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I recently attempted to mix up my own hot oriental mustard using a powder, bought in the local supermarket. (S & B Oriental Hot Mustard) Following the directions on the can. I mixed with water only. I found that, I could not put enough water in the mix, to dilute the heat, without making it too watery.

Is there something else I can add, that will dilute the heat without making the mustard too watery, sweet, or otherwise significantly altering the flavor?

The ingredients in the can of mustard powder I used, are Mustard & Turmeric.

I am trying to imitate the flavor & spiciness of the dipping mustard that is served in Chinese restaurants.

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3 Answers

Replacing about 60 percent of the water with rice vinegar smooths it out a bit. It's still spicy heat, but not so harsh. When I started using the rice vinegar, mine started tasting a lot more like what we are served in Chinese restaurants.

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Make the mustard by replacing 1/2 the mustard with flour and adding some extra water to compensated for the thickening properties of the flour, then cook it off to get rid of the floury taste and there you go! If you don't want to go down the flour route you could always add coconut milk/cream or plain yoghurt instead of water which would temper the heat but you'd have to make sure that it suits the flavor for the appropriate recipe.

Hope the advice helps!

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I'm not sure if the using cream or yogurt would result in the same chemical reaction to release the heat. It might result in a mustard that doesn't have any heat at all. Maybe adding half the amount of water first for the reaction and then adding some cream or yogurt afterwards to "dilute" it down. –  Jay Jan 29 '12 at 18:28
@jay Yes you could do that but by adding the yoghurt or milk then you will have the flavor of the mustard without the heat, of course some may feel that a mustard without heat is no mustard at all!!! –  Sebiddychef Jan 29 '12 at 20:58
That reason I said that is because the OP is asking to imitate the same level of heat that he had before in a chinese restaurant. Which means he does want heat but just toned down. –  Jay Jan 29 '12 at 22:47
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I came across this article.

It explains where mustard get its heat from:

Mustard seeds come from the mustard plant, a member of the cabbage family. They contain two sulphur compounds, myrosin and sinigrin, as well as an enzyme, myrosinase. When the seeds are broken and water is added, the enzyme breaks down the sulphur compounds. The result is the sharp tasting oil that gives mustard its pungency, and helps explain why the name mustard comes from the Latin words mustum (much) and ardens (burning).

In addition, it recommends adding some flour to tone down its heat.

In the case of prepared mustards, the reaction is toned down by using additives such as flour.

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