Szechuan Buttons Shared

Sarah MickeyAll Recipes, General 32 Comments

We offered people who’d been ogling the Szechuan Buttons and wondering what all the buzz is about an opportunity to receive 30 of their very own.  These shockingly unusual flowers add a tingle to food and beverages, cutting edge mixologists are experimenting with them right now.

Several people commented below with their thoughts on the buttons and what they’d use them with.

Ultimately the buttons went to David Millar, lucky number 6.

David wrote that he’d like to try mixing his buttons into a compound butter for use on freshly baked bread…sounds like quite an eye-opening way to start your morning!

We actually haven’t tried button-butter yet.  It sounds like a fantastic idea, and one that quickly got us coming up with culinary possibilities…  For example…you might try mixing in some ground dried chiles to see if the buttons work similarly to Szechuan peppercorns (Chinese chefs believe their (more mild) tingle is the perfect opener to spicy dishes).  It could be really good on seafood!  If you need further inspiration, check out our Szechuan button recipe collection for more ideas!

David was also invited to enter our super-exclusive, invitation only, no holds barred, multi-tier, one reward to rule them all Ridiculously Delicious Challenge in January.

Comments 32

  1. Having just watched the Modern Family episode about the Colombian Christmas tradition of playing pranks (or “innocentes”) I think I’d make some sort of South American-inspired dessert, or a more traditional Christmas pudding…and then confuse the bejeezus out of everyone. 🙂

  2. With a Chinese daughter-in-law, a son living in China, and a Korean fiance, I am sure I will figure out a great way to use them. Most likely I would use them to boost the flavor and intensity of soups and stir fry. Hot and Sour soup could take on a new dimension.

  3. What an unusual little flower! I would love the chance to experiment with them in my kitchen! I might try concocting a new holiday cocktail to impress my gustes but I’d have to try them out first to get an idea what flavors to use. I might also like to try them in a lemon grass seafood soup…hmmmm, very curious about these little buttons!

  4. Well, I’ve got some miracle berry and I might have a little tasting with those. Might be interesting to have some of these, as well. I’m thinking they might be fun in a salad of some sort. Or a fizzy drink.

  5. I would make lemonade zingers and shocking sherbert. I hope I win as I have ALWAYS wanted to try these out and share with all my friends!

  6. I’d be interested in pairing it with some different fruits. Maybe add it to a mango and sticky rice for a nice pop.

  7. Not a clue what I’d do with them, but they’d be interesting to experiment with. Perhaps add them to something innocuous, like candy or cookies…

  8. I have been wanting to try some of these in Cocktails. Might even make use of them for a little Cocktail contest at the Catersource Conference in Las Vegas in Feb. Already have some ideas in the works… Electric Yuzu Caipirhinia perhaps…

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