Doubanjiang

Doubanjiang (Chinese: 豆瓣酱; pinyin: dòubànjiàng; IPA: [tôupântɕjâŋ]); or douban, toban-djan, broad bean chili sauce) is a Chinese salty bean paste made from fermented broad beans, soybeans, salt, rice and various spices. A spicy version, containing red chili peppers, is called làdòubànjiàng (Chinese: 辣豆瓣酱, where 辣 (là) means "hot" or "spicy"). Doubanjiang is used particularly in Sichuan cuisine, where the people of the province commonly refer to it as the "soul of Sichuan cuisine."[1][2] Like soy sauce in Cantonese dishes, doubanjiang is the preferred seasoning or sauce form in Sichuan.[3]

Doubanjiang
Spicy doubanjiang
Simplified Chinese	豆瓣酱
Traditional Chinese	豆瓣醬
Literal meaning	"bean segments sauce"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin dòubànjiàng Yue: Cantonese Jyutping dau6 baan2 zeong3 Southern Min Hokkien POJ tāu-pān-chiùⁿ

The most famous sub-variety of doubanjiang is Pixian doubanjiang (Chinese: 郫县豆瓣酱; pinyin: Píxiàn dòubànjiàng), named after the small district of Pixian, Sichuan.[4] Due to the district's unique environmental conditions (water sources and weather), long fermentation time under sunshine (often 3+ years) and ancestral recipe, Pixian doubanjiang has a reddish-brown color with a deep and complex umami profile.[5] Prices often vary based on fermentation years.

Doubanjiang is sometimes stir-fried with oil and eaten with rice or noodles as a quick meal, and is also commonly used as a primary flavoring for fried tofu dishes and cold tofu salads. It is also frequently mixed with instant noodles.

In many Chinese households and food factories, doubanjiang is quickly produced with only soybeans, salt and spices, and does not contain the broad beans or chili peppers typical of Sichuan-style doubanjiang; while factory produced Pixian doubanjian rarely undergoes the traditional, regional fermentation process.