Shao Kao Spice (Chinese BBQ Blend)

Western China's Quintessential BBQ Blend

All of China loves a good skewer of grilled meat or veggie. Our shao kao spice features the Chinese barbecue flavors you'll find throughout Western China—from the far west region of Xinjiang, where Muslim grillers have perfected cumin-dusted lamb skewers, to the country's southwest, where Sichuan BBQ features chilies and Sichuan pepper in abundance on all manner of meat, seafood and vegetable. 

We think of this smoky, spicy, tingly blend called Fragrant Hot Shao Kao Spice as the classic of Western China, featuring the three main flavors that combine to make Chinese skewers unlike any other in the world of grilled foods. It features a blend of Guizhou chilies, Xinjiang-grown cumin and da hong pao Sichuan pepper, which are rounded out by sesame seeds, salt, sugar, msg and spices including fennel, smoked black cardamom and star anise. 

Made for us in small batches in Chongqing—where they like their grilled foods spicy!—this is a chili-based blend that complements both meat and vegetables. It is versatile as a seasoning or rub for grilling, oven roasting and air-frying.

To grill the Sichuan way, try our recipes for Sichuan shao kao and vegetarian shao kao (links below).

If you want to go deep on Chinese grilling, the best tutorial and largest lineup of  recipes we've seen—everything from lamb, chicken wings and heart and pig intestines to tofu and whole fish—is in the Xi'an Famous Foods cookbook. 

Note the large size of this glass spice jar compared to most spice jars on the market.