Black bean sauce is a common ingredient in Chinese cuisine, particularly Sichuan cuisine. It is a thick black sauce made with douchi, salted fermented soy beans, along with plenty of garlic and it’s just packed with flavour! There are plenty of brands of black bean paste that you can buy at the store but it’s also easy to make your own! Just head down to a local Chinese grocery store and pick up some fermented black beans, they look like small shriveled up black beans coated with white dust (salt), and all you need to do is soak them in water to re-hydrate them and rinse off the excess salt. The rest of the sauce is made by lightly frying the garlic and re-hydrated beans in oil before simmering them in chicken broth to soften and form the sauce. It really only takes 30 minutes to make your own and it’s so much better than from the jar! My favourite dish to enjoy black bean sauce in is beef and peppers in black bean sauce which is so quick and easy to make!
Black Bean Sauce
ingredients
- 2 tablespoons fermented black beans
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic (chopped)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
directions
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high.
- Add the fermented black beans and garlic and saute until fragrant, about 20-30 seconds.
- Add the broth and simmer to reduce to half, about 2-4 minutes.
- Mix the water and cornstarch and then mix it into the sauce along with the soy sauce and sugar and cook until it thickens, about a minute.
It tastes better than it looks right ? lol
This looks yummy, Kevin! I grew up in Korea eating noodles with this type of black bean sauce. 🙂
The thought never occurred to me to make my own black bean sauce before! My family loves black bean chicken. As soon as my jar runs out, I'm going to have to try a batch! How long do you think it would last for in the fridge?
I want to make a simple black bean sauce but where in the world do I find fermented balck beans? There was a place in Calgary that made the absolute best black bean sauce and they no longer do it. It was very simple and so good with scallops.
Very cool, Kevin! I make several dishes with black bean paste. I will definitely have to try this.
I think it looks great. (I'm not a picky eater at all) Thanks!
Wow great idea! I never thought to make my own. I usually have a jar laying around, so maybe I'll also have to do the Pepsi challenge!
looks yummy! have a wonderful delicous weekend 🙂
I KNEW I should have bought that bag of fermented black beans at whole foods yesterday! Maybe they'll still be there this week… Sounds awesome!
I haven't black bean sauce anything since going gluten-free 3 years ago and it's been a major disappointment ever since. I don't know why I hadn't thought of learning how to make it myself. Thanks for the inspiration!
Try this: Soak the fermented beans for about 10 mins. then rinse, then mash with a fork. Saute garlic in oil, then add beans, then veggies (eggplant). Saute 2 mins. to coat with flavored oil. Add broth, and if you like, corn starch, red pepper flakes. Cover and simmer until soft. No need to make sauce, that's just a marketing thing.
Kevin, you are such an awesome resource for those of us who love too cook! I will definitely be on the look out for fermented black beans now! lol. Thank you so much!
Theresa: Excellent tip. I use that method as well fairly frequently.
Jenn @ Cooking Aweigh the Pounds: This will last in the fridge for a good while, at least a week.
All Our Fingers in the Pie: You should be able to find the fermented black beans at a local Asian grocery store.
Do you use specific soy sauces for you recipes, or do you have one reliable brand/type you use consistently?
I am a little bit of a soy sauce geek and own almost 10 different kinds. Yes I am a little crazy.
Anyhoo . . . your black bean sauce looks delicious and since soy sauce plays a fairly prominent theme I was wondering what kind you used.
Ninja Annie: Wow, that is a lot is soy sauce! Though, I must confess that I have at least three: Pearl River Bridge: Light, Dark and Kikkoman. I tend to use the Chinese soy sauces in Chinese recipes and the Japanese in Japanese recipes. For these black beans I use the Pearl River Bridge: Light.
I would love to hear you opinions on different soy sauces and brands!
Now my curiosity is piqued, fermented black beans will be on my list next time I hit up the Asian grocery store. Other really good chefs think along the same lines as you: according to Wikipedia "most Chinese restaurant chefs prefer to use actual douchi to prepare such sauces rather than using commercially available black bean paste."
Would this be good in making korean bean paste noodles?
Anonymous: You could use this in a tasty black bean pasta dish but the flavour would be different than an authentic Korean version.
Do you know how to make the Korean version?
Thanks for the inspiration, I love this taste and made a gluten-free, lower-sodium version today. Yummy!
Hi there,
Can MCT oil or coconut oil be used?
Can almond be used instead of the cornstarch?
Thanks
Anonymous: Those should both work. I have never used almond (starch?) but if it thickens things like cornstarch then it should work.
thanks, this worked perfectly, tasted exactly like the bought stuff – in fact I'd say even better.
hanks for the amazing and delicious recipe my husband gonna like it.