Spicy Chicken in Black Bean Sauce
Fermented black beans, while not as ubiquitous in Chinese cooking as soy sauce, are a worthy pantry staple for any Chinese cooking aficionado. These little soybeans, packed and fermented in salt, give a pungent dimension to your stir-fry sauces. You may have encountered them before in Cantonese black bean spare ribs (usually served at dim sum) or Sichuan dishes like mapo tofu or twice-cooked pork. Just a tiny amount can add a big whopping amount of umani to your everyday stir-fry.
Yesterday I stir-fried some chicken with the fermented black beans and a little chili oil, a landlubber's take on the Cantonese shrimp in black bean sauce I've eaten many times over. You can find these little beans at any Chinese grocery store, packed in
plastic. Before using, rinse them in water or rice wine to get rid of excess grit. I store my black beans in the fridge in a little plastic
container, but I know tons of cooks who keep them in cabinets; with
tons of salt and no moisture, bacterial growth is minimal.
Do you cooked with fermented black beans, and if so, what's your favorite dish to make with them?
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Other chicken recipes:
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Spicy Chicken in Black Bean Sauce
Serves 4 as part of a multi-course meal
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 lb chicken breast, diced
1 tablespoon yellow rice wine (preferably Shaoxing)
2 leeks, white parts thinly sliced
1 piece ginger, minced
1/4 teaspoon hot chili oil
2 tablespoons fermented black beans, rinsed
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon white rice vinegar
White rice for serving
In a wok, heat peanut oil until just smoking. Add chicken and cook, stirring, until both sides are just beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Deglaze wok with a splash of rice wine. Add leeks, ginger, and hot chili oil; and stir-fry for another minute. Add fermented black bean. Stir in soy sauce, water, and rice vinegar to coat chicken. Simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately with white rice.
Black beans are great; often
Black beans are great; often I will just give them a quick rinse and sprinkle them over rice.
I love squid in black bean sauce too, as the texture contrasts (i usually add green pepper) are great.
煲仔飯
I love black bean sauce but it's difficult to get hold of fermented black bean here so I have to opt for jarred black bean sauce.
I love making rice with pork in black bean sauce in clay pot (煲仔飯). My hubby loves it as well. (even nicer with loads of garlic and chilis in it!) I like having the steamed spare ribs with black bean as well when I go yum cha
There are so many great
There are so many great dishes. Your chicken looks lovely.
But if I had to choose I'd probably go for the Steamed Salmon with black beans.
Black Bean Garlic Sauce
I use black bean garlic sauce in a recipe for Asian ribs that's
cooked in a crock-pot. Ming Tsai has a wonderful recipe for black bean garlic sauce.
Asparagus!
We always keep a jar of Lee Kum Kee Black Bean & Garlic Sauce on hand. My 2 year old daughter LOVES asparagus, steamed, and then a little sauce on top. Actually, if I'm not careful, she'll steal my jar of sauce and eat it when I'm not looking!
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