About Us

"Where are all the real Sichuan ingredients?"

That's what I kept asking myself after returning to the Netherlands from China.

After nearly two years there, I was hooked on Sichuan food. That wonderful mala flavor—the numbing tingle of Sichuan peppercorns mixed with the deep heat of proper chilies. I craved it constantly.

The recipes? Easy to find online. The ingredients? That was the problem.

I searched everywhere—the Netherlands, broader Europe—and kept coming up empty. Sure, you can find "Sichuan pepper" and generic dried chilies in supermarkets. But they're not the same. Not even close.

And here's the thing: the chilies aren't just another ingredient you can swap out. They're the heart of these dishes. Using the wrong variety completely changes the flavor. It's like trying to make a dish without the main ingredient.

So I started hunting down suppliers. Real suppliers with authentic Sichuan products. After months of searching and testing, I finally found them.

Then I thought: I can't be the only person going through this struggle.

That's why my partner Elisa and I started SichuanShop.nl, to save you the months of searching I went through.

For now, we focus on chilies and Sichuan peppercorns. But we're planning to expand with soy sauces, vinegars, doubanjiang, and all the other ingredients that make Sichuan cuisine so special.

With a belly full of spicy Sichuan dishes,

Koen and Elisa

About the Sichuan Region

Why does Sichuan cuisine taste like nothing else?

It starts with the land. Sichuan sits in southwest China, surrounded by mountains, with incredibly fertile soil and the perfect climate for growing chilies and Sichuan peppercorns. There's a reason people call it the "Heavenly Country."

This is where mala was perfected. That numbing-spicy sensation you can't get enough of? It comes from the specific peppercorns and chilies grown here. You can't replicate it with substitutes—the ingredients just taste different. Generations of farmers still use traditional methods to grow them.

That's what makes authentic Sichuan cooking so special. And why using the right ingredients actually matters.