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Black bean sauce is a popular fermented Chinese ingredient for stir-fried dishes. It is potent, pungent, salty, savory, and earthy, which makes it ideal for pairing with various sweet and spicy dishes.
You can use this sauce in numerous recipes, including stir-fried tofu, grilled chicken, fish, and green beans, to name a few. Make your own homemade Chinese black bean sauce in 30 minutes or less.
What Is Black Bean Sauce?
Black bean sauce is a black bean paste condiment that is also known as black bean garlic sauce. The main ingredient of black bean sauce is douchi or fermented black soybeans, not the regular type of black beans. Fermented beans are usually canned or dried and sold in local Asian grocery stores.
It is considered a healthy ingredient since black beans are cholesterol-free and are rich in fiber, vitamin B6, folate, and potassium.
In my recipe, the fermented black beans are fried with peanut oil, minced garlic, minced ginger, and minced onions. Then, it is stir-fried with dried tangerine peel and Jinhua diced ham, both optional ingredients for extra flavor.
The flavor is further enhanced by adding sugar, light soy sauce, and oyster sauce. After stir-frying and mixing the ingredients, you allow the black bean sauce to cool before storing it in an airtight container or spice jar. This sauce can be stored for two weeks up to a month.
What Does Black Bean Sauce Taste Like?
There isn’t a single flavor to black bean sauce as it is a mix of several tasty ingredients. It is a flavor burst with its blend of fermented black beans, ginger, garlic, onions, tangerine peels, Jinhua diced ham, sugar, soy sauce, and oyster sauce. Let’s dissect the flavors from each ingredient.
First off, fermented black beans are salty and funky, with a bit of bitterness. Its saltiness is enhanced with the added oyster sauce and light soy sauce. The sweet sugar balances out these salty flavors.
The garlic adds a nutty and pungent taste, while the ginger gives it a warming and peppery kick. In addition, onions are great for an oniony taste and rich texture. As for the optional ingredients, the tangerine peel brings a distinct bitter and citrusy taste and the Jinhua ham adds smokiness and a note of saltiness.
How To Use Black Bean Garlic Sauce
Black bean sauce can be used as a marinade, stir-fry sauce, seasoning, or topping. It is commonly used for stir-fried and steamed dishes. You can utilize it as a marinade for beef, pork, chicken, or fish.
In addition, black bean sauce dishes pair well with fried or white rice, lettuce wraps, eggs, or vegetables. Here are some sample dishes for black bean sauce recipes:
- Clams in black bean sauce
- Black bean sauce fish
- Chicken with chili peppers in black bean sauce
- Stir-fried tofu
- Sichuan Mapo Tofu
- Stir-fried green beans or long beans
- Stir-fried bok choy
- Stir-fried broccoli
- Fried rice
- Eggs or omelet
- Chinese noodle dishes
- Ramen soup base
- Soup dishes
- Beef in black bean sauce
How To Properly Store Black Bean Sauce
Keep the black bean sauce in an airtight container or glass storage jar. I recommend using glass jars for spices to prevent moisture build-up. Storing in plastic containers is most likely to cause moisture to enter, which leads to bacteria growth.
When stored properly, the sauce lasts for two weeks to a month in the refrigerator. Keeping it in the fridge can cause oil separation, so I suggest stirring it once more to remix the oil and the ingredients before cooking.
To prolong its shelf life, you can keep it in the freezer in small divided portions. This makes it easy to get the amount you need for a quick stir-fried dish. Allow the frozen black bean sauce to thaw or dilute it with a little soy sauce or water before cooking.
Tips And Substitutions When Making Black Bean Sauce
Most ingredients of black bean sauce are commonly available in local supermarkets, such as peanut oil, garlic, onion, ginger, sugar, light soy sauce, and oyster sauce. However, the ingredients that may need some time to find are fermented black beans and the optional ingredients, Jinhua ham and dried tangerine peel.
If one ingredient is unavailable, check out my recommended substitutions below. I also listed some essential cooking tips worth noting when making black bean sauce.
- Fermented Black Beans: Make sure this isn’t the regular black beans. It should be fermented and usually comes canned or dried. This is commonly bought in Asian grocery stores or online. If you are buying the canned fermented beans, you’ll have to drain the liquid first and rinse the black beans under running water. For dried fermented black beans, you can proceed directly in chopping these into bits.
- Peanut Oil: Peanut oil is used to cook the minced garlic, minced ginger, and minced onion. The flavor of peanut oil is light and neutral with a hint of nuttiness. It is the ideal cooking oil to use because it has a high smoke that reduces oxidation and retains heat for longer periods. If you don’t have peanut oil, you can use sesame oil since it has a similar nutty taste. Other oils you can use without the nutty taste are grape seed, avocado, and sunflower oil.
- Minced Garlic: You’ll have the garlicky flavor and extra texture with the bits of garlic. If you don’t have garlic but want the kick of garlic, substitute 1 clove of garlic with 1/8 tsp of garlic powder or 1/4 tsp of granulated garlic.
- Minced Onion: Onions add a hint of sweetness and an oniony taste. Any type of onion works fine with the recipe since it has a minimal difference in taste. Use red, white, or yellow onions. For my recipe, I used red onions.
- Minced Ginger: You’ll love the warm and peppery touch of fresh ginger. You can use 1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground ginger for every 1 tbsp of fresh ginger as a replacement. However, the flavor is less complex and pungent than fresh ginger.
- Optional Ingredients: Jinhua diced ham and dried tangerine peel are optional ingredients. If you want to add these ingredients but can’t find them in the store, you can use jamón, prosciutto, or dry-cured ham instead of Jinhua ham. For dried tangerine peel alternatives, use 1 teaspoon of fresh grated orange zest for every dried peel.
- Sugar: Any type of sugar will do to balance the salty flavors of black beans and soy sauce. You can use white sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar, muscovado, or agave.
- Light Soy Sauce: This sauce adds a salty and umami flavor. Dark soy sauce can be substituted, but you may need to adjust the quantity to your taste since it is typically saltier and thicker than light soy sauce. If you don’t have light soy sauce, use tamari, liquid aminos, coconut aminos, or gluten-free soy sauce.
- Oyster Sauce: The flavor of oyster sauce is reminiscent of soy sauce, barbecue sauce, and fish sauce. You can replace the oyster sauce with hoisin sauce, teriyaki sauce, kecap manis, Worcestershire sauce with soy sauce and sugar, oyster-flavored sauce, or fish sauce.
What You Need To Make Black Bean Sauce
You’ll only need your basic kitchen tools to create this savory sauce, such as a knife, chopping board, and cooking pan. Don’t forget to prepare a glass spice jar to store your black bean sauce. Here’s a rundown of everything you need to make black bean sauce.
Kitchen Tools
- Knife and chopping board
- Cooking pot or pan
- Spatula
- Glass spice jar with cover
Ingredients
- 350g fermented black beans (Douchi)
- 300g peanut oil
- 30g minced garlic
- 30g minced onion
- 30g minced ginger
- 30g Jinhua ham (optional)
- 10g dried tangerine peel (optional)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
How To Make Black Bean Sauce
The steps in making black bean sauce are fairly simple. The fermented black beans are chopped into smaller pieces, but not too fine as you want to have a chunky texture. Then, the seasonings are fried along with the chopped black beans, and the taste is adjusted with added sugar, light soy sauce, and oyster sauce.
Finally, allow the fried black bean sauce to cool before storing it in the glass spice jar. Follow my short tutorial guide on Instagram and Tiktok too! Here are the detailed steps on how to make black bean sauce.
Prepare the fermented black beans by chopping them into small chunks.
Then, heat 300g peanut oil in a pan. When the oil is hot, add the minced garlic, minced ginger, and minced onions.
Fry until slightly crisp and golden. Next, add the chopped fermented black beans, 10g dried tangerine peel, and 20g Jinhua diced ham. Stir the ingredients well.
Afterward, add 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, and 1 tbsp oyster sauce. Stir-fry for an additional 2 minutes until the ingredients are incorporated.
Turn off the heat and let the black bean sauce cool. Once it cools, store it in a glass jar container and seal it.
Homemade Chinese Black Bean Sauce
Equipment
- Knife and chopping board
- Cooking pot or pan
- Glass spice jar with cover
Ingredients
- 350 g fermented black beans Douchi
- 300 g peanut oil
- 30 g minced garlic
- 30 g minced onion
- 30 g minced ginger
- 30 g Jinhua ham optional
- 10 g dried tangerine peel optional
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
Instructions
- Prepare the fermented black beans by chopping them into small chunks.
- Then, heat 300g peanut oil in a pan.
- When the oil is hot, add the minced garlic, minced ginger, and minced onions.
- Fry until slightly crisp and golden.
- Next, add the chopped fermented black beans, 10g dried tangerine peel, and 20g Jinhua diced ham.
- Stir the ingredients well.
- Afterward, add 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, and 1 tbsp oyster sauce.
- Stir-fry for an additional 2 minutes until the ingredients are incorporated.
- Turn off the heat and let the black bean sauce cool.
- Once it cools, store it in a glass jar container and seal it.
