Lan Chi chili paste with garlic

wattacetti · January 14, 2005

I'm down to my last jar of Lan Chi chili paste with garlic.

Marché Hawaii in St-Laurent used to carry the stuff but I haven't seen any in more than a year. Has anyone spotted a store in the Greater Montreal area with available stock? I'd rather not have to sit there and wait for a mailorder package to wend its way through Canada Customs.

Much appreciated.

carswell · January 14, 2005

Great sinus-clearing stuff, eh? It seems to be a staple in the Chinatown stores on St-Laurent. And in early December I saw it at one of the stores on the west side of Victoria north of Van Horne (there's the Marché Victoria Orientale and an East/West Indian store two blocks north and a Viet/Thai/Chinese store three blocks north). Or maybe it was at the newly expanded Kim Phat on Côte-des-Neiges and Goyer. Why not let your fingers do the walking?

Marché Victoria Orientale

6324 Victoria

514 737-4715

Kim Phat

3588 Goyer

514 737-2383

Sorry but I don't recall the names of the other stores...

Edited January 14, 2005 by carswell (log)

wattacetti · January 14, 2005

It's more interesting to go in person than just call ahead in case there's something different that just happens to be there. Thanks very much for the information; it's more than enough to start the hunt.

Ayanna · January 16, 2005

Speaking of garlic chili paste, I'm looking for aji amarillo paste, which seems to be a requirement for numerous recipes in the Nobu cookbook. Essentially, I suppose it's the same thing, but I'd still like to try and find it. So far I haven't been succesful, although it took be forever to find yuzu juice - was always sold out where I went, or just generally non existent. Finally I prevailed - maybe aji amarillo paste will fall within my grasp as well.

Any ideas on where to find it? I too would be eternally grateful.

wattacetti · January 17, 2005

Speaking of garlic chili paste, I'm looking for aji amarillo paste, which seems to be a requirement for numerous recipes in the Nobu cookbook. Essentially, I suppose it's the same thing, but I'd still like to try and find it. So far I haven't been succesful, although it took be forever to find yuzu juice - was always sold out where I went, or just generally non existent. Finally I prevailed - maybe aji amarillo paste will fall within my grasp as well.
←

This stuff sounds interesting; Miyamoto would be a (very) long shot but I'm going to try some of the Latin grocery stores. Don't suppose you have a brand name to help the search?

Ayanna · January 18, 2005

Unfortunately, I don't have a brand name, which I think has made my search harder. I got the Yuzu juice at Atwater market. It's got a distinct citrus taste. It did make a difference to the recipes, so now I'm gung ho on finding aji amarillo paste specifically.

carswell · January 23, 2005

Marché Oriental had a dozen or so jars of Lan Chi chili paste with garlic this afternoon. Located on the shelves facing the produce section, toward the back of the store and next to the Tabasco sauce. $2.25 a jar.

Marché Oriental

7101 St-Denis, a few doors south of Jean-Talon

514 271-7878

Sa-W 09:30-19:00

Th-F 09:30-21:00

wattacetti · January 25, 2005

Marché Oriental had a dozen or so jars of Lan Chi chili paste with garlic this afternoon. Located on the shelves facing the produce section, toward the back of the store and next to the Tabasco sauce. $2.25 a jar.
←

That would now be exactly five jars remaining, not counting the one whose top has already popped off (I told the store staff but I don't know if they've removed it). $2.59 apiece, and I'm happily staring at my 10.

Thanks carswell!

Now onto the aji amarillo.

dutchrusk · January 30, 2005

Speaking of garlic chili paste, I'm looking for aji amarillo paste, which seems to be a requirement for numerous recipes in the Nobu cookbook. Essentially, I suppose it's the same thing, but I'd still like to try and find it. So far I haven't been succesful, although it took be forever to find yuzu juice - was always sold out where I went, or just generally non existent. Finally I prevailed - maybe aji amarillo paste will fall within my grasp as well.
←
This stuff sounds interesting; Miyamoto would be a (very) long shot but I'm going to try some of the Latin grocery stores. Don't suppose you have a brand name to help the search?
←

should find some at supermarche andes, st-laurent below mont-royal--i've seen it there. lotsa peruvian chili pastes and sauces.

Ayanna · January 30, 2005

Excellent, thanks for the tip - I'll check it out.

carswell · January 30, 2005

FYI, Andes also has a branch on the corner of Bélanger and St-Denis (it's where Le Jolifou does much of its shopping).

Supermarché Andes

514 277-4130

436 Bélanger

Montreal, QC H2S 1G2

carswell · January 30, 2005

That would now be exactly five jars remaining, not counting the one whose top has already popped off (I told the store staff but I don't know if they've removed it). $2.59 apiece, and I'm happily staring at my 10.
←

Excuse my prying, wattacetti, but I'm curious about how you use the chili paste with garlic. In my kitchen, it tends to find its way into stirfries, especially eggplant, tofu preps and, in the spring, chicken or shrimp with asparagus. I've also been known to add it to the braising liquid for red-cooked duck and lamb.

wattacetti · January 30, 2005

Excuse my prying, wattacetti, but I'm curious about how you use the chili paste with garlic. In my kitchen, it tends to find its way into stirfries, especially eggplant, tofu preps and, in the spring, chicken or shrimp with asparagus. I've also been known to add it to the braising liquid for red-cooked duck and lamb.
←

It's primarily for a chicken dish which is served with blanched bok choy, but it's pretty much the same thing that you're doing with it. I don't braise with it, but I have used it as a condiment for plain noodles.

mudbug · October 15, 2019

On 1/29/2005 at 8:57 PM, carswell said:

I'm curious about how you use the chili paste with garlic.

carswell,

Lan Chi, Chili Paste with Garlic is phenomenal on mashed potatoes. Use it to taste and you almost can go without the gravy.

mudbug · October 15, 2019

On 1/15/2005 at 4:55 PM, Ayanna said:

Speaking of garlic chili paste, I'm looking for aji amarillo paste, which seems to be a requirement for numerous recipes in the Nobu cookbook.

Definitely not the same thing.

Aji Amarillo Paste is made of Yellow Peppers and would taste more fruity

https://www.amazon.com/Incas-Food-Aji-Amarillo-Paste/dp/B003G52K5E

Ingredients: Yellow Peppers, Salt, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate

http://www.yollieorientalonline.com/lan-chi-chili-paste-with-garlic-8-oz/

Ingredients: Red Chili, Salt, Soybean Oil, Garlic

eugenep · October 15, 2019

If you are interested in chili bean paste (fermented broad beans) that are in many Sichuan dishes, the best is supposed to come from Pixian county

I tried the one below and threw out my Lee Kum Kee branded one

https://www.amazon.com/Sichuan-Pixian-Xian-Broad-Paste/dp/B00A9OF6NS

I recommend it; great quality

JoNorvelleWalker · October 16, 2019

8 hours ago, eugenep said:

If you are interested in chili bean paste (fermented broad beans) that are in many Sichuan dishes, the best is supposed to come from Pixian county

I tried the one below and threw out my Lee Kum Kee branded one

https://www.amazon.com/Sichuan-Pixian-Xian-Broad-Paste/dp/B00A9OF6NS

I recommend it; great quality

Thanks, ordered. Should go well with Fuchsia Dunlop's new book, The Food of Sichuan, that arrived on my doorstep yesterday.

liuzhou · October 16, 2019

2 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Should go well with Fuchsia Dunlop's new book

Revised old book. It's a revised version of "Land of Plenty".

These two brands of Pixian Doubanjiang are the most common I see. Both excellent.

JoNorvelleWalker · October 16, 2019

20 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

Revised old book. It's a revised version of "Land of Plenty".

Yes, but I did not have a copy of the old one. Pretty pictures.

eugenep · October 16, 2019

9 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Thanks, ordered. Should go well with Fuchsia Dunlop's new book, The Food of Sichuan, that arrived on my doorstep yesterday.

Fuchsia is pretty great. I'm cooking with Fuchsia's Simple Everyday Chinese Food right now (title sounds something like that).

Her recipes call for chili bean paste and not the bean oil that is sold in most US stores so the amazon link is to the paste.

I didn't go with the chili bean oil sold in most stores because the Chinese technique appears to be to create an oil infusion from base aromatics and fermented things - like an infused oil that is created in the pan.

This is so different from the Western technique where you just fry the aromatics and then use a stock or wine to create a pan sauce.

The Chinese technique seems to create an oil sauce that coats everything else so that the end result is s dry stir fry with no sauce but an infused oil that flavors the dish.

The chili oil would already have a double dose of oil so I used the paste as called for in her recipe.

I still have a second new unopened bottle of Lee Kum Kee chili bean oil that I plan to "reverse shoplift" - that is, put in back in the store that I bought it from.

It sounds weird but I don't want to waste throwing it away. I don't think it's illegal to reverse shop-lift?

I'm going to walk in casually holding it in my hand and pretend to look at the chili oils and then subtle put the one in my hand back on the shelf and buy something else. Lol

Ummm...when cooking Chinese I found that infusing my own chili oil with sichuan peppers and black cardomom and using Chinese noodles (not the Thai Kitchen ones at Shoprite) from Chinatown made a big difference to the taste.

Also, Chinatown has the horizontal cross-cut spareribs called for in the recipes along with Chinese garlic chives with buds on, water spinach, etc. and dried shrimp and shitake you'll need.

The poultry is super fresh and better than anywhere else: muscove duck, young duckling, genuine hen, squab, and more

I take a carry on cooler and train it from the WTC to NJ

Edited October 16, 2019 by eugenep (log)

KennethT · October 16, 2019

19 hours ago, eugenep said:

If you are interested in chili bean paste (fermented broad beans) that are in many Sichuan dishes, the best is supposed to come from Pixian county

I tried the one below and threw out my Lee Kum Kee branded one

https://www.amazon.com/Sichuan-Pixian-Xian-Broad-Paste/dp/B00A9OF6NS

I recommend it; great quality

I have this brand also, but for some reason, I still can't get my mapo tofu to taste like my favorite (now defunct because of fire) Sichuan restaurant... it's close, but there is some kind of flavor that is a little off, and I think it's coming from this ingredient. I found this one in a supermarket in Manhattan's Chinatown... but they had a few brands - I think I'll try another after I finally make it through this one.

KennethT · October 16, 2019

1 hour ago, eugenep said:

Fuchsia is pretty great. I'm cooking with Fuchsia's Simple Everyday Chinese Food right now (title sounds something like that).

Her recipes call for chili bean paste and not the bean oil that is sold in most US stores so the amazon link is to the paste.

I didn't go with the chili bean oil sold in most stores because the Chinese technique appears to be to create an oil infusion from base aromatics and fermented things - like an infused oil that is created in the pan.

This is so different from the Western technique where you just fry the aromatics and then use a stock or wine to create a pan sauce.

The Chinese technique seems to create an oil sauce that coats everything else so that the end result is s dry stir fry with no sauce but an infused oil that flavors the dish.

The chili oil would already have a double dose of oil so I used the paste as called for in her recipe.

I still have a second new unopened bottle of Lee Kum Kee chili bean oil that I plan to "reverse shoplift" - that is, put in back in the store that I bought it from.

It sounds weird but I don't want to waste throwing it away. I don't think it's illegal to reverse shop-lift?

I'm going to walk in casually holding it in my hand and pretend to look at the chili oils and then subtle put the one in my hand back on the shelf and buy something else. Lol

Ummm...when cooking Chinese I found that infusing my own chili oil with sichuan peppers and black cardomom and using Chinese noodles (not the Thai Kitchen ones at Shoprite) from Chinatown made a big difference to the taste.

Also, Chinatown has the horizontal cross-cut spareribs called for in the recipes along with Chinese garlic chives with buds on, water spinach, etc. and dried shrimp and shitake you'll need.

The poultry is super fresh and better than anywhere else: muscove duck, young duckling, genuine hen, squab, and more

I take a carry on cooler and train it from the WTC to NJ

I don't know about the whole reverse shoplifting thing.. I wonder if the store would have an issue that it might be tampered with? Even if the seal is intact, if I was the store owner, I'd be hesitant to allow that.

But, if you don't want to waste it, you could always bring it to a soup kitchen or food pantry - usually they get pretty vanilla type stuff, so maybe they'd be happy to see it?

Duvel · October 16, 2019

1 hour ago, KennethT said:

But, if you don't want to waste it, you could always bring it to a soup kitchen or food pantry

Preferably in Chinatown 😉

liuzhou · October 17, 2019

14 hours ago, Duvel said:

Preferably in Chinatown 😉

I doubt Chinatown would thank him for it.

Lee Kum Kee Is a Cantonese company far from Sichuan. Their doubanjiang has several ingredients that would never be included in Sichuan and looks, tastes and smells all wrong.

This is what 'real' douban jiang looks like.

doubanjiang.jpg.ccca0a5034e2fcbad4ac30cc675fffed.jpg