Doubanjiang substitutes
Doubanjiang substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Also called chili bean paste, chili bean sauce, toban djan, broad bean chili paste, la doubanjiang, doubanjang
Use Sambal oelek + red miso
Per 1 tbsp doubanjiang
1 ½ tsp sambal oelek + 1 ½ tsp red miso
Mix equal parts sambal oelek and red miso: 1 ½ teaspoons of each for every tablespoon of doubanjiang. The miso supplies the salty fermented-bean depth and the sambal supplies plain chile heat without sweetness. It is smoother and a little less funky than the real paste. Gochujang is the one-jar fallback at the same amount, but it is sweet, so leave out any sugar in the recipe and add a teaspoon of soy sauce.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Stir the two together, then fry the mix in the oil over medium-low heat for 30 to 60 seconds before adding the other ingredients; miso scorches faster than doubanjiang, so keep it moving.
- Best for —
- mapo tofu
Updated 8 Oct 2026 · no sponsored swaps
But first: what’s the doubanjiang doing?
Pick your caseIs doubanjiang the main flavor of the dish, or one seasoning among several?
Use a mix that is fermented, salty and not sweet. Sambal oelek plus red miso is the closest; doenjang plus gochugaru and black bean garlic sauce plus pepper flakes also keep the dish savory.
Notes on sambal oelek + red miso, doenjang + gochugaru or black bean garlic sauce + red pepper flakes
1 ½ tsp sambal oelek + 1 ½ tsp red miso per 1 tbsp
Gochujang is fine here. Drop the recipe's sugar and add a teaspoon of soy sauce per tablespoon.
Notes on gochujang or chili garlic sauce + soy sauce
1 tbsp per 1 tbsp
Bloom dried red pepper flakes in the oil, then add miso. The heat is simpler, and the salt and fermented flavor are right.
Notes on miso + red pepper flakes
1 tbsp miso + ½ tsp red pepper flakes per 1 tbsp
Leave the chile out and use plain red miso or doenjang at about two-thirds the amount, tasting for salt. The spicy Sichuan kind is the one most recipes mean; a recipe for the mild kind will usually say bean paste or bean sauce with no chile in the name.
Doubanjiang is the seasoning base of a Sichuan dish, not a finishing sauce. It supplies most of the salt, fermented savory depth from the beans, and chile heat, and when it is fried in oil at the start it turns the oil red and fragrant so the color and flavor carry through everything that follows. A good substitute has to be salty, fermented and hot without being sweet. The most common failure is a swap that brings sugar with it.
Every option, one card
Ranked · per 1 tbsp doubanjiang| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 tbsp doubanjiang | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sambal oelek + red misomapo tofu | 1 ½ tsp sambal oelek + 1 ½ tsp red misoTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Gochujangstir-fries | 1 tbspYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 3 | Black bean garlic sauce + red pepper flakesstir-fries | 1 tbsp black bean garlic sauce + ½ tsp red pepper flakesTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Doenjang + gochugarubraises and stews | 2 tsp doenjang + 1 tsp gochugaruTweak it | Tweak it |
| 5 | Miso + red pepper flakesbraises and soups | 1 tbsp miso + ½ tsp red pepper flakesYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 6 | Chili garlic sauce + soy saucequick stir-fries | 1 tbsp chili garlic sauce + 1 tsp soy sauceYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| Not a swap | Hoisin sauce | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
| Not a swap | Sweet bean sauce (tianmianjiang) | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
Sambal oelek + red miso
close; a little less funky, faint tang
Two jars that split doubanjiang's job between them: miso for the fermented bean and salt, sambal for the chile. Neither is sweet, which is what keeps the dish tasting Sichuan.
- Best for
- mapo tofu, twice-cooked pork and stir-fries, dan dan noodles, braises and hot pot broth
- Texture
- smooth instead of coarse
- Prep
- Stir the two together, then fry the mix in the oil over medium-low heat for 30 to 60 seconds before adding the other ingredients; miso scorches faster than doubanjiang, so keep it moving.
- Suits
- vegan
- Contains
- soy
Smoother than doubanjiang, with no pieces of bean or chile, and it will not tint the oil as deeply red. Sambal oelek carries a little vinegar, which is faint once cooked. Any dark or red miso works; white miso is sweeter and milder, so use slightly more of it and less sugar elsewhere.
Gochujang
sweeter, milder, less salty
Korean fermented chile paste. It is red, spicy, fermented and widely sold, and it is also sweet and sticky, which doubanjiang is not.
- Best for
- stir-fries, noodle sauces, marinades, braised tofu
- Texture
- smooth and sticky
- Prep
- Leave out any sugar the recipe calls for and add 1 teaspoon soy sauce per tablespoon of gochujang to make up the salt.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan
- Contains
- soy, wheat
Gochujang is made with glutinous rice and sweetener, so it is milder, sweeter and less salty, and its sugars catch and burn if fried hard in oil. Add it with the liquids or fry it only briefly over low heat. Mapo tofu made with it tastes Korean, not Sichuan.
Black bean garlic sauce + red pepper flakes
darker, garlicky, less chile
Jarred Chinese black bean sauce is fermented, salty and savory in the same way; red pepper flakes or chili oil add the heat it lacks.
- Best for
- stir-fries, mapo tofu, braised eggplant, green beans with pork
- Texture
- similar, slightly chunky
- Prep
- Fry the pepper flakes in the oil for 15 to 20 seconds, then add the black bean sauce and fry 30 seconds more.
- Suits
- vegan
- Contains
- soy, wheat
The flavor is fermented black soybean and garlic, darker and less bright than broad bean and chile, and the dish comes out brown instead of red. Cut back any garlic the recipe adds. Half a teaspoon of flakes is a starting amount; add more to taste.
Doenjang + gochugaru
earthier, less heat
Korean soybean paste is coarse, salty and strongly fermented with no sweetness, which makes it a nearer base than gochujang. Korean chile flakes add color and moderate heat.
- Best for
- braises and stews, mapo tofu, hot pot broth, stir-fries
- Texture
- similar coarse paste
- Prep
- Fry the gochugaru in the oil over low heat for a few seconds until the oil reddens, then add the doenjang.
- Pantry
- Special trip
- Suits
- vegan
- Contains
- soy
Earthier and more pungent than doubanjiang, and gochugaru is milder than Sichuan chiles, so the dish is less hot. Ordinary red pepper flakes are hotter: use about half as much.
Miso + red pepper flakes
savory and salty, simpler heat
The version for a kitchen with miso and no chile paste. It gets the fermented salt right and the chile only roughly.
- Best for
- braises and soups, stir-fry sauces, noodle sauces
- Texture
- smooth
- Prep
- Warm the flakes in the oil for 15 to 20 seconds first so the oil picks up their color and heat, then stir in the miso off the highest heat.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan
- Contains
- soy
Dried flakes give sharp heat without the rounded flavor of fermented chiles, and the dish will be tan, not red. Half a teaspoon is a starting amount. Use red or brown miso if you have it.
Chili garlic sauce + soy sauce
tangy, garlicky, no fermented depth
Covers the heat, the color and the salt. There is no fermented bean in it, so the deep savory note is missing.
- Best for
- quick stir-fries, noodle sauces, dipping sauces
- Texture
- looser and wetter
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan
- Contains
- soy, wheat
Chili garlic sauce is sharp with vinegar and garlic, so the dish tastes brighter and thinner than it should. It is the weakest of the workable options in mapo tofu, where doubanjiang is most of the flavor. Reduce any garlic the recipe adds.
Hoisin sauce
A brown Chinese sauce made with fermented soybean paste, so it is often suggested. It is a sweet sauce, not a spicy one.
- Best for
- nothing on this page
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
Hoisin is sugary, thick and flavored with garlic and spices, with no real heat. A tablespoon of it where doubanjiang belongs turns a spicy, salty dish sweet. Use miso and a chile product instead.
Sweet bean sauce (tianmianjiang)
The jars sit side by side in the shop and the names are easy to confuse.
Sweet bean sauce is a different ingredient.
- Best for
- nothing on this page
- Pantry
- Special trip
It is dark, sweet and mild, made mostly from fermented wheat flour, with no chile at all. Recipes such as twice-cooked pork use it alongside doubanjiang, not in place of it.
Don’t swap it here
2 cases- Any dish built on doubanjiang, made with a sweet sauce such as hoisin or sweet bean sauce.Use miso or doenjang with sambal oelek, gochugaru or red pepper flakes.
- SafetyCooking for someone who avoids gluten or soy, using a substitute without reading the label.Check every jar. For gluten-free, use a miso and a chile paste labeled gluten-free with tamari in place of soy sauce.
Questions
6 questionsWhat is the best substitute for doubanjiang?
A half-and-half mix of sambal oelek and red miso, used at the same total amount: 1 ½ teaspoons of each per tablespoon of doubanjiang. The miso gives the salty fermented-bean flavor and the sambal gives clean chile heat with no sweetness. Fry it briefly in the oil as you would the real paste.
Can I use gochujang instead of doubanjiang?
Yes, at the same amount, with two changes: leave out any sugar in the recipe and add about 1 teaspoon of soy sauce per tablespoon. Gochujang is sweeter, milder and less salty, so the dish will taste rounder and less sharp. It works better in stir-fries and noodle sauces than in mapo tofu.
Is chili bean sauce the same as doubanjiang?
Yes. Chili bean sauce, chili bean paste, broad bean chili paste and toban djan (the Cantonese name used on Lee Kum Kee jars) are all names for spicy doubanjiang. The jarred Cantonese-style sauces are usually smoother, milder and a little sweeter than Pixian doubanjiang from Sichuan, and can be used at the same amount.
Is doubanjiang the same as chili garlic sauce or sambal oelek?
No. Those are fresh chile sauces with salt and vinegar and no fermented beans. They supply heat and color but not the deep savory flavor, which is why they need miso or soy sauce alongside them to stand in for doubanjiang.
What can I use instead of doubanjiang in mapo tofu?
Use 1 ½ teaspoons sambal oelek plus 1 ½ teaspoons red miso for each tablespoon the recipe calls for, fried in the oil before the pork goes in. Add a spoonful of chili oil at the end for color. If you have fermented black beans or black bean sauce, a teaspoon added with the paste brings the flavor closer.
Is there a non-spicy substitute for doubanjiang?
Red miso or doenjang on their own give the salty fermented-bean flavor with no heat. Start with two-thirds of the amount, since the dish no longer needs to balance the chile, and taste for salt.
Tips for substituting doubanjiang
5 tips- Fry the paste first. Cook doubanjiang or its substitute in the oil over medium-low heat for 30 to 60 seconds, until the oil turns red and smells fragrant, before adding garlic, meat or liquid.
- Hold the salt. Doubanjiang is very salty, and so are miso and doenjang. Add soy sauce and salt only after tasting the finished sauce.
- If you buy real Pixian doubanjiang, chop it. The beans and chiles are left in large pieces; a few passes with a knife helps it melt into the oil.
- With any substitute containing sugar, lower the heat. Gochujang scorches in seconds in hot oil; add it with the stock or sauce instead of frying it.
- For the red oil that real doubanjiang gives, finish the dish with 1 to 2 teaspoons of chili oil. It restores the color and the gloss that a miso-based mix lacks.