These Doubanjiang Recipes are authentic and delicious! Learn how to use this spicy condiment in all your favorite Chinese dishes, including stir-fries, soups, and noodles!
Chicken, beef, pork, fish, and vegetarian recipes are available.
What is doubanjiang?
Doubanjiang is a paste made from fermented soybeans, broad beans, and chilies.
It's known by different names, such as chili bean sauce, spicy bean sauce, broad bean paste, broad bean chili sauce, chili bean paste, and spicy bean paste.
The fermentation process usually lasts between three months and three years. The longer it ferments, the more expensive and sought-after the doubanjiang becomes.
What does it taste like?
Thanks to the fermented broad beans, it has a deeply savory and rich flavor profile that is salty and earthy. Additionally, the chili peppers give it an intensely spicy flavor. Please do not confuse it with chili garlic sauce, which has a different flavor profile.
Where to buy it?
Doubanjiang can be purchased at most Asian supermarkets in the condiments section or online retailers like Amazon.
My favorite brand is the Lee Kum Kee doubanjiang sauce. It usually comes in a glass jar and is recognizable by its fiery red color.
1. Chinese Eggplant
This Chinese eggplant recipe is one of the most well-known Sichuan dishes, so I had to add it to this doubanjiang recipes list.
Tender sticks of eggplant are coated in cornstarch, deep-fried until golden brown and crispy, and then simmered in a chili bean sauce.
The sauce is bright red and tastes spicy, sweet, and sour.
Serve with a bowl of steaming rice and your favorite Chinese greens for a classic vegetarian Chinese meal.
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This restaurant-style Sichuan shrimp is quick enough for a weeknight supper but elegant enough for a fancy dinner.
Sichuan shrimp has a crispy texture and a highly fragrant flavor from the Sichuan spices and Pixian doubanjiang sauce.
The doubanjiang recipe is quite simple. All you need to do is marinate the shrimp, shallow-fry them until nice and crispy on the outside, then stir-fry with peppers and aromatics.
All of these ingredients combine to create an incredible, rich flavor.
For authentic Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup, you need doubanjiang!
This Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup is extremely tasty.
It has noodles, tender beef, and a flavorful broth made from onion, scallions,red chili pepper, ginger, garlic, star anises, bay leaves, dark soy sauce, and chili bean paste.
It's the perfect comfort soup for any season!
4. Mapo Tofu
This is the traditional Szechuan method for making Mapo tofu.
The dish combines doubanjiang, ginger, minced chicken, and garlic to form a flavorful broth.
The mapo tofu has a silky, smooth texture and a hot, numbing flavor that tickles the mouth.
It can be eaten as a main or side dish and is the ideal complement to steamed rice or noodles.
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Sichuan Boiled Fish is one of my favorite recipes with doubanjiang! This recipe is a real show-stopper.
If you love spicy food, then you'll love this recipe!
Unlike the previous doubanjiang recipes, this is made with two fermented condiments: chili bean sauce and fermented black beans.
Fermented black beans add a savory flavor, as well as salty, sweet, and funky.
Serve this with plain rice, or add noodles to the spicy broth and eat it like a hot pot.
Here's another recipe that uses chili bean sauce and fermented black beans. This recipe consists of crispy-yet-tender pork seasoned with fermented condiments.
The reason it's called Twice Cooked Pork is because of the cooking method, which involves cooking it twice.
Firstly, a large chunk of pork belly is simmered in water before being cut into thin slices. Then, the cooked pork is stir-fried in a wok with vegetables and seasonings.
Serve with white rice, steamed buns, or as a topping for Chinese pancakes.
One of the most popular dishes in Chinese cuisine is red braised fish, also known as Hong Shao Yu.
The main ingredients are soy sauce, ginger, garlic, scallions, and chili bean paste.
It's known as red braised fish because of the dish's reddish hue from the doubanjiang.
Traditionally, the dish is made with whole fish, but you can always cut it in half if you don't have a large enough cooking vessel.
Enjoy these mouthwatering Chinese baked hot wings with homemade honey hot sauce! Ready in under 45 minutes. These wings are ideal for game days, parties, or any time you crave wings.
They have a crispy exterior and a juicy, savory-spicy heat inside. Doubanjiang is the secret ingredient that distinguishes these wings from the competition!
This is the vegan version of Shui Zhu Yu! It replaces fish with a medley of mushrooms, golden needles, and beaches.
You can use whatever mushrooms you like. Enoki mushrooms would taste delicious in this flavorful broth.
This Shui Zhu Mushroom is made by simmering chili bean sauce, ginger, garlic, scallions, soy sauce, and sugar.
It has a deeply aromatic flavor. Serve this over white rice for a simple vegan meal.
Shanghai Hot Sauce Noodles is a noodle dish made with noodles, broth, and a spicy mixture of pork, tofu, peanuts, spicy chili bean paste, and sugar.
In China, these noodles can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
The secret to this dish is gently frying the doubanjiang in oil to coax out its flavors.
Simmer the sauce for at least 30 minutes to allow all the flavors to come out and blend together.
11. Mapo Eggplant
Traditional Mapo Tofu inspires this vegan eggplant dish. It has the same spicy and savory flavor, with a numbing sensation in every bite.
Japanese or Chinese eggplant are ideal for this recipe as American Globe eggplants have far more seeds.
Choose eggplants that are firm to the touch and have a white color on top (this ensures a tender texture once cooked).
If you do not wish to make this vegan, you can substitute the tofu with ground pork, beef, or chicken.
This Szechuan beef stir-fry recipe, also known as dry-fried beef, is prepared with a Sichuan-style sauce that includes chili oil, doubanjiang, and Sichuan peppercorns.
This combination of ingredients creates a flavor profile that is bold and intense.
Like all stir-fries, this recipe is best done fast and quickly. Ensure your wok is piping hot and all your ingredients are prepped and ready to go.
Add some chili flakes for extra spice!
Serve with a side of rice for a healthy and delicious weeknight meal.
This spicy garlic tofu recipe comes together quickly and easily, taking only 10 minutes to cook.
It's best enjoyed over a bed of white rice, accompanied by simple Chinese greens.
While it shares similarities with Mapo Tofu, this version puts the spotlight on garlic as the star ingredient!
Unlike Mapo Tofu, it doesn't use Sichuan peppercorns, so it doesn't have a numbing flavor.
Doubanjiang and sweet bean sauce give it a sweet-and-savory depth.
In just 5 minutes, you can enjoy the tantalizing flavors of this spicy squid stir-fry! Tender squid is stir-fried with onions and peppers in a rich and savory spicy sauce brimming with umami.
The squid is scored and briefly marinated in Shaoxing wine to remove any fishy flavor. It's then stir-fried with crispy vegetables and finished with a spicy, umami-rich sauce made with doubanjiang and oyster sauce!
Serve this Spicy Squid Stir Fry as a delicious main course on its own or with steamed rice.
This is one of the best doubanjiang recipes for winter and autumn!
This Spicy Hotpot recipe uses over half a cup of doubanjiang!
This recipe combines doubanjiang with garlic, ginger, and various dried spices to create a flavorful and aromatic broth.
Use this hotpot broth to cook your favorite toppings like pork belly, beef short ribs, fish balls, tofu, and more.
This recipe uses wine instead of water as the liquid base. If you're alcohol intolerant, you can use water or stock.
Did you enjoy these Doubanjiang Recipes? Be sure to check out the other delicious recipes on this blog by checking out our Recipe Index.
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