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Black Bean Sauce

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This authentic Black Bean Sauce recipe holds the grand secret to making some of the best Chinese food on the planet!  It will work absolute flavor miracles for your Chinese dishes and most anything you simply want to boost with some flavor and umami! And best of all, this homemade black bean sauce is super easy and quick to make!

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For those of you who know what Chinese black bean sauce is, you already know the wonders it does for your Asian-inspired dishes.  You’ll also be happy to know how incredibly quick and easy it is to make yourself (all of 15 minutes).  As with all things homemade, this DIY black bean sauce tastes even better than store-bought stuff AND you know exactly what’s in it…and what isn’t.  And with this incredible flavor-boosting condiment on hand, you now hold the secret to making some of the best Chinese food on the planet!

What is Black Bean Sauce?

Chinese black bean sauce, also known as Chinese black bean paste, is a savory and pungent condiment made from fermented black beans, also known as douchi.  Black bean sauce is a staple ingredient in Cantonese and Sichuan cuisine and is used in a wide variety of dishes, including stir-fries, braises, and marinades.   

black bean sauce recipe authentic chinese traditional fermented condiment

Black Bean Sauce Ingredients

The ingredients in this DIY black bean sauce are:

  • Fermented black beans
  • Garlic
  • Ginger
  • Green onions
  • Chinese rice wine
  • Soy sauce
  • Rice Vinegar
  • Hot pepper sauce.

What Are Fermented Black Beans?

Let’s talk about the central ingredient in black beans sauce:  Fermented black beans.  No, they’re not your typical black beans, aka turtle beans, that you find in dishes like Black Beans and Rice or in South American cuisine.  Fermented black beans are actually black soybeans.  These fermented black soybeans, called douchi in Chinese, are created through a process of boiling the beans, then inoculating them with a special mold spore (commonly aspergillus oryzae) as they dry in the sun.  Then they’re typically either stored dry or in brine.  This same mold variety is used in miso and soy sauce which are also both fermented products.  Because of their strong flavor, fermented black beans are frequently paired with other strong flavors like, most commonly garlic and also chilies for heat. You can find fermented black beans in well-stocked Asian grocery stores or you can buy them online. They usually come in a large quantity and at a good price. They’ll keep for a long time, several months, and you can also freeze them in ziplock bags and they’ll last even longer.

fermented black beans douchi salted soybeans chinese

How To Use Black Bean Sauce

Black bean sauce is used any time you want to add a unique and powerful flavor boost to your dishes along with a punch of umami.  Sharp, pungent, salty and spicy with a hint of sweet, it contributes flavor Chinese food like nothing else.  And it’s potent, so a little goes a long way.  For a flavor boost try adding a little to your favorite Chinese dishes like Chinese Beef and Broccoli, Mongolian Beef, Mongolian Chicken, Kung Pao Chicken, and Shanghai Noodles. Some other great ways to use it include:

  • Stir-fries, fried rice, noodles, and tofu
  • Eggs and omelettes (including Egg Foo Young)
  • Chinese long beans or green beans
  • Chicken, pork, beef, fish and seafood
  • Asian eggplant dishes
  • Steamed vegetables such as bok choy or broccoli
  • Asian wraps (check out my Thai Lettuce Wraps)
  • Grain salads like my Asian Wheat Berry Salad

I especially love including it in the base for most any stir-fry.  Just select your protein, throw in some veggies, and add some black bean sauce with your other sauce ingredients.

black bean sauce recipe chinese douchi fermented soybeans

Black Bean Sauce Recipe

Let’s get started!

Place the fermented black beans in a small bowl, cover with water and soak for an hour or so.  Then rinse and drain them. Mash the beans up with a fork and set them aside.

smashing fermented black beans

Heat the oil in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat and cook the garlic and ginger for a minute or two until softened and very fragrant.

Add the green onions and cook for another minute.

adding ingredients to saucepan

Add the mashed fermented black beans and cook for another minute.

adding ingredients to saucepan

Add the remaining ingredients, except for the cornstarch, and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until the liquid has been reduced by half.

adding broth to saucepan

Stir in the cornstarch mixture and simmer for another minute or until thickened.

adding cornstarch thickener to black bean sauce

Let the black bean sauce cool and then store it in the fridge in an airtight container, preferably a glass jar.  Will keep for up to 2 weeks.

Enjoy!

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black bean sauce recipe authentic chinese traditional best umami fermented

Black Bean Sauce

With an incredible depth of flavor, this sauce will work magic on any dish you add it to.  You'll never use store-bought again!
4.98 from 242 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course condiment
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 18 servings
Calories 21 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 3 tablespoons fermented black beans , soaked in water about an hour then rinsed and drained (if you prefer a stronger and saltier flavor, use more beans)
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 2 tablespoons finely minced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons finely minced ginger
  • 2 green onions , finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine (can substitute dry sherry)
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce or sambal oelek , for heat (optional)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

Instructions
 

  • Mash soaked and drained fermented black beans with a fork and set aside.
  • Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for a minute or two until softened and very fragrant. Add the green onions and cook for another minute. Add the mashed beans and cook for another minute.
  • Add all remaining ingredients, except for the cornstarch mixture, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer uncovered for 10-12 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by half. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and simmer for another minute or until thickened.
  • Let the black bean sauce cool and store in an airtight container (preferably glass). Will keep for up to 2 weeks.Makes a little more than a cup.  

Notes

For an additional touch of flavor (depending on what you’re using it for) you can also add a 1/2 teaspoon or so of orange zest. Add it along with the broth and then proceed with the simmering.

Nutrition

Serving: 1tablespoonCalories: 21kcalCarbohydrates: 1gFat: 1gSodium: 56mgPotassium: 7mgVitamin A: 25IUVitamin C: 0.5mgCalcium: 3mgIron: 0.1mg
Keyword Black Bean Sauce
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Originally published on The Daring Gourmet March 4, 2016

kimberly killebrew the daring gourmet

Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!

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Recipe Rating




4.98 from 242 votes (185 ratings without comment)

259 Comments

  1. Thank you for this. Just curious? I used to frequent a small Chinese restaurant run by an old and delightful Malaysian woman. I always ordered pork fried rice with scrambled egg on top for breakfast. A town favorite. Here’s the thing, she served it with a black salsa. It was thin, black and very chunky with garlic, ginger, serrano chilies, cilantro and green onion. It was not too salty and you could just gag that salsa on top! Soooo good! But when she had to close, she gave no one her recipe. Any ideas?

    1. My understanding is, chinese rice wine is a fermented Wine, whereas rice wine vinegar is a Vinegar. I don’t use them the same way in my cooking anyway.

    2. No. One is vinegar, one is wine. Look at the labels carefully. Mirin is a rice wine that comes from Japan. It is not vinegar. I’m not sure where on gets Chinese rice wine but maybe the Mirin could substitute?

    1. I messed this up a STUPID amount of ways as my husband and I worked around each other on four different recipes and corralling our kids. This still is a 5 star recipe, despite my foibles. Yum! I had only tried this store bought before. Won’t ever bother with that again. Thank you!

  2. For the longest time I have been wondering what this black bean sauce was all about as I see many you tubers cooking and adding it to their dishes, so, I went and bought a little jar to try, the thing is that I got the one with garlic and I was worried that the stinky smell of garlic wasn’t going to do it for me.(my taste bud is out of wack and I can’t tolerate garlic) Well I was wrong, found no strong flavor of garlic and really enhances the flavor of Chinese food cooked at home. I wish it was more like a paste, there are lots of whole beans. Can I blend it?

  3. Hello. I’ve tried looking online for recipes of “Black Bean Paste” or “Chunjang” as they call it in Korean. I stumbled here and was wondering if Chinese black bean sauce could prove the same or at least a substitute? Thank you!

  4. I am Chinese, and I use it with little ribs. One piece of advice: if the taste is too strong, try to cook it in a dish at a lower temperature for a longer period of time. This process will make the dish taste milder.

  5. I have a tin of black beans — I know it won’t be exactly the same. If I blend them into a paste — how much should I use?

    1. Hello,

      Tinned black beans are likely to be black turtle beans, as used in South American dishes a lot. They are a completely different fellow from the chinese fermented black bean.

  6. I plan on making this black bean paste soon but I’m worried I won’t use it all in 2 weeks.
    Can some of it be frozen?

  7. Hi there Kimberly, I made this last night and it was very tasty but I have a question about the quantities, as it states that it makes approx 1 cup = 18 servings. The liquid added is half a cup and that is then boiled and reduced by half, so I cannot see how this gets to that quantity (and anyway how 1cup would be 18 servings). Is there something I am misreading? Many thanks!! :)

    1. Hi Claire, with all of the other ingredients it comes out to approximately a cup, give or take. A serving of a condiment is generally considered to be a tablespoon and there are 16 tablespoons in a cup. I usually get just very slightly over a cup, so the rough estimate is 18 tablespoons, or 18 servings.

  8. I did not have any rice wine, sherry, rice vinegar or corn starch… so I substituted balsamic vinegar, mirin seasoning, and arrorwroot (starch) It turned out fine – very nice, tasty recipe – worked great with tofu!

  9. Thanks for the recipe. The pictures look wonderful. Plus, I can then make Hoisin sauce with it.
    Unfortunately I cannot have gluten. I looked at the Black Beans that you recommend. The ingredients indicate that it uses wheat flour!
    Can you recommend another brand that is gluten free or a recipe which shows me how I can make my own fermented black beans without flour?
    Thanks so much.

  10. Hi, I’m very interested in making this recipe but I have a soy intolerance. Is there anything I can substitute for the black beans that would give a similar flavor? I had fish in black bean sauce before I developed this and adored it. I would like to try to find something at least similar.

  11. Really great recipe! It truly is delicious. I used molasses instead of brown sugar. Tastes great and tuned it to my own sweetness level. In the end didn´t need the cornstarch, I actually had to go the opposite and stretch it out with more of the Veggie Broth (made fresh with some of the 5-spice Ingredients). Most certainly make your own 5-Spice mix, super easy and incredibly tasty. I used a variant of the Sechuan Pepper from India – they are very similar (both have that mouth numbing effect). I find the Indian version is a bit more lemony, while the Chinese Sechuan is a bit more fruity – didn´t even know there were several different kinds!

    Was able to find some decent Black Soy Beans, but still on the lookout for a way to get them not in a jar or can. It is really hard to find imported products from China that don´t have insane amounts of preservatives, sugars, or artificial colors or flavors, but every once in a while you find one that seems decent enough. I will try to source some soy beans from a local who makes Miso and Soy Sauce here in Berlin for the next round.