Yea, that’s what I meant, (Dried) Fresh Szechuan Peppercorns. I know it’s paradoxical, but I mean fresh, as in, Fresh Black Peppercorns. I wasn’t able to get them at my asian food store loose, fresh, and unground. Instead, they had a jarred preperation of ground Szechuan Peppercorns in oil with whole peanuts. I assume it was a traditional preperation for Kung Pao or some other Szechuan dish.
The trick is to use the paste it in sparing amounts, a very small amount of this paste goes a long way. I didn’t find it unpleasant in my version of Cold Peanut Butter-Sesame Noodles, just very spicy in a new and delicious way.
I’m not sure if it was just a bad bag, or if it was because the peppercorns were ruined by the heat treatment that is required for importation.