Sweet Flour Sauce

If you’ve ever had Peking duck, you’ve likely smeared this on the pancakes before tossing on the crispy duck skin and green onions. The thick, black, paste-like condiment is also the base for meat sauces like zha jiang mian and a flavoring agent on our Chinese juan bing. While it’s salty enough to be treated like soy sauce, there’s a roasted maltiness to the paste, reminding tasters that the main ingredient is, in fact, flour.