Sichuan Dipping Chili Powder is a common condiment used with Hot Pot for dipping the pieces of food. I have found it’s a good, general purpose seasoning for several dishes, such as Jing’s Fried Chicken recipe, her Homemade Potato Chips, and other dishes calling for chili powder as a condiment. In fact, I’ll be making Jing’s Fried Chicken later today. I always make a large batch to share with my neighbors, because, even though they are from Kentucky, they also enjoy the Chinese-style fried chicken. So I keep several bottles of Gan Die and a few boxes of panko-style breadcrumbs on hand in my pantry. Whenever the urge for fried chicken strikes me, all I need is a package of chicken breasts from the local grocery.
Chinese versus Southwestern US Chili Powders
I live in central Texas, so I have easy access to many Mexican-style chili powders and I also make my own blends. The Hatch Valley of southern New Mexico is just a few hours to the West, so when the Hatch Chilies are in season I can get them fresh, and dry them or roast them. Hatch chilies have a unique flavor, as do each of the Mexican varieties, but none of them is quite the same as chili powders made from Chinese chili peppers. The first few times I made the fried chicken, I used my go to Mexican chili powder varieties. The results were okay, but nothing spectacular.
Shopping for Chinese Chili Powders
While shopping for soy sauce at the Mala Market, I noticed their Gan Die Sichuan Dipping Chili Powder. The price was a bit higher than I’d pay for mass market chili powder in a grocery store, but I know that the mother and daughter team at the Mala Market travel to Chengdu and arrange with local producers to have products grown and prepared for them. So I expect to pay a little more. So I purchased a bottle and tried it with the Fried Chicken. The results were phenomenal, even addicting. I mean, I get requests now to make fried chicken. A single bottle will last for several batches of fried chicken.
There are six dishes I get frequent requests for:
- my Texas Chain Gang Chili (which I make with my own blend of Hatch Chili powder and Chipotle powder)
- my lasagna (which I make with a family recipe for homemade tomato sauce, Parmesan-Reggiano cheese, Gianelli Italian Sausage, and, though no one believes this, a very small amount of Indian Ghost Pepper to season the ground beef before browning)
- Jing’s Authentic Mapo Tofu
- Jing’s Homestyle Kung Pao Chicken
- Jing’s Easy Fried Chicken
- Jing’s homemade Potato Chips
The “secret ingredient” in the chicken and the chips is the Gan Die Sichuan Dipping Chili powder.
The difference between Dipping Chili and Chinese Chili Powder
Chili powder flakes are roasted Chinese Chilies, ground and mixed with caiziyou (roasted rapeseed oil). They are especially good for making your own homemade chili oil.
The Gan Die Dipping Chili Powder is actually a spice blend. It is made by a small company in Chengdu for local restaurants there. Gan Die is comprised of chilies, Sichuan peppercorn, rapeseed oil, sugar, sesame, soybean, salt, msg, star anise, sand ginger, fennel, cassia (i.e., a close cousin of true cinnamon, from cassia bark). Star anise, fennel, and cassia are common in Sichuan cooking. Chinese Five Spice Powder contains four of these same ingredients: Sichuan peppercorn, either Saigon cinnamon or cassia, star anise, fennel. Ground cloves are added as the fifth spice. (Some versions also contain or substitute orange peel, cardamom, turmeric, or ginger.) The notable difference in the Gan Die is the presence of the chili peppers, sugar, sand ginger, and caiziyou.
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