Elevate your fish with Chinese black bean sauce. This fish in black bean sauce recipe is easy to prepare that only requires marinating and steaming.
Make this dish in 30 minutes, and you will have an authentic homemade Chinese dish to enjoy. It is savory, salty, and peppery, best enjoyed over steamed rice.
What Is Black Bean Sauce Fish
Make this dish with your favorite fish and marinate it with minced garlic, oil, and black bean sauce. What I love about this recipe is that you only need to steam the marinated fish over boiling water. There is no need to fry, grill, or take other lengthy steps.
As a final touch, you add some chopped green onions and hot oil on top, and you’re done! The success of this dish relies heavily on the black bean sauce as this is where the fish gets its main flavor from. If you don’t know yet, black bean sauce is also known as black bean garlic sauce.
It is made from douchi or fermented black soybeans and mixed with several seasonings, including peanut oil, garlic, onion, ginger, sugar, light soy sauce, and oyster sauce. With this variety of seasonings, the flavor is a mix of funky, salty, peppery, smoky, and bitter tastes.
You can make your own version of this sauce with my easy recipe here or buy one from a local Asian grocery store. Try this sauce in other popular Chinese dishes, such as Clams In Black Bean Sauce, mapo tofu, grilled chicken, and many more.
Is There An Alternative To Black Bean Sauce?
What if I don’t have black bean sauce? Is there an alternative to it? Short answer – No, there isn’t a single spice exactly the same as the flavors of black bean sauce.
That is why I recommend making your own and stocking up on black bean sauce with the help of my recipe. If you prefer a shortcut for this recipe, here’s what you can do to create a simple version of the black bean sauce:
- Heat oil in the pan until sizzling hot.
- Pour the oil over chopped fermented black beans, minced garlic, and minced ginger.
- Then, add 1 tsp light soy sauce and 1 tsp oyster sauce.
- Adjust to taste and mix well.
As you can see, having fermented black soybeans in the recipe is really important. It’s responsible for the salty and funky flavors of the dish. However, if you can’t seem to find fermented black beans or black bean sauce, here are some close alternatives you can use.
Note: These sauce suggestions have a different taste and experience than black bean sauce. It won‘t be the same. However, they are the closest alternatives since these are also made from fermented beans, except for oyster sauce.
- Hoisin sauce
- Chunjang
- Miso paste
- Tian Mian sauce
- Oyster sauce (made from fermented oyster extract)
Tips And Alternatives For Fish In Black Bean Sauce
This recipe is one of the easiest to make since the items you need are everyday cooking ingredients and common items in almost any grocery store. You’ll just need to prepare in advance the black bean sauce to create this authentic Chinese recipe. Here are some alternatives to each ingredient, cooking tips, and suggestions.
- Fish: Use your favorite fish and cut it according to your preferred style. You can use cod, basa, or tilapia, to name a few. It can be in filet, cube, steak, supreme, darne, goujon, or butterfly cuts. I used grass carp in my recipe and cut it into filets.
- Black Bean Sauce: Make your own homemade version with my black bean sauce recipe which only takes 20 minutes or less to do. Alternatively, you can follow my shortcut steps as mentioned above by pouring hot oil over chopped fermented black beans, minced garlic, and minced ginger, and then mixing with 1 tsp light soy sauce and 1 tsp oyster sauce.
- Oil: The oil is heated until sizzling hot. You’ll need a tablespoon of hot oil poured over a minced garlic bowl. It should be sizzling hot to allow it to cook the minced garlic in the bowl lightly. Any type of oil is fine, but I suggest using oil with a high smoke point, such as sesame, peanut, sunflower, and avocado. Oil with a high smoke point is ideal for reduced oxidation and can hold heat longer.
- Garlic: Minced garlic is part of the marinade. It is mixed with hot oil and black bean sauce. You get garlic bits for extra texture and pungent and nutty flavors. If you don’t have fresh garlic, use 1/8 tsp of garlic powder or 1/4 tsp of granulated garlic for every 1 garlic clove.
- Green Onion: Green onions are used as a garnish after the fish is steamed. You can use green onions, spring onions, scallions, or chives which all have similar tastes. If you don’t have green onions, it is perfectly fine to leave this ingredient out.
- Cooking Method: The fish is steamed over boiling water. You can use a steamer with a steaming bowl or tray. Alternatively, a regular pot with a steam rack will do as well. Aside from steaming, you can also fry, air fry, or bake the fish if you desire.
What You Need To Make Fish In Black Bean Sauce
After familiarizing yourself with the recipe details, gather the kitchen tools and ingredients you’ll need for this recipe. My only tip is to use a serving plate for marinating the fish that can also fit into the steamer.
In this way, you avoid ruining the dish’s presentation since you no longer have to remove the fish and place it on another plate. Plus, it lessens the plate you have to wash and clean.
Kitchen Tools
- Steamer with lid
- Heat-resistant bowl for the marinade
- Serving plate
Ingredients
- 500g grass carp
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp HOT oil for the sauce
- 2 tbsp black bean sauce
- 20g chopped green onions
- 1 tbsp HOT oil for topping
How To Make Fish In Black Bean Sauce
In summary, the recipe’s primary steps are slicing, marinating, and steaming the fish. The entire recipe can be done in under 30 minutes unless you decide to extend the marinating time. Take a look at how I prepared the dish through my tutorial guide on Instagram and Tiktok. Let me know what you think of this recipe by commenting in the comments section below!
Wash the 500g grass carp or your choice of fish thoroughly under running water. Pat dry the fish with paper towels to make it easier to cut without slipping. Cut the fish into small pieces at about 1 inch thick.
Prepare the marinade by adding 1 tbsp minced garlic in a heat-resistant bowl.
Then, pour 1 tbsp hot oil over the minced garlic. The oil should be sizzling hot to gently cook the garlic. There should be bubbles forming once the oil is poured over the garlic.
Next, add 2 tbsp black bean sauce. Stir the sauce well.
Afterward, arrange your fish on a serving plate. Pour the marinade on the fish filets and spread evenly. The marinade should coat all sides of the fish.
Marinate for 20 minutes. You can marinate longer if you prefer for more absorption.
After marinating the fish, prepare a steamer with water and boil the water.
When the water boils in the steamer, place the serving plate with the fish on the steamer rack.
Steam for 8 minutes. After 8 minutes, take out the plate with fish. Be careful and use oven mitts or tongs to remove the plate since it will be piping hot.
Then, top the fish with chopped green onions. Lastly, drizzle 1 tablespoon of hot oil and serve while hot and fresh.
Fish In Black Bean Sauce
Equipment
- Steamer with lid
- Heat-resistant bowl for the marinade
- Serving plate
Ingredients
- 500 g grass carp
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp HOT oil for the sauce
- 2 tbsp black bean sauce
- 20 g chopped green onions
- 1 tbsp HOT oil for topping
Instructions
- Wash the 500g grass carp or your choice of fish thoroughly under running water.
- Pat dry the fish with paper towels to make it easier to cut without slipping.
- Cut the fish into small pieces at about 1 inch thick.
- Prepare the marinade by adding 1 tbsp minced garlic in a heat-resistant bowl.
- Then, pour 1 tbsp hot oil over the minced garlic. The oil should be sizzling hot to gently cook the garlic. There should be bubbles forming once the oil is poured over the garlic.
- Next, add 2 tbsp black bean sauce.
- Stir the sauce well.
- Afterward, arrange your fish on a serving plate.
- Pour the marinade on the fish filets and spread evenly. The marinade should coat all sides of the fish.
- Marinate for 20 minutes. You can marinate longer if you prefer for more absorption.
- After marinating the fish, prepare a steamer with water and boil the water.
- When the water boils in the steamer, place the serving plate with the fish on the steamer rack.
- Steam for 8 minutes.
- After 8 minutes, take out the plate with fish. Be careful and use oven mitts or tongs to remove the plate since it will be piping hot.
- Then, top the fish with chopped green onions.
- Lastly, drizzle 1 tablespoon of hot oil and serve while hot and fresh.
