Chinese Mustard

[malcolmjolley]

A Gremolata reader is looking for Chinese Mustard (either powdered or already mixed). I have not been able to reconnoitre any of the China towns, and am lazily posting in the hope that that there's a TO eGulleter that knows where to find...

[andiesenji]

Coleman's mixed with cold water to which a couple of drops of vinegar have been added will substitute nicely, it has plenty of "bite" - be sure to tell them to use only cold water or other liquid. Heat will destroy the spiciness.

[GordonCooks]

The big place on Spadina has a few kinds - You can find S&B anywhere buy there is a very good one in a green can I used with great success.

[sanrensho]

The big place on Spadina has a few kinds - You can find S&B anywhere buy there is a very good one in a green can I used with great success.

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If you're referring to S&B karashi, that would technically by a Japanese mustard, since S&B is a Japanese company. (Although it is often used with Chinese dishes.)

I'm not really familiar with the Chinese mustard, but the taste might not be the same. The Chinese mustard that I've had at dim sum restaurants seemed a bit more vinegary and yellow, although I could be wrong.

[wesza]

In Hong Kong the most popular method was Colemans mixed together with Beer used at most Restaurants.

[Haggis man]

Is that all there is to chinese "house" mustard? Gosh this one has puzzled me for years. I love the hot stuff, and hate getting stuck with the little packets. I will try to make some tonight! I will try beer, water, and vinegar combos.

Any other sugestions?

[Ben Hong]

Coleman's or Keene's

[jayt90]

There is a large mustard packing house in Hamilton which grinds, blends and packages many types of mustard flour and seeds, purchased from the Canadian market. Much of it goes to Europe, and I'm not surprised that Coleman's and Keenes is used by Chinese restaurants, though probably not on the mainland. A lot of European mustard starts out in the Hamilton plant.

[malcolmjolley]

This is great stuff! Thank you!

The request actually came out of a discussion on Colman's vs. Keen's. (And from Gina Mallet's prediction that Colman's would be a hot food trend for 2006 - see this for more.)

I suppose mustard is mustard, eh?

[missdipsy]

Technically, chinese mustard powder is slightly different to Colman's; it's all down to the blend of different types of seeds. Colman's combines brown & white, whereas I think the authentic chinese powders only use brown (which is more pungent). But there's very little in it, and Colman's is still very pungent when mixed fresh, so it is a perfectly good substitute.

Personally, I have been mixing hot water with it to make "chinese" mustard, as it tastes more like what I would describe as chinese mustard. But I don't know exactly what it is you've tasted, so it's hard to compare. Colman's mixed with cold water, to me, is "english" mustard (well, that's what we've always had, and what my Grandpa had with his boiled egg & ham in the morning!), so the hot water version tastes sufficiently different to distinguish it from the "english". It doesn't seem to make a huge difference to the heat level, though, they're both pretty pungent! I've come across recipes for chinese mustard which use cold, warm, hot & boiling water, so I'm not sure which is really the "correct" version.

Vinegar is sometimes added to preserve the flavour for longer, but if you're eating it stright away I don't think it is strictly necessary. Some people add a little oil & salt. The pre-prepared versions often come with all sorts of things added: turmeric (mostly for colour), sugar, vinegar, garlic, spices etc, although I once read the ingredients on an S&B one & it was just mustard & turmeric. It's hard to say what goes into a "chinese" mustard, as I'm pretty sure there isn't just one "official" version, and the types you have tasted may be different to the ones I've tasted. But I'd hazzard a guess that, much like the "english mustard" I grew up with, the simpler recipe (i.e. plain mustard flour with water) is closer to a "real" homemade chinese mustard.

[Jake]

Great post missdipsy! I, too, mix my colemans/keenes with cold water for "english" and with hot for "other"! Why do I do this? My mother did! No idea why, I'm sure she'd never even heard of chinese mustard when we were young, but no lunch/sandwich/meal was ever complete for her father without it.

[andiesenji]

This site has an explanation of how and when to add various ingredients.

My experience during the many years I have been preparing mustard - and I also grow my own - is that boiling water will produce a chalky, less flavorful result.

The enzymes that produce the "bite" are affected by heating.

When I prepare mustard for canning, I temper the bite by heating it for very short periods in the microwave - I used to use a double boiler prior to the advent of microwave appliances.

In the eGCI basic condiments course I demonstrated the process of preparing mustard from seed.

Basic Condiments course

[Haggis man]

I made several batchs of chinese mustard this past weekend using Coleman's. I prefered using hot water to cold water. There is a taste difference. I also added wasabi powder to the mix to up the heat and taste. That seem to me to be the best combination. The only other tip was to mix it up and let it sit a while so that the mustard mix can lose the "powder" taste.

Thanks for all your help on this thread!

[missdipsy]

Oh yes, you're right, Haggis man, I forgot to say you should leave it for at least 10 mins or so to allow the flavours to develop! But equally, don't leave it too long or it will lose its flavour (unless you've added vinegar, which extends it a bit).

And thank you for the condiments course, andiesenji, very interesting! I'll have to try making Aioli sometime, I absolutely adore it! And the mustard looks good too...