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What this is
Liang ban (凉拌) is the Chinese technique of dressing an ingredient cold. It is not one recipe. It is a ratio — and once you have the ratio, the dish list stops mattering.
Almost every Chinese cold dish you have eaten in a restaurant is the same four liquids in the same proportion, with one or two additions:
| Component | Parts | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Light soy sauce | 3 | Salt and umami |
| Black vinegar | 3 | Sourness and aroma |
| Toasted sesame oil | 1 | Fat that carries aroma |
| Sugar | 1 | Rounds off the vinegar’s edge |
For 4 servings: 45 ml soy + 45 ml vinegar + 15 ml sesame oil + 15 g sugar.
That is it. Everything else is a variation.
The formula, in one table
| Dish | Formula change | What it becomes |
|---|---|---|
| Smashed cucumber | Base + extra garlic | 拍黄瓜 |
| Shredded chicken | Base + chilli oil + sesame paste | 麻辣鸡丝 |
| Sliced beef | Base + doubanjiang + Sichuan pepper | 麻辣牛肉 |
| Potato slivers | Base + vinegar raised to 5 parts | 酸辣土豆丝 |
| Wood ear mushroom | Base + extra vinegar + coriander | 凉拌木耳 |
| Cold noodles | Base + sesame paste + peanut | 麻酱凉面 |
| Bean sprouts | Base, vinegar raised, no sugar | 凉拌豆芽 |
| Tofu skin | Base + chilli oil + scallion | 凉拌腐竹 |
Eight dishes, one dressing. The ratio never moves more than one part.
Why this works: the science behind each element
Cold dishes fail for physical reasons, not because the cook lacks skill. Four things are actually happening in the bowl.
Salt draws water out by osmosis. A vegetable is roughly 95% water held inside cells by a semi-permeable membrane. Salt on the outside makes the outside more concentrated than the inside, so water moves out through the membrane. Ten minutes is enough for cucumber to lose 20–30% of its weight as liquid. If you dress first, the salt in the soy sauce does the same thing — but now the water is diluting your dressing instead of going down the sink.
Vinegar’s aroma compounds are volatile, and volatile means temperature-sensitive. Acetic acid itself is not very volatile, but the minor compounds that give black vinegar its malty character are. This is why a cold dish tastes flat straight from the fridge: aroma release drops sharply at low temperature. Ten minutes at room temperature before serving does more for flavour than any extra ingredient.
Toasted sesame oil is not a cooking oil — it is an aroma delivery system. It contains sesamol and sesamolin, which are phenolic antioxidants, plus a large family of pyrazines created during toasting. Those pyrazines are fat-soluble and water-insoluble, so they need the oil phase to reach your nose. This is also why you cannot substitute untoasted sesame oil: the pyrazines only form above roughly 150 °C.
Garlic needs time and needs to be crushed. Garlic’s characteristic smell is not present in the intact clove. Crushing breaks cells and lets the enzyme alliinase convert alliin into allicin, which then breaks down further into the sulphur compounds you actually smell. Allicin production peaks within about 10 minutes of crushing and declines after that. Grate it into the dressing and use it within the hour.
Sugar is not there for sweetness. At one part against three parts vinegar, it is below the threshold where you would call the dish sweet. Its job is to take the sharp edge off acetic acid, which is why the same dressing tastes harsh with no sugar and balanced with it.
How to adapt it: the four dishes most people search for
The four ingredients people ask about most are cucumber, chicken, beef and potato. Each needs one different move — the dressing stays put.
Smashed cucumber (拍黄瓜)
Salt 300 g of cucumber in 1 tsp salt for 10 minutes, then press out the water. Smash it with the flat of a knife rather than slicing it: the ragged surfaces hold dressing, and a clean slice sheds it.
Shredded chicken (麻辣鸡丝)
Poach 300 g chicken breast, then tear it into strips by hand rather than cutting. Add 1 tsp chilli oil and 1 tbsp sesame paste to the base. Tearing gives the fibres somewhere to trap sauce.
Sliced beef (麻辣牛肉)
Use cooked beef, sliced thin against the grain. Add 1 tsp doubanjiang and a pinch of ground Sichuan pepper. Doubanjiang is already salty, so drop the soy sauce to 2 parts or the dish will be over-salted.
Potato slivers (酸辣土豆丝)
Cut potato into 2 mm slivers, rinse in cold water until the water runs clear to remove surface starch, then blanch 60 seconds and shock in ice water. Raise the vinegar to 5 parts. The rinse is what keeps the slivers separate instead of turning into mash.
Common failures (and the fix)
| Problem | Real cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Dish is watery | Salted dressing added to unsalted vegetable | Salt the vegetable first, 10 min, press out water, then dress |
| Tastes flat and dull | Served straight from the fridge | Rest 10 min at room temperature before serving |
| Too sour, harsh | Sugar left out, or vinegar measured by eye | Keep the 1-part sugar; measure the vinegar |
| Dressing slides off | Clean-cut surfaces, no texture | Smash, tear or score the ingredient instead of slicing flat |
| Garlic tastes bitter | Grated garlic sat in acid for days | Add garlic fresh; do not store it in the dressing |
| Too salty | Doubanjiang or soy added on top of each other | Count doubanjiang as salt — cut soy to 2 parts when using it |
| Nothing binds | No oil phase | The 1 part sesame oil is not optional; it is what carries aroma |
| Vegetables turned brown | Dressed hours in advance | Dress within 30 min of serving; acid and salt both draw colour |
Nutrition (per serving, 4 servings)
Based on the cucumber version.
| Nutrient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | 120 kcal |
| Protein | 2 g |
| Fat | 7 g |
| Carbohydrates | 11 g |
| Sodium | 890 mg |
Calculated from ingredient weights using the USDA FoodData Central database. Sodium varies widely with the soy sauce brand — light soy sauces range from about 5,000 to 7,000 mg sodium per 100 ml.
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central — nutrient values for soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and cucumber. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/
- McGee, H. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (rev. ed., 2004) — osmosis in salted vegetables, volatile aroma compounds, and the chemistry of allicin formation in crushed garlic.
- Sesamol and sesamolin as the principal phenolic antioxidants in sesame oil — compositions indexed in PubChem, CID 68292 and CID 68262.
- Acetic acid and the volatile minor compounds of Chinese cereal vinegars — published aroma-profile analyses of Zhenjiang aromatic vinegar.
FAQ
Q: What is the basic formula for Chinese cold dish sauce?
A: Three parts soy sauce, three parts black vinegar, one part toasted sesame oil, one part sugar. For 4 servings that is 45 ml soy, 45 ml vinegar, 15 ml sesame oil and 15 g sugar. Change one element and you get a different classic dish.
Q: What is the difference between liang ban and a Chinese salad?
A: Liang ban (凉拌) means cold-tossed: the ingredient is blanched or raw, then dressed and served cold. A Western salad is built on raw leaves and an oil-based dressing. Liang ban usually has no leafy base and relies on soy and vinegar rather than oil and lemon.
Q: Why is my Chinese cold dish watery?
A: You skipped salting. Cucumber, radish, cabbage and potato all release water once salt touches them. Salt the vegetable first, wait 10 minutes, press the water out, then dress it. Dressing first guarantees a puddle.
Q: Can I make the dressing ahead of time?
A: Yes — up to 2 weeks in the fridge in a sealed jar. Leave the garlic out and add it fresh; grated garlic in an acidic dressing turns sharp and slightly bitter after about 3 days.
Q: What vinegar should I use for liang ban?
A: Chinkiang (Zhenjiang) black vinegar for a malty, slightly sweet result; rice vinegar for something lighter and cleaner. Do not substitute balsamic — it is too sweet and fruity and will fight the sesame oil.
Q: Do Chinese cold dishes have to be served cold?
A: Cool or at room temperature, not ice-cold. Chilling mutes aroma — the volatile compounds in sesame oil and garlic are far less perceptible below about 10 °C. Take the dish out 10 minutes before serving.
Q: How do I make liang ban without soy sauce?
A: Use 45 ml coconut aminos or tamari plus a pinch of salt. Tamari keeps the umami; coconut aminos is sweeter, so drop the sugar to 10 g. The 3:3:1:1 structure still holds — only the salt source changes.
Q: What can I put liang ban sauce on?
A: Cucumber, shredded poached chicken, sliced cooked beef, blanched potato slivers, wood ear mushroom, kelp, bean sprouts, spinach, tofu skin, noodles. The formula is the constant; the ingredient is the variable.
Q: Is liang ban healthy?
A: It is low in fat and calories because the oil is one part in eight. The main variable is sodium: light soy sauce contributes most of the 890 mg per serving. Using a reduced-sodium soy sauce cuts that roughly in half without changing the ratio.
Q: Can I use this dressing on hot food?
A: Yes, but treat it as a different technique. Poured over hot food, the vinegar’s aroma volatilises within seconds and the dish tastes flatter. If you want it on hot noodles, add the dressing off the heat and toss immediately.
Recipe Details
- Author: Asian Kitchen Pro
- Cuisine: Chinese
- Category: Appetizers & Snacks
- Region: Sichuan
- Technique: Cold-tossed (凉拌)
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