A Spicy Girl Shops for Spices

I just returned from a trip to Chengdu (and Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai). I never get enough of Sichuan, which may explain why I always try to bring all its goodies back with me. This is just some of the Sichuan spicy stuff I stuffed in my luggage, bought at Chengdu’s jaw-dropping wholesale spice market, its fascinating supermarkets and wet markets and a sidewalk artisan food stall with the best sauces on earth (really!):

• Three kinds of freshly dried Sichuan chili peppers, or lajiao, from mild to hot, plus chili flakes, from the Chengdu spice market
• Four kinds of Sichuan pepper, or huajiao, straight from Hanyuan County: two packages of dried red, one of dried green, and one of fresh green Sichuan pepper, still on the vine, bought at the Chengdu spice market
• One package of the best Pixian doubanjiang (chili bean paste), purchased onsite at Sichuan’s original douban factory
• Two artisan sauces from a Pixian street vendor: a douchi (black bean) sauce with chili peppers and Sichuan pepper, and a chili oil with crispy chili flakes and a variety of nuts
• A package of spicy pickled Jerusalem artichoke from the same Pixian street vendor

I’ll be writing more about this trip and my latest finds in Chengdu, but for now, here are my shopping highlights.

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In December 2016, we opened an online SHOP to sell products such as these described here, imported direct from Sichuan spice markets. We have the widest range of Sichuan chili peppers and the freshest Sichuan pepper you’ll find in the U.S., plus, of course, Pixian doubanjiang, pickles and more!