And at the centre of this revelation sits, it seems, birria. “Birria is a stew – almost a sort of soup,” says Zazueta, who hails from Ensenada, Baja California in northern Mexico.

Photo: Birria Landia Earlier this month, José Moreno was in Flushing when he tasted a Sichuan peppercorn for the first time. He was hovering over a bowl of fish soup, when one crunched between ...