Recipe For Chicken Stir Fry With Black Bean Sauce

I am referring to the fermented black bean (also called douchi, 豆豉), a savory condiment in Cantonese cooking. Like cheese, miso, and kimchi, douchi has a strong, pungent flavor with a punch of umami. You can purchase fermented black bean sauce from most of the Chinese grocery stores. It is also referred to as Black Bean Paste and Black Bean & Garlic Sauce.

However, I will start my preparation by making it from scratch to show you the entire process. The best part of making it is you have complete control of the spiciness and saltiness minus the preservative in the store-bought black bean sauce.

Making a large batch and portioning it is worth it as it is stable in the refrigerator for a few months and longer in the freezer.

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Making the Chinese fermented black bean sauce requires a special ingredient called douchi. Douchi is the direct phonetic translation from the two Chinese characters 豆豉.

Douchi is made by using black soybeans. First, the beans are soaked, steamed, dried, and covered with common rush 灯芯草, then inoculated with the mold spore. After three days, soak and dry again. After that, the beans are fermented with salt for a month, then repeatedly dried and steamed a few times to become the douchi we use in cooking.

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How to make black bean sauce? The main ingredient to make black bean sauce is the douchi (fermented black bean). It is available in most large Chinese grocery stores, or you can also get it online from Amazon.

Douchi is sold either in jars or in plastic bags. They are a little sticky and have a strong smell. However, don’t be put off by the smell as it is perfect after pairing with other aromatic and ingredients. You could compare it to some cheese with a strong smell which you prefer not to eat on its own.

Since the black beans are fermented, they are pretty salty and might contain some dirt and sand. Therefore, you need to clean them before using them to prepare the sauce.

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The aromatics for preparing the black bean sauce are garlic and onion. Besides that, ginger is also used in some recipes, although I did not use it as I felt that the flavor of garlic and onion is already sufficient.

I also include two large chilies in the recipe, but it is optional. You can vary the number of chilies according to the level of heat that you prefer.

Some Szechuan-style black bean sauces include Szechuan peppercorns, which renders the tongue-numbing feeling. However, I cook primarily Cantonese-style, so I have excluded it.

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Another ingredient I used is the dried mandarin orange peel or chenpi 陈皮. This item is widely used in Cantonese cuisine. It has a strong aromatic flavor, so a small piece goes a long way. The dried peel must be rehydrated with water first, then scrape away the pith and chop it finely before using it for cooking the sauce.

There are countless ways to make black bean sauce. For example, I have seen some people add dried shrimp as one of the ingredients. Other recipes include crispy fried garlic. I prefer to leave these ingredients out of the basic black bean sauce recipe since I can add these items while cooking. The basic black bean sauce, which consists only of essential ingredients, is definitely more versatile.

The seasonings are light soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, cho hou sauce, and sugar. Most of these are familiar ingredients except cho hou sauce which might be less popular. It is a sauce popular in Hong Kong famous for making char siu sauce and beef stews. Fortunately, it is not an essential ingredient and can be omitted or substituted with Hoisin sauce.

Stir Fried Chicken With Black Beans Recipe

The preparation is relatively straightforward once you get all the ingredients ready. Therefore, you may consider double or triple the amount and keep the extra in the refrigerator since you can use it to prepare other dishes apart from the chicken with black bean sauce.

Chinese black bean sauce goes well with almost any ingredients and cooking method. You can use it for stir-frying, steaming, and baking. The chicken in black bean sauce recipe below is prepared with this sauce with some simple vegetables. Besides that, stir-fry with eggplants and tofu, steamed pork ribs, and whole steamed fish are popular dishes regularly cooked in typical Cantonese families. It is also excellent to use it on fried rice and noodles.

It is worth making a large batch and keeping it in separate containers since black bean sauce is ideal for cooking almost everything. If you use sterile bottles (boil the glass bottle in water to kill the germs before use), the sauce is stable for several months when refrigerated. You can freeze it if you intend to keep it longer.

Recipe: Stir Fried Chicken With Black Bean Sauce

Here is an example of how to use it to prepare a quick and easy dish. This chicken and black bean sauce dish can be completed within twenty minutes (minus the marinating time), assuming you have made the sauce in advance.

Hello… your recipes are clear and concise…and end product, delicious! Thank you for sharing and a special thanks for the written steps posted on line. A lot of effort is put into your write ups …very much appreciated. I will always be a loyal follower. Best of luck and good health… Pat from Honolulu Hawaii

Hi Pat, Thank you for your kind words. It's my pleasure to share. Good luck and enjoy the black bean sauce. KP Kwan

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Hi, this is KP Kwan. I am happy to see you in this comment area, as you have read through my recipe. I am glad to reply to any questions and comments as soon as possible.

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Easy Black Bean Chicken & Sesame Veggie Stir Fry

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Black Bean Sauce Chicken

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Stir Fried Chicken W/ Black Bean Sauce

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Chicken with Black Bean Sauce is a standby dish on both Chinese takeout and restaurant menus. It’s one of the tastiest stir-fries you can make, and if you never or rarely use Chinese fermented black beans, this dish is the perfect introduction! 

This no-brainer, everyday stir-fry is elevated with the addition of black beans, and the always necessary duo of ginger and garlic. These ingredients are pretty easy to get and pretty cheap to stock your pantry with. Black beans in particular can be purchased from your Asian grocery store at around $2/pound!

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They add a delightfully salty, umami (savory) flavor to dishes, and our entire family loves using them not just in this Chicken with Black Bean Sauce, but dishes like Dim Sum Spare Ribs, Beef with Bitter Melon, and Spicy