BAILINHOU Sichuan Broad Bean Paste with Chili Oil 1.1lb/500g, Chinese Pixian Doubanjiang Chili Paste - ORIGINAL IMPORTED from China

Good flavor - seems authentic ingredient for several Chinese style recipes.

At times I love watching the Food Ranger on his YouTube channel, one in particular he used doubanjiang. When he described it I knew it was the ingredient I had been looking for. When It came in I used it the next night and I was right. It elevated the meal to the point it reminded me of my military travels to Asia. My favorite is food from the Sichuan region in China.the aroma and taste it adds to the food was exciting. It is spicy but not hot, it leaves you wanting more lol. A brownish red to the meat and veggies was what my expectations were.Doubanjiang is a commonly used seasoning paste and it is used often in many dishes from the Sichuan region. If you love Pork, Chicken beef, or even crispy Tofu you'll love the this as your most used seasoning. As I said before it is spicy, certainly salty with an earthy type feel. It is a paste.

The media could not be loaded. For the uninitiated, doubanjiang is a fermented chili bean paste. It's oily, umami, deep, bold, and earthy. Despite the multi-year fermentation time and long term storage potential, the aftertaste is clean and surprisingly fresh. The one unavoidable drawback is salt content - needed for both the fermentation process and to ensure a stable shelf life at indoor temperatures.I've ordered and used both the 5yr and 3yr aged varieties in my home mapo tofu recipe - of which I've included a video for reference. While there is a small, but noticeable, difference in depth and boldness, I'd say you can't go wrong either way. Note that while the 5yr version is priced higher, there's substantially more of it (though not 2x, more like 1.75x) compared to the 3yr, plus the ceramic jar has a certain charm to it. Dried spices and herbs in small glass containers? That's cool. But having years-fermented ingredients in ceramic vessels out in the open, not even in the fridge? That's authentic as hell.

Some I have tried have much more of a deep, aromatic fermented taste than this, which is still quite good. Really miss the strong fermentation richness, though.

I was unsure what to use this for when I first got it, I have only heard of it. I was very surprised by the taste when sampled by itself - it is VERY salty and has a powerful flavor! Very strong and very very unique. I've been told this can be a good replacement for soy sauce is many recipes and that it's great with vegetable or fish.I ended up making a dish that called for about 2Tbsp of this paste, and it did add a great flavor, but I think it just needed more than I added - which was surprising because this stuff is so strong! I very much like this and the potential it has to elevate the flavors of a dish, but for now for the one thing I tried it in I was surprisingly underwhelmed because I'm pretty sure all the other ingredients drowned it out.So the lesson learned is taste as I cook, and adjust as needed!Overall, this stuff is great, just be careful that you do not overdo or underdo it with this because it can be easy to do either one.

I generally don’t leave reviews, but felt I have to here…just amazing! Extremely complex flavor. Best quality I’ve found in the U.S. I recommend getting it in the ceramic jar, allowing it to continue fermenting. Caution: you do need to hold the lid down when you open it, as fermenting gases do build up as it sits.

I can't return the Bean Paste and no way that I have found to get a credit. The system just puts you in a loop. It's the last time I buy a glass packed product.

Wonderful for my Mapo Tofu dish. Do be aware of the sodium content.