All-Purpose Chinese Cold Dish Dressing (Ban Liang Cai Wan Neng Ban Liao Zhi)
拌凉菜万能拌料汁 · pan chinese cuisine
The author has used this all-purpose cold dressing recipe for years, and says no matter what it's tossed with—pig ears, beef, cucumber, or wood ear mushrooms—a whole batch never lasts. The key rule from professional kitchens: keep the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separate. Never add soy sauce or oyster sauce before pouring the hot oil, because the high heat scorches them and gives the whole dressing a burnt, bitter taste.
Hector NunezThird-generation taquero turned home cook. Nixtamal from scratch changed my life. Happy to talk tortilla technique with anyone who'll listen.Nutrition & allergens
Contains:SesameSoyWheat
Some ingredients are not yet allergen-surveyed; this label is not exhaustive.
Per serving (4 servings)
- Energy (kcal)
- 97.1(Main ingredients only; seasoning not counted)
- Protein (g)
- 1.2(Main ingredients only; seasoning not counted)
- Fat (g)
- 8.4(Main ingredients only; seasoning not counted)
- Carbs (g)
- 5.2(Main ingredients only; seasoning not counted)
- Sodium (mg)
- 375.1(Main ingredients only; seasoning not counted)
Estimated from verified ingredient data for the original formula — not lab values, and one dish is not a full meal.
Chili flakes辣椒面
0.35 oz
garlic (minced, for finishing)蒜末
0.21 oz
0.14 oz
scallion葱花
0.28 oz
0.28 oz
0.11 oz
Canola oil菜籽油
1.06 oz
0.04 oz
salt盐
0.07 oz
0.11 oz
0.18 oz
0.35 oz
0.18 oz
0.11 oz
Techniques you'll use
- Chili-oil infusion ↗
Pour hot oil over ground chilies and spices to extract color and heat.
- Cold dressing (liang ban) ↗
Toss cooked or raw ingredients with a bold chilled dressing.
Steps
Get a ceramic bowl ready—do not use a glass bowl, as the hot oil can crack it. Add the coarse chili powder, minced garlic, minced ginger, chopped scallions, and bird's eye chilies to the bowl, spreading them across the bottom.
✅ Done when: All the aromatics are evenly spread in a layer across the bottom of the ceramic bowl.
- 2
Step 2
Sprinkle the white sesame seeds and five-spice powder on top. These delicate ingredients sit on the upper layer so they're fragranced by the rising heat of the oil without burning.
✅ Done when: The sesame seeds and five-spice powder are scattered evenly over the aromatics.
Heat a pan and add 30 g of rapeseed oil. Heat over medium heat for about a minute and a half, until the oil surface starts to shimmer gently and then sends up thin wisps of light smoke—at that point the oil is about 70–80% hot. Turn off the heat and wait about 15 seconds.
✅ Done when: The oil shimmers and just begins to release thin wisps of smoke, about 90 seconds after heating over medium heat.
Pour the oil into the bowl in two additions: pour in half first and stir quickly with a spoon so every ingredient gets coated—the aroma of chili and garlic will burst out immediately. Then pour in the remaining oil and stir again.
✅ Done when: Every ingredient in the bowl is sizzling and coated in oil, with a strong chili-garlic aroma filling the room.
Once the oil in the bowl has cooled down, add the salt, chicken bouillon powder, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar, and stir everything together evenly. The order matters: only adding these wet seasonings after the oil cools preserves the freshness of the soy sauce and vinegar and the aroma of the oyster sauce.
✅ Done when: The wet seasonings are fully stirred in and the dressing is smooth and uniform.
Taste and adjust: add a bit more salt if it's not salty enough, or a few more drops of vinegar if it needs more tang. This is the base version of the dressing; tweak it based on what you're tossing—add Sichuan peppercorn oil for vegetable dishes, or an extra half spoonful of vinegar for meat dishes.
✅ Done when: The dressing tastes balanced to your preference, with the saltiness and tang adjusted to taste.
How to tell if the oil temperature is right: dip a clean chopstick in a little chili powder and hold it in the oil. If it sizzles but the chili powder doesn't blacken, the temperature is just right. If the chili powder blackens immediately, the oil is too hot—let it cool longer before pouring.
✅ Done when: The chili powder on the test chopstick sizzles without turning black, confirming the oil temperature is right.