Lee Kum Kee Chilli Bean Sauce (Toban Djan) 368g

Lee Kum Kee Chilli Bean Sauce Now Available in the UK!

Chilli brings the heat. Fermented beans bring the savoury depth. Lee Kum Kee Chilli Bean Sauce gives you both in a concentrated paste that can form the base of a dish.

Lee Kum Kee began as a small sauce business in 1888. This sauce, labelled Toban Djan, is part of its range of ingredients for Chinese cooking.

Made with chilli, fermented soybean and broad bean pastes, it has a salty, savoury flavour that works particularly well in dishes such as mapo tofu.

Cook a little with garlic, ginger and your other aromatics before adding the remaining ingredients, keeping the heat controlled so the paste does not burn. That first step helps carry its flavour through the sauce.

You can also use a small spoonful in stir-fried vegetables, a spicy noodle sauce or a hotpot broth. It is useful when a dish needs more than chilli heat alone.

Taste before adding extra soy sauce or salt, because the paste already contributes plenty of seasoning.

Start small and build up to the strength you enjoy.

One 368g jar of Lee Kum Kee Chilli Bean Sauce, Toban Djan.