Many of the recipes on My Chinese Home Kitchen use common ingredients, such as garlic, ginger, and green onions. However, there are some key ingredients that make the flavor of the dishes distinctive. This is especially true for Sichuan recipes, and recipes that use Sichuan peppercorns to season the oil. Do not settle for the pepper blends you find in the grocery store spices aisle. Use authentic Sichuan ingredients to experience the real flavor of these dishes.
The most important ingredient of all, common to nearly all of our recipes on My Chinese Home Kitchen, is light soy sauce. If you are in the United States, and use an off the shelf, commercial brand, you will be disappointed. These tend to be little more than caramel coloring, sugar, and salt. Some have a lot of salt.
The first time I made Jing’s Kung Pao Chicken, I said to myself there is no way it can taste this terrible. It was salty to the point of being unpalatable, and I had not used any salt in the preparation. So I tried a second batch with a US “low-sodium” soy sauce brand, and the taste was improved. I realized then how crucial the soy sauce is to the success of the dish. Since switching to Zhongba, the Kung Pao Chicken is the second most-requested dish that I make for friends (Mapo Tofu, Chinese Fried Chicken, and Garlic Chicken Wings are in a three-way tie for first).
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The importance of quality ingredients
Ingredients that are common in China, such as light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, chili oils, and specialty peppers, are not easy to find in other countries.
Light soy sauce is essential
The general purpose soy sauce blends sold in most Western groceries do not have the same characteristics of a true light soy sauce. Furthermore, they are often quickly produced using chemical processes, instead of using the long fermentation process required for real soy sauce. When used to make sauces for some of the recipes on this site, these sauces overpower the other ingredients. You will enjoy the true flavor of these dishes when you use an authentic light soy sauce is required for you to really enjoy the flavor of these dishes.
Dark soy sauce serves a distinct purpose
The Chinese use dark soy sauce to prepare meat for braising or barbecuing. Dark soy sauce is fermented longer than light soy sauce and has molasses or sugar added. Dark soy sauce is a key ingredient in Guangxi Kou Rou (steamed pork), for example. An off-the-shelf commercial brand in North American grocery stores will not work for this.
NOTE: The Spruce Eats has a post comparing and rating soy sauces. Jing uses Lee Kum Kee in her cooking, but after noticing that many soy sauces made for export to the US have similar flavor to their US-made counterparts, I settled on Zhongba from the Mala Market. (My Chinese Home Kitchen does not get paid for product endorsements.)
Authentic Sichuan ingredients
China is home to eight great cuisines. These cuisines developed primarily based on geography, because all of them evolved based on the ingredients available to their specific region’s climate and geography.
Sichuan cuisine, the most popular Chinese cuisine worldwide, is no different. We feature many Sichuan, or Sichuan-influenced recipes on My Chinese Home Kitchen. To truly experience the flavor profile of these dishes, using authentic Sichuan ingredients is a must.
Key ingredients in our recipes
Visit the following posts to find details about each ingredient, and where to find them:
- Chili Oils (Pixian Doubanjiang and Laoganma Chili oil with black bean paste)
- Premium Soy Sauces
- Sichuan Peppercorns (used in many of our recipes, essential to Sichuan cooking to get the “Mala” flavor)
- Shaoxing Wine
- Roasted rapeseed oil (used for Sichuan dishes, stir-fry, and Chili Oil)
- Chinese Chili Peppers
- Chinese Chili Powder (especially useful for making Sichuan Chili Oil)
- Chinese “Gan Die” Dipping Chilies (used as a condiment on snacks, fried chicken, and with hot pot)
- Star Anise (a sweet licorice flavored spice used in many southern Chinese dishes)
- Cassia Bark (Chinese cinnamon)
The Mala Market
We have discovered a site called the Mala Market. It is run by a mother and her adopted Chinese daughter and specializes in authentic Sichuan ingredients. They travel to China to source these quality ingredients directly from Chinese producers. Like My Chinese Home Kitchen, their website as a labor of love. In their case, it was an American mother seeking to provide her adopted daughter the home-cooked Chinese food that she was used to eating.
Disclaimer
My Chinese Home Kitchen does not receive any revenue from the items listed below. We provide these links to save you time and trouble locating quality ingredients. We want you to enjoy our authentic recipes at home.
Soy, vinegar and other sauces and oils from the Mala Market
MEGACHEF OYSTER SAUCE (GLUTEN FREE)
This premium oyster sauce is made in Thailand and not southern China, where oyster sauce was invented, many chefs and home cooks feel that Megachef’s version of oyster sauce is the finest. It has no MSG, added color or artificial flavors and is gluten free.
–The Mala Market
BAONING HANDCRAFTED VINEGAR
Sichuan’s Baoning vinegar is one of the four famous vinegars of China. Baoning is a better match for Sichuan food and because it contains no added salt or sugar, as even the best commercially available Zhenjiang vinegar does. You can substitute Baoning for Zhenjiang in any Sichuan recipe and most other Chinese recipes. Because it has no added sugar, you might need less Baoning.
–The Mala Market
Jing calls for white vinegar on many of her recipes, and you can use that option. However, if you want to try a nice alternative, use this vinegar with her recipes. Especially on the Hot and Sour Shredded Potato. That recipe is very popular with my neighbors here in Central Texas, and when I make it for them, I use the Baoning vinegar with Facing Heaven (Chao Jian Tiao) chili peppers.
Fermented Soybeans from Mala Market
SICHUAN FERMENTED BLACK BEANS (PRESERVED SOYBEANS, DOUCHI)
Fermented black soybeans are called douchi. Douchi are a fixture of Cantonese cuisine. They are also common in Sichuan, but are made in a different style. This results in a different texture and taste.
–The Mala Market
Noodles from the Mala Market
SICHUAN WHEAT NOODLES (LAMIAN FOR DAN DAN MIAN AND SOUPS)
These thin lamian wheat noodles are the type often used in dan dan mian and other Sichuan noodle dishes. However, unlike round dan dan noodles these are flat. Lamian means hand-pulled noodle in Mandarin. However, in English they are called ramen. Like ramen, they are alkaline noodles, with the addition of sodium carbonate for springiness.
–The Mala Market
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