Small cream-coloured peppercorns, made by soaking ripe pepper berries and rubbing off the outer skin, with an earthy smell and a heat felt at the back of the throat. It is the default pepper of Chinese cooking, sold whole or ground.
白胡椒 (white pepper, milder and earthier) is preferred in light-colored Chinese soups and Cantonese cooking; 黑胡椒 (black pepper) is sharper and used in steak sauce and Western dishes. Both come from the same Piper nigrum vine, processed differently.