Cooking With Pixian Doubanjiang: Super Sichuan Sauce for Stir-Fry
This recipe is a blueprint for using the stir-fry sauce and can be adapted to different proteins and vegetables with a total weight of around 1¼ pounds. Another possible combination is pork loin with green pepper or leeks.
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1½ tablespoons aged Pixian chili bean paste (doubanjiang)
- 3 tablespoons canola (or other neutral) oil
- 1-2 teaspoons Sichuan ground chilies (2 will be spicy!)
- ¼-½ teaspoon freshly ground Sichuan pepper
- 1 teaspoon Chinese dark soy sauce (or sub with brown sugar)
- 1 teaspoon Chinese light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon roasted sesame oil
For Chicken
- 4 tablespoons caiziyou (roasted rapeseed oil), divided or sub other cooking oil
- 1 pound dark-meat chicken, cut in small, 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- ¼ pound mildly hot green chili peppers (Chinese or Korean long hot peppers or Anaheim), cut on the diagonal in 1-inch pieces
- 2 fat cloves of garlic, sliced
For Beef
- 4 tablespoons caiziyou (roasted rapeseed oil), divided or sub other cooking oil
- ¾ pound steak (top sirloin, flank steak, etc.), cut in thin, ⅛-inch slices
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1 small white onion, cut in ½-inch slices
- 1 red or green bell pepper, cut in thin strips
- 2 fat cloves of garlic, sliced
- cilantro
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix the sauce: doubanjiang, oil, ground chilies, Sichuan pepper, dark soy sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil. In a separate bowl, marinate the chicken or beef in Shaoxing wine.
- Heat wok until very very hot, then lower heat and add 2 tablespoons of the caiziyou and swirl around the wok. Add chicken or beef and let sear, undisturbed, on one side. When lightly browned, continue stir-frying until just cooked through. Remove and reserve.
- Clean wok if needed, return to heat, and add the remaining 2 tablespoons caiziyou. Add vegetables and stir-fry over high heat until they start to brown but are still crispish. Add garlic slices and cook briefly, then lower heat, push the veg to the sides of the wok and add the stir-fry sauce into the center. Cook it briefly, then add back the chicken, or the beef and cilantro, and mix all ingredients well. If too dry, add water to reach your desired amount of sauce.