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Sauces and condiments from Hunan, China

Duo jiao (Hunan chopped salted chillies)剁椒

Duo jiao is fresh red chilli chopped with salt, packed tight in sealed jars and soured by lactic bacteria. Studies salt it at 10 % and ferment it for weeks to months (60 and 120 days in two of them); the 120-day study ended at pH 4.07–4.26.

Fully documentedSauces and condiments2 months – 4 months

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceSalt level used in three studies from Hunan Agricultural University and the Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
Fresh red chilliesWashed and air-dried before chopping[li2023]
Salt10 % (w/w)[li2026][liu2025][li2023]
Starterspontaneous

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months – 4 months

Start
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What changes: Washed chillies dry in the air so no water reaches the ferment

Step 1 of 4
Wash the chillies and air-dry them
Time
12 h
Reported
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Weissella
Lactobacillus

Output: clean, surface-dry chillies.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Duo jiao is fresh red chilli chopped with salt, packed tight in sealed jars and soured by lactic bacteria. Studies salt it at 10 % and ferment it for weeks to months (60 and 120 days in two of them); the 120-day study ended at pH 4.07–4.26. Made in 4 steps over 2 months – 4 months. The longest step, lactic fermentation, takes 2–3.9 months (Liu Y. et al. 2025) and runs at 20–30 °C (Li K. et al. 2026). Salt is 10 % (Li K. et al. 2026). Weissella and Lactobacillus do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step2–3.9 monthsReported[liu2025][li2026]Lactic fermentation
Temperature20–30 °CReported[li2026][li2023]Lactic fermentation
Salt10 %Reported[li2026][liu2025][li2023]Chop with salt
AciditypH 4.1–4.3Measured[li2026]Lactic fermentation

What makes this one different

Duo jiao is chopped and mixed with salt instead of being covered in brine. It is eaten directly or used as a cooking condiment (Li et al. 2023).

Related ferments

Variants

  • Huanggong chilli duo jiaoEster levels rose through the 120 days and stayed above the other two varieties; the authors call about 60 days best for a rich acid and ester aroma.
  • Millet chilli duo jiaoHolds colour, crisp texture and a floral aroma.
  • Long slender chilli duo jiaoFresh fruity aroma; suited to shorter fermentation.

Safety

In one study the fermentation step cut field pesticide residues on the chillies by 16.3–90.0 %, after washing had already removed 24.8–62.8 %.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

National Geographic reports that by 1765 local historians recorded chillies used to flavour sauces, vinegar, savoury oils and preserved vegetables in Hunan. It does not name chopped salted chillies.

  1. [li2026] Li K. et al. 2026, Effects of different chili pepper varieties on the quality and microbial diversity of spontaneously fermented chili paste, Foods 15:1970, doi:10.3390/foods15111970paper
  2. [liu2025] Liu Y. et al. 2025, Sensory score prediction and key aroma compounds characterization in fermented chopped pepper, Food Chem. X, doi:10.1016/j.fochx.2025.102743paper
  3. [li2023] Li K. et al. 2023, Residue behavior and processing factors of thirteen field-applied pesticides during the production of Chinese traditional fermented chopped pepper and chili powder, Food Chem. X, doi:10.1016/j.fochx.2023.100854paper
  4. [wang2019] Wang J. et al. 2019, Analysis of bacterial diversity during fermentation of Chinese traditional fermented chopped pepper, Lett. Appl. Microbiol., doi:10.1111/lam.13212 (abstract)paper
  5. [natgeo-chili] National Geographic, The surprising story of how chili crisp took over the world (history of chilli in China; the 1765 Hunan record only)web