I understand that the Thai word for Sichuan pepper (among others) is MALA. Is this the correct Thai script?

หมาล่า

Thanks for your help.

I rather doubt that's correct. Literally it would be "dog", "hunt".

It's possible that this word is from Chinese, but it doesn't refer to plain Szechuan pepper, but rather a blend of that pepper and chilli. From Wikipedia:

"Ma la (Chinese: 麻辣; pinyin: málà; literally "numbing and spicy"), common in Sichuan cooking, is a combination of Sichuan pepper and chili pepper, and it is a key ingredient in má là hot pot, the Sichuan version of the Chinese traditional dish."

From the pinyin, the tones appear to be rising and falling respectively. (The system is different from that used for Thai.) That would match your spelling, but it doesn't appear to be correct.

According to this link:

Sichuan pepper

Sichuan pepper is called พริกเสฉวน (prik sechuan) and the Chinese name is also mentioned to be ชวงเจีย (chuang jia) which appears to be transliteration of 川椒 (not sure based on pronunciation of which Chinese dialect though).

Another mentioned is พริกหอม (prik hom) [literal meaning: fragrant pepper], which appears to be the native Thai name of Sichuan pepper.

The link also mentions มะแข่น (ma khaen) & มะแขว่น (ma kwaen) which is what it's called in Northern Thai dialect.

Dictionary also mentions ลูกระมาศ (luk ramat) and หมากมาศ (mak mat) as alternative names.

http://dict.longdo.com/search/%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B0%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%82%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%99

I have no idea though which of the words are most frequently used and if they each refer to a particular specific variety, but I would guess that พริกเสฉวน is the word which will be readily understood.

Edited July 2, 201412 yr by Mole

Dear AyG,

Thank you for the information. Yes, I noticed that it meant 'dog hunt' - it came up as 'hunting dog' on google translate.

It appeared on a few sites as the Thai word for Sichuan pepper, but after reading your remarks and also Mole's remarks, I think that was an error. It actually refers to the taste brought out by these peppers. It is a very numbing chilli sensation. The Japanese sansho also gives you that numbing feeling, although they are not so spicy.

Dear Mole,

Thank you for your information too. It is good to hear from you.

I already noticed CHUANG JIA, PRIK HOM, MA KHAEN and MA KWAEN, but it is the first time I have heard of PRIK SECHUAN, LUK RAMAT and MAK MAT. Thank you for those.

I will leave MA-LA out.

Thank you both for your help.

Just one more question.

I just added PRIK HOM as Sichuan pepper and found another entry under that word. It was shown as 'peppercorns'. I also have PRIK HOM CHUANG JIA. Would PRIK HOM refer to both:

Sichuan pepper

peppercorns (in general)

If PRIK HOM is more commonly used as the generic for peppercorns, maybe I should just leave it as that, keeping the more specific term PRIK HOM CHUANG JIA.

Thanks for your help and opinion.

Piper nigrum is always called พริกไทย in Thai.

When google "พริกหอม" there are only entries which is about Sichuan pepper.

This is a link to a pepper manufacturer and you'll see the name of their products and all their Piper nigrum products are called พริกไทย something.

http://www.khaothong.com/page_products_type_5.htm

They also have many other products with names in Thai and English which may be of interest to you.

Edited July 2, 201412 yr by Mole

Dear Mole,

Thank you for that clarification.

I also appreciate the site link. That is a great site - very helpful.