Strange Flavor Broad Beans (Guai Wei Dou)
Sweet? Spicy? Sour?! Chongqing's "mysterious beans" will mess with your brain!
Description
A traditional tea companion/snack representing Chongqing/Sichuan. 'Guai Wei' (Strange Flavor) is a complex, deliciously indescribable flavor in Chinese cuisine mixing all 5 tastes: 'Sweet, Sour, Salty, Spicy, Numbing'. A snack where crispy-fried broad beans (Can Dou) are coated in a thick layer of this Guai Wei crust.
Classification: Everyone, Snack, Snack, Broad Beans, Strange Flavor, Chongqing Specialty, Snack, Complex Flavor
Shops selling Strange Flavor Broad Beans (Guai Wei Dou)
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The How to use section below is a general reference, not instructions from the listed shops.
How to use
Ingredients
- Broad beans
- Sugar
- Soy sauce
- Vinegar
- Chili
- Sichuan pepper
- Salt
- Veg oil
- Five Spice Powder
Instructions
- [Typical Uses]
- [Infinite Tea/Liquor Loop]: Biting a crispy broad bean delivers sugar sweetness first, then vinegar tartness, and finally Sichuan pepper/chili numbness spreading in the mouth. Confuses the taste buds, making the next bean unstoppable.
Learn more Substitutes, pairings, tips
Key spices
Initially intensely sweet-salty; chewing releases broad bean roastedness; aftertaste leaves refreshing tartness and numbness—a chaotic flavor
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
Substitute by dusting JP 'Ikari Mame' (fried broad beans) with sugar and Sichuan pepper powder
Pairing
Oolong Tea / Beer / Shaoxing Wine
Trivia
Because the broad bean is coated shell-on with a thick candy-like crust, the bite is extremely strong, making loud crunching sounds. A 4,000-year Chinese snack with perfectly calculated flavor pyramids.
Eating tips & etiquette
The snack that rooted JP's 'Guai Wei Sauce' boom. Brands like Chongqing's 'Die Jing' and 'Yu Xiong' are famous; the absolute staple souvenir travelers MUST buy when visiting Chongqing.
Allergen
Soybeans, Wheat