Black Bean Sauce (豆豉酱)
Homemade Chinese black bean sauce is tastier and healthier than commercial versions. It’s very easy to make and can be used to enhance the flavor of many dishes.
Servings: 1.5 cups
Calories: 1466kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup fermented black beans see note 1
To infuse the oil
- ¾ cup neutral cooking oil
- 2 stalk scallions cut into sections
- 1 small onion sliced
To fry the beans
- 1 head garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger minced
- 2 tablespoon chili flakes or to taste (optional)
- 2 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon Chinese five spice powder or ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
Prepare the beans
- Take fermented black beans out of their package. Discard dried ginger pieces if there are any. Rinse the beans under running water.
- Drain well then spread them over kitchen paper. Use more paper to dry them as much as possible.
- Coarsely chop the beans into smaller pieces, leaving some whole. Set aside.
Infuse the oil
- Pour oil into a dry, clean wok/saucepan. Add scallions and onion. Simmer over medium heat until they brown on the edge (it took me around 6 minutes, but the time required may vary).
- Remove all the solids leaving the infused oil in the wok/saucepan.
Fry the beans
- Put minced garlic and ginger into the hot oil. Fry over medium heat until the garlic turns slightly golden (do not burn). Add the chopped beans. Stir and toss for about 2 minutes to extract moisture out of the beans.
- If using chili flakes, add them at this moment. Sizzle for 10 seconds or so. Then add light soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, Chinese five spice powder, and sugar. Cook for a further 30 seconds or so.
- Remove the wok/saucepan from the heat then add sesame oil. Mix well then leave to cool.
Store the sauce
- Once completely cool, transfer the sauce to an airtight jar/container. Best to allow 24 hours to further infuse before using the sauce.
- You can keep the sauce in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks. Make sure to always use a clean spoon to scoop out the sauce (see note 2).
Notes
1. Fermented black beans are known as Dòu Chǐ/豆豉 in Chinese. Sometimes, they are labeled as “salted black beans” or “preserved beans with ginger” on the package.
2. Way to use the sauce: Black bean sauce can be used in stir-fried meat, seafood, egg, tofu and vegetables, fried rice/noodles, braised or steamed dishes, or as a topping for steamed rice, congee, noodles, and buns.
Since it’s quite salty on its own, you normally don’t need to add extra salt to the dish.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup | Calories: 1466kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 51g | Fat: 133g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 73g | Monounsaturated Fat: 26g | Trans Fat: 3g | Sodium: 1538mg | Potassium: 485mg | Fiber: 21g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 3329IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 137mg | Iron: 5mg
