Sichuan / Pixian / Pi Xian Broad Bean Paste 16OZ (454g)

I ordered this broad bean paste in order to make a Momofuku recipe (Momofuku Ssam Bar’s Spicy Pork Sausage & Rice Cakes, yum!) which called for doubanjiang. Having never cooked with bean paste before, I was nervous about finding the right type. This one was perfect for the recipe, and I'm interested to see what else I can do with it since I have a lot left over.Don't be afraid to tear open the outer bag, because the paste is inside another sealed bag to keep it fresh. The paste itself is thick and brown with a slight reddish tinge.The smell is unique, pungent, and earthy—as you'd expect from a fermented product. I did not taste the paste on its own, but I could detect the umami richness it added to my finished dish. I'd considered skipping this ingredient in the recipe, since it wasn't easily available at my local market, but I'm glad I ordered this paste because it contributed a nuanced flavor that I really enjoyed. My boyfriend declared that it was one of the best dishes I'd ever cooked, so I guess he liked it too.

I started cooking Chinese food in 1980, have a huge shelf of cookbooks, took a class from Martin Yan and was lucky enough to live for years near a great Chinatown. Lately I've noticed an uptick in quality of condiments and such from China, fortunately available at Amazon. This paste I ordered when it was called out by brand in a recipe a few years ago and I was blown away by how good it is. When I opened the package and stuck my nose in it I couldn't believe how good it smelled. And tastes. Vastly superior to the usual tins and jars I've found in Asian grocery stores.

For Sichuan dishes like mabo doufu, the millions of bottled Chinese chili bean sauce brands will do in a pinch, but this one is da kine ... the real deal, made with broad beans (fava beans) rather than soybeans. Made in Pi Xian County, Sichuan, so you know it's good. Incomparable flavor. It is not lethally spicy red hot ... I'd call it kind of medium hot. Like most Chinese preserved food products, it is a bit salty ... don't add salt to a dish until you taste it. A little sugar is the Chinese way of reducing saltiness. Once opened, keeps forever sealed in a zip bag in your fridge.There are ways to reduce the saltiness of your dish, if that's a problem. If it has douci (Chinese fermented black beans) in it, soak them in warm water for 20 minutes, drain in a strainer and rinse under a faucet ... huge reduction in their salt content. If the recipe calls for broth, and your broth is salty, use less broth (or no broth) and more water. If the dish calls for shiaoxing (Chinese rice wine), the shiaoxing sold as cooking wine is salted, so substitute sherry or white wine ... or shiaoxing sold for drinking, if you can find it.

I've never used bean paste or anything like it before but I've been experimenting with making kung pao chicken and I bought it for a recipe I thought I'd try. I'm glad I did. Great, versatile, flavor & also, concentrated so a little goes a long way. Salty, as others have said, but that's not really a problem for me. Had no issues with shipping or packaging.

Great quality product. The only thing I don’t like is that it’s hard to get out of the packaging without making a mess

This is the original sauce from Pixian that you'll need for making an authentic version of Mapo Tofu, the signature Sichuan dish. It is pungent and delicious, loaded with umami. It's not especially hot on its own, but with a few teaspoons of powdered Sichuan chili peppers thrown in, you can achieve the requisite degree of hotness. (Note that I am not referring to Sichuan peppercorns here, although they are also used in this dish.)Note to the reviewer who wrote (2014) that "it comes in individual pouches within the larger bag, which I enjoy since it is easier to measure for cooking, and won't dry out": that type of packaging is no longer being used. What I received was a foil bag containing a single clear plastic bag with all the sauce inside. The result is that you'll need to transfer the sauce to a glass jar for storage. Add to that the fact that several buyers have reported receiving shipments with punctured bags leaking their contents and you have a good argument for changing the packaging of this sauce. So please, Sichuan Pixian Douban Co. Ltd., offer this product in jars or cans rather than a vulnerable foil pouch.

After receiving this order , I have tried to cookWith this but taste was not good and had bad smells in food. So I tried to contact the seller, it said no return or exchange. So, I just threw this in trash can stopped to use.

I think I plan to return this only due to the fact the the manufacturer date in the back on the product is from 2023. I understand that it contains a preservative so maybe it’s fine, but I would rather not pay for a food product packaged nearly two years ago.