ABCDEFG's Food Discussions

Fresh ginger is easy to find in China, but not in the US. I don't know first hand about Europe. The ginger typically sold in grocery stores here in the US is the cured (partially-dried) rhizome. That process makes it last longer (improves shelf life) and intensifies the flavor. In China that kind of ginger is called 老姜。Green ginger, freshly dug, was sold in Kunming as 生姜。As you say, it's milder and sweeter. Delicious. (@Xtuphe -- Sounds like it has more than one name. Not surprising.)

Interesting! Well done! These look like 花椒, huajiao, so-called Sichuan prickly-ash peppercorns, not from the same family as true peppers 辣椒。 One of the good things about having a supply of these fresh is that it opens the possibility of using some of them before they have been dried, while they are still green. They are seldom, if ever, available in that form in the US. Probably not in Germany either. In Chengdu, as well as in Kunming, small branches of green ones are sometimes used in cooking fish. In Kunming, you could buy branches of them that had been harvested and refrigerated or even plastic-wrapped and flash-frozen. The ones I saw most were actually sprigs, not large branches, maybe 4 to 6 inches long. First time I had them in a restaurant (in Chengdu) I was truly afraid because the dish had two or three clusters of these huajiao, and each one had 20 or 30 individual peppercorns. But it wasn't as spicy as I had feared. (As you know, you don't actually eat the peppercorns. They just season the dish as it cooks.) https://foragerchef.com/wild-szechuan-peppercorns/

OK. If that's what they are, I can help. I've used those plenty, just not bought rolled up and packaged like yours. Bought them in the market as strips or even sometimes as rough-cut sheets. What I suggested above still stands, use them in stir-fries or soups. Also as part of a cool salad. (凉拌) Here is a good article that has "10 top recipes" for using them in family-style meals at home. ("Family style" means simple, not elaborate banquet dishes. 家常菜 in Chinese. https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1735745281817448705&wfr=spider&for=pc I realize the article is in Chinese, but you can look at the pictures and use Google Translate. If you get stuck on one or two phrases or short passages, I can help out, but I am not willing to translate the whole thing. Number 5 is one I've made a lot and is a great starting point. It uses fresh sweet peppers, similar to Bell Peppers, that are in season now. (The Chinese peppers are shaped different, but have a similar flavor. A bit closer to a Cubanelle pepper or an Anaheim pepper.) I've made it with colored ones as well as just green. Mix in some red or yellow. Crisp and light. Has eye appeal. It's one I enjoyed making for guests when I lived in Kunming. Spring, early summer. Take a look and see what you think. It's in the best Chinese tradition of using only a few ingredients that are fresh and full of flavor. It's not something you would find at Panda Express, where the dishes are overly complicated, with confusing seasoning, drowned with sweet gloop for the American palate.