Using Danshan as a Base Flavor for Yunnanese Dishes

But then... in addition to those simple dips, you can also use Danshan as a sort of base flavor for more complicated Yunnanese mixed dishes. For example, a classic potato dish in Yunnan is something called zha yang yu – it's the kind of thing you can find it on the street pretty much all throughout the province. To make it, you first deep fry some chunks of potatoes, preferably something waxier like a fingerling, then transfer over to a mixing bowl - no need to drain. Add in 1 tbsp Danshan, 1/8 tsp each salt and MSG, a tsp sesame paste diluted with another tsp of sesame oil and ¼ tsp Sichuan pepper oil, a clove of minced garlic, and some spicy red chilies. Toss with a tsp of toasted sesame seed together with healthy handful of cilantro... and eat with a skewer for maximum authenticity bonus points.

Or maybe another option might be something like Dai-flavor rice noodle. This was 150 grams of fresh rice noodles – and feel free to swap for something dried and boiled – tossed with pineapple chunks, halved cherry tomato, julienned carrot, sliced onion, cilantro, culantro, garlic and sliced red chili. This then was just then mixed in with a Danshan based sauce, full components of which are up here on the screen… combined thoroughly and then served in a big bowl.

Or... I dunno, maybe you're feeling a little frisky and want to try the stuff as western food? I mean, sure. Totally. Like yoghurt plus danshan plus a touch of salt is way more delicious of an American style dip than it has any right to be. Or... maybe you want something a little different for your hot wings. Hot sauce, butter, big handful of danshan, why not.

Or for a couple ideas a little more Yunnan inspired, how about some pounded garlic, fermented tofu, rice vinegar, danshan, and Sichuan peppercorn oil… all tossed with together with the same wings together with some cilantro, culantro, and scallion. Or... I dunno, maybe a salad with some of those Dai flavors we used before... pineapple, cucumber, paneer, danshan, minced garlic and chili... the herbaceous usual suspects, seasoned with salt, MSG, and a bit of Sichuan pepper oil. Tastes pretty Yunnan, but it wouldn’t be out of place at a cookout, I don't think.

Full Detailed Recipes for Danshan Dishes

Of course, I am aware that this was all pretty rapid fire, so we will give you full detailed written recipes for all of this stuff, but the fundamental point is this. This is a seasoning mix that belongs up there with the world’s greats, it's super versatile, and belongs it in your cupboard. And luckily, this isn’t the type of thing that’s super obscure or anything – besides being quite available online it’s also highly probable that your local Chinese supermarket also carries it.

Buying Danshan Seasoning

So! When you are buying this kind of stuff, besides Danshan the classic there’s also the Danshan tematela… which is extra spicy and numbing. Then, you will also see some other brands: sometimes you would often see like "9+1" or something like "2+1" or "1+1"... that’s like a common trait on their packaging. So right!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enThis is Danshan. What Za’atar is to the levant, what creole seasoning is to Louisiana,  this is to Yunnan China – something that’s both a foundational mix and,  importantly, a way to add a lot of flavor while making the cook’s life easier. What  the stuff is is toasted chili pepper, some good Sichuan peppercorn, white pepper powder,  fennel seed, and ginger… all seasoned with salt and a healthy hit of MSG.Now at the most basic level, how you use it is this: (first) you take a thing (second) you dip  thing in Danshan and (third) you eat and enjoy your thing. And that thing? can be basically  anything – there’s even GMM style taste tests over on the Chinese internet – but most classic  in Yunnan would probably be either grilled potato or grilled tofu, which we’ll swing back to in just  a sec. But another common choice is fruit, kind of akin to chili salt in southeast Asia  or maybe Tajin over in Mexico. Our personal favorite on that front is sour green mango,  but like… honestly, practically any fruit can work pretty well. Alternatively, you can also  mix your fruit with the stuff, which’s actually our preference – roughly one tablespoon worth  per 100 grams of fruit. If sour green mango is a tough source for you, another thing we  really like is pineapple given this treatment.And for a similar not-fruit option, an acid-set  fresh cheese called rubing is one local specialty in Northwest Yunnan. It’s commonly seen pan-fried  and dipped – this sort being one option among a couple. Pretty straightforward to make, you can  sub rubing with halloumi or paneer – what we’re using today actually… and slice it into about ½  cm sheets. Then just toss three tablespoons of oil to a wok and season the oil at first with  a half teaspoon of salt. Then just fry those over a medium-high flame for about one or two minutes,  or until it gently browns, then flip and repeat. Then just remove, drain, and devour with Danshan.But Of course, when it comes to a dry dip, we can’t really talk  danshan without covering the foreshadowed baojiang doufu – a crispy-on-the-outside,  melty on the inside Yunnan style of tofu from which it’s practically inseparable. This tofu  variety would be the kind of of thing someone in Yunnan would just… purchase at their local market,  but for us outside conveniently the stuff gets its unique texture not with some kind of crazy  coagulation technique but via a simple alkaline treatment. Just start from any block of firm tofu,  slice it into about ½ cm sheets, and then place them into a bowl. Then just add in 2  of grams salt, 8g of baking soda all with 400mL of water, and then let it sit for about eight hours. Then… after that time, drain out the water, rinse off some of that soda and then pat dry. To cook  it, in Yunnan grilling is by far the most common route, but you can also get there slightly less  conveniently by pan-frying in a cast iron. Heat up the pan, touch of oil, about 1 tablespoon, and fry  those over medium-low for about eight minutes each side, though word of warning flipping can  get a little awkward in a pan. Either way, just remove, toss on a plate, and devour with Danshan.Now… that’s all pretty straightforward, but - I do think it’s actually as a wet dip that  Danshan’s versatility really shines. Because throughout southwest China, there’s a really  cool homestyle way of eating vegetable, which we covered before in our previous ‘vegetable  in water’ video. Basically what you do is just toss some vegetables in boiling water - anything  relatively hearty you got – shut off the heat, and let the vegetable naturally cool down in it.It’s a super low-stress mise for the cook because you could toss it on the table immediately, or let  it sit on the side for 30, 60, 90 minutes whatever as you’re doing other stuff. All the flavor then  comes from the dip – you just ladle 4 tbsp of the veg-boiling-water into about 1 tablespoon of the  Danshan, mix, and then that’s seriously that – it’s just a delicious and crazy simple way  to eat a lot of vegetable. But… from there, you can also build off of that base – for example,  one classic might be to then mix that mix with a bit of soy sauce and aromatics – and here,  we enjoy some minced ginger and scallion together with our vegetable in water.Or… alternatively, dip wise, you can also go oil based. 1 tablespoon of danshan,  2 tablespoons of oil, heated up to about 120C, then mixed in. Then just  toss in some soy sauce and aromatics – here we went with some minced garlic,  together with a bit of mint… mint because this dip is incredibly delicious devoured  via some thinly sliced stewed beef shin, super simple, recipe’s in the description.But then… in addition to those simple dips, you can also use Danshan as a sort of base flavor  for more complicated Yunnanese mixed dishes. For example, a classic potato dish in Yunnan  is something called zha yang yu – it’s the kind of thing you can find it on the street  pretty much all throughout the province. To make it, you first deep fry some chunks of potatoes,  preferably something waxier like a fingerling, then transfer over to a mixing bowl – no need  to drain. Add in 1 tbsp danshan, 1/8 tsp each salt and MSG, a tsp sesame paste diluted with  another tsp of sesame oil and ¼ tsp Sichuan pepper oil, a clove of minced garlic,  and some spicy red chilies. Toss with a tsp of toasted sesame seed together with  healthy handful of cilantro... and eat with a skewer for maximum authenticity bonus points.Or maybe another option might be something like a Dai-flavor rice noodle. This was 150 grams of  fresh rice noodles – and feel free to swap for something dried and boiled – tossed with pineapple  chunks, halved cherry tomato, julienned carrot, sliced onion, cilantro, culantro,  garlic and sliced red chili. This then was just then mixed in with a danshan based sauce, full  components of which are up here on the screen… combined thoroughly and then served in a big bowl. Or… I dunno, maybe you’re feeling a little frisky and want to try the stuff as western food? I mean,  sure. Totally. Like yoghurt plus danshan plus a touch of salt is way more delicious of an American  style dip than it has any right to be. Or… maybe you want something a little different for your hot  wings. Hot sauce, butter, big handful of danshan, why not. Or for a couple ideas a little more  Yunnan inspired, how about some pounded garlic, fermented tofu, rice vinegar, danshan, and Sichuan  peppercorn oil… all tossed with together with the same wings together with some cilantro, culantro,  and scallion. Or… I dunno, maybe a salad with some of those Dai flavors we used before… pineapple,  cucumber, paneer, danshan, minced garlic and chili… the herbaceous usual suspects,  seasoned with salt, MSG, and a bit of Sichuan pepper oil. Tastes pretty Yunnan, but it wouldn’t  be out of place at a cookout, I don’t think.Now. Of course, I am aware that this was all  pretty rapid fire, so we will give you full detailed written recipes for all of this stuff,  but the fundamental point is this. This is a seasoning mix that belongs up there with the  world’s greats, it’s super versatile, and belongs it in your cupboard. And luckily,  this isn’t the type of thing that’s super obscure or anything – besides being quite  available online it’s also highly probable that your local Chinese supermarket also carries it.So! When you are buying this kind of stuff, besides Danshan the classic there’s also the  Danshan tematela… which is extra spicy and numbing. Then, you will also see some other  brands: sometimes you would often see like “9+1” or something like “2+1” or “1+1”… that’s like  a common trait on their packaging. So right! Check out the recipe in the description box,  a big thank you to everyone that’s supporting us on Patreon… and of course,  subscribe for more Chinese cooking videos! Great supermarket if you’re ever in Bangkok by the way…\n"