Need to ground peppercorns to stir fry clams?
I never knew you can add whole peppercorns to stir-fried clams! Can you? Do I throw peppercorn spheres into stir fry pan?
Or do you ground peppercorns first?
Best Answer
Yes, it's whole peppercorns.
In both Chinese and French cuisine, it's not unusual to season a brothy sauce or braising liquid using whole peppercorns. It's one way of giving the sauce a peppery flavor without having little black flecks all over the food, they way you would with ground pepper. And, like other whole spices, whole peppercorns release their flavor better if it's going to be a long braise.
As @AMto points out, it wouldn't be unusual to see whole Sichuan peppercorns in a Chinese recipe as well, and you can't tell what's meant just from the text. You can, however, tell from the photo:
Those two objects look just like peppercorns that have been braised in liquid to me. They do not look like Sichuan peppercorns.
Pictures about "Need to ground peppercorns to stir fry clams?"
The Best Clams in Black Bean Sauce Recipe to Try 黑豆酱炒蛤蜊 Stir Fried Clam | Chinese Seafood
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Andrea Piacquadio, Gary Barnes, Ahmed akacha, Gary Barnes