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Complete Sichuan Pantry Collection
$145
All the pantry ingredients needed to cook Sichuan food
This Complete Sichuan Pantry Collection is designed to stock your shelves with a premium version of every specialty ingredient needed to cook classic Sichuan food. It includes heritage products exclusive to The Mala Market and nine of our well-tested, beautifully printed recipe cards for the most-loved dishes of Chengdu and Chongqing.
The heart of the collection is the ingredients for creating má and là, the defining tastes of Sichuan food. “Ma” refers to the tingly, citrusy taste of Sichuan pepper. Our premium da hong pao Sichuan peppercorns are incomparably fresh, fragrant, potent and seedless. “La” refers to the heat of chili pepper, and this kit includes the popular facing-heaven zi dan tou whole dried chilies as well as fragrant-hot ground chilies, a mix of three kinds of roasted and ground chilies that is ideal for making chili oil.
The soul of Sichuan cuisine is doubanjiang, or chili bean paste, made in the Pixian (Pidu) district of Chengdu, and this kit includes the highest-quality douban on the market, handcrafted and aged for three years. It also includes Sichuan's other two umami powerhouses: Tongchuan 3-year fermented soybeans ("black beans," douchi) and fermented sweet wheat paste (tian mian jiang).
Other must-haves include Sichuan's heritage brands of soy sauce and vinegar. Zhongba light soy sauce is naturally brewed from non-GMO soybeans, wheat, salt, and water for a full year—far longer than most commercial soy sauces, which results in a deeper, more complex flavor. Handcrafted Baoning vinegar is made from multiple grains and fermented in earthenware crocks that carry three years of microbes in their walls, infusing it with the unique taste of the Baoning terroir. Neither sauce has any additives or preservatives.
We round out this collection with our own brand of roasted sesame paste, made from single-origin Chinese sesame seeds that are deeply roasted and stone-ground without chemicals or heat. It is creamy, nutty, fresh and fragrant, with a deep golden-brown color. And lastly, Yibin yacai, a fermented mustard pickle used in many classic dishes.
This collection includes nine Mala Market recipe cards: Sichuan chili oil, mapo doufu, gong bao (kung pao) chicken, dry-fried green beans, dan dan noodles, Chongqing chicken (la zi ji), twice-cooked pork, eggplant in garlic sauce (yu xiang eggplant) and water-boiled fish (shui zhu yu). You'll find dozens more dishes using these ingredients on our recipe blog.
To cook the full range of Sichuan dishes, combine this collection with The Food of Sichuan (2019), the definitive guide and cookbook for Sichuan cuisine.
Note that collections are not packed separately from other items in the same order.
What's Included
Each product in this collection is full-size, allowing you to make dozens of Chinese dishes using the included recipes and our extensive recipe blog.
Use links above to see individual products on this site for more description of each one, including provenance, history, production methods, ingredients and nutrition facts.
If this is a gift, know that our shipments do not include any pricing info. The collection is packaged with red tissue paper and a product storage and usage guide.
History + Honors
The chilies in this collection are grown in Guizhou Province, China’s chili breeding, growing and processing capital. The Sichuan pepper is Sichuan’s most popular variety, loved for its large, flower shape, bright red color and strong fragrance and numbing power. These single-origin spices are always from the most recent harvest. Please read more about our sourcing and testing on each product page.
The Sichuan Pixian doubanjiang and sweet wheat paste, Tongchuan fermented soybeans, Zhongba soy sauce and Baoning vinegar in this collection are all made by companies that are designated China Time-Honored Brands. That means they have been in operation at least 50 years, though all of these companies trace their founding story and lineage back centuries.
These brands also have protected Geographic Indication (like French Champagne or Parmigiano Reggiano), meaning their places of origin heavily impact their taste and authenticity. These branded products can be made only in the cities/districts of Pixian, Tongchuan, Zhongba and Boaning, the historical names of the places they are made (most of which have been renamed in modern times).
Finally, the craftsmanship of Pixian doubanjing and Tongchuan douchi have the status of National Intangible Cultural Heritage, indicating an artisan production process that is a living tradition passed down through generations.
Storage
All the products are shelf-stable and can be stored in a cool, dark pantry.
Optionally, once opened, we recommend refrigeration for doubanjiang, fermented soybeans and yacai pickle.
Soy sauce and vinegar do not require refrigeration but can be refrigerated to extend peak freshness.
Spices and chilies can be frozen for long-term storage.
This collection comes with a printed storage and usage guide.
Allergens
Products in this collection include soybean, wheat and sesame.
Most of the products are all natural, with no additives or preservatives; the exceptions are the sweet wheat paste and the yacai pickle.
See individual product pages for a complete listing of ingredients and nutrition facts.
