compared to black peppercorns. It has a complex flavor with a fresh, fruity, sweet, bright, and grassy flavor. However, if you want to add the citrus and spicy flavor to the recipe, make sure you crush the peppercorns and add some sesame oil. This mixture can be used to flavor meats, stews, sauces, and seafood. In fact, it tastes delicious in soups as well.
- Coriander Seeds & Black Pepper
The regular black pepper is a great substitute for Sichuan peppercorns, and to add the cumin seed flavor, you can opt for coriander seeds. Having said that, it’s recommended that you use a combination of coriander seeds and black pepper. The best thing about this mix is that both these ingredients are readily available at home, so you can just crush them and mix them with oil to flavor your recipe. As far as the flavor is concerned, it will add citrus and pine flavor to the recipe while black peppers add the spicy note. In fact, it’s recommended that you add lemon zest to improve the acidity.
- Lemon Pepper Seasoning
This is one of the most delicious substitutes for cumin and Sichuan peppercorn sauce and the seasoning is made from lemon zest and ground black pepper. In addition, the commercial seasoning is flavored with cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, citric acid, and celery seeds. If you are concerned about the flavor, it’s a perfect combination of spicy and citrusy.
- Sichuan Peppercorn Oil
This is one of the most fitting substitutes for Sichuan peppercorn because it has the most identical flavor. This oil is readily available at Chinese or Asian grocery stores or you can simply make your own by mixing the crushed Sichuan peppercorns with peanut oil or canola oil. In case you make your own oil, you can start with fewer peppers and work your way up to achieve the right flavor!
- Seven Spice Seasoning
Commonly known as shichimi togarashi, it’s made from Sichuan peppercorns, white sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, ground ginger, red chili peppers, seaweed, and dried orange peels. This seasoning is a perfect choice to flavor the marinades, soups, stir-fries, noodles, grilled meat, and rice. So, get your hands on the seven spice seasonings and use two teaspoons for every one tablespoon of sauce!