Chili bean paste (Dou ban jiang)

Traditionally, Sichuan's doubanjiang is a paste made from fermented broad beans, salt, chilis, and sometimes wheat flour. The ingredients are mixed and then placed in large clay pots to mature for at least a year while being daily hand-stirred.

Depending on the maturation time, spanning from one to eight years, the paste will differ in color, texture, and flavor, ranging from bright red to a dark reddish-brown color. Mature doubanjiang will also have a much spicier and saltier flavor. The sauce which is often dubbed the soul of Sichuan cuisine is an important element in various dishes, most notably mapo doufu and twice-cooked pork.

Asian cuisine has various fermented bean pastes made from soy beans, all of which are commonly titled as doubanjiang but only the bean paste prepared in Sichuan province is the authentic version. This bean paste has two subvarieties; one made with red oil, which is brighter and milder, and the other one produced in the town of Pixian, which is darker and with a more pungent taste.