When you season a whole chicken with Szechuan peppercorns and roast it, you will be treated to a soft, succulent chicken with a crunchy outer layer that will arouse your taste buds. To give your Szechuan roast chicken an even more complex flavor profile, and maybe even take advantage of the pepper’s spice-numbing effects, you can whip up a fiery marinade and rub it all over your raw whole chicken before roasting it so it comes out of the oven packed with layers of your favorite spicy flavors. You might be able to comfortably enjoy your spicy roast chicken without constantly searching for relief from the heat.
Interestingly enough, although it is referred to as a pepper, Szechuan actually isn’t a pepper at all. Szechuan pepper, or peppercorns, are actually dried berries that come off a barbed tree found in China’s Sichuan province. When you eat these “peppers,” you’ll find that they actually don’t have a spicy flavor at all. If you’re eating something seasoned with Szechuan pepper and your food tastes spicy, it’s likely because the spice has been combined with chili peppers.