Craft & Origin
Sun on clear days, cover on wet days, turn by day, dew at night — the traditional craft of Pixian douban and the land it comes from.
What it is
What is Pixian douban
Pixian douban is a fermented broad-bean product made from red chilli, broad bean, salt and wheat flour, naturally fermented inside a defined area of Pidu District, Chengdu. Known as the soul of Sichuan cuisine, it is not a chilli sauce but the base note behind twice-cooked pork, mapo tofu, water-boiled fish, hotpot and maocai — colour, aroma and heat.
The traditional craft was listed as national intangible cultural heritage in 2008 (item no. Ⅷ-155), and Pixian douban was among the first Chinese GIs protected by the EU in 2020.
- National intangible heritage · item Ⅷ-155
- National GI product (2005 notice No. 212)
36 months of natural fermentation —
no three-month shortcut
Outdoor clay jars for flavour, indoor stainless pools for consistency — but turning, sunning and dew are never skipped.
Turn by day
"Sun on clear days, cover on rainy days, turn by day, dew at night." Every pool and every jar is turned daily so chilli and bean convert slowly in warm air.
Sun every clear day
Pidu's sunshine and humidity are the best fermentation conditions douban can get. Tomato-red slowly deepens to red-brown as layers of aroma build under the sun.
Out in the dew
Lids come off at night so the paste takes in moisture and cool air. Three years is 1,095 days — a flavour that a three-month shortcut cannot buy.
- 36months
- Three years, 1,095 days
- 12months +
- Minimum for traditional douban
- 18months
- Shelf life (GB/T 20560)
Four ingredients from the places that know them
Label: red chilli, broad bean, salt, wheat flour. No preservatives, MSG or colour — the colour comes from fermentation.
- Red chilliSichuan Erjingtiao and Inner Mongolia Qianjinhong — fragrant heat, colour from natural carotenoids
- Broad beanYunnan broad bean — protein and amino acids that become soy aroma
- SaltWell salt — paces fermentation and preserves naturally
- Wheat flourFor koji — starch feeds the ferment; allergen note: contains wheat flour
Origin and site
One sun yard in Youai Town, for thirty years
Our plant is at No. 41, Group 6, Qinghe Village, Youai Town, Pidu District, Chengdu, Sichuan, P.R. China. The sunshine and humidity of Pidu suit day-sun, night-dew fermentation exactly, which is why the GI zone only covers this area.