Hot Bean Sauce

This Sichuan condiment of chiles, salt, cooked soybeans, and sesame oil is used as a flavoring for stir-fried dishes and as a sauce ingredient. In the past, stores carried a Taiwanese product that mixed mashed fava beans and ground chiles and called it “horse beans, ” a label rarely seen these days. What you will see are jars labeled “hot bean sauce, ” “hot bean paste, ” or simply “bean sauce.” Some labeled “bean sauce” add the word “Sichuan” to show the area of production. All are essentially mixes of soybeans and chiles, but some add flour, some sugar, some sesame oil, some garlic. This is an instance where it is essential to shop with a photocopy of the Chinese characters for the sauce in hand. Nor should this spicy condiment be confused with sweet Cantonese bean sauce. Once opened, the sauce should be stored in the refrigerator, where it will keep for up to 6 months.