Chinese Black Bean Garlic Sauce (蒜蓉豆豉酱)
Black Bean Garlic is a classic Cantonese flavor profile, and is famously available in bottled form courtesy Lee Kum Kee. We're not the biggest fans of the bottle though - definitely make this at home.
Black bean garlic is a classic sauce in Cantonese cooking – it's awesome with seafood, and it's particularly awesome with beef. But if you do love this bottled stuff, and really, I don't blame you… it's only because you haven't tried to make it yourself yet – because once you do, I promise that there's no going back to the LKK.
Now, the reason why homemade is so much better than the bottle is two fold.
First, as a base we'll be using some actual whole douchi, that is, those Chinese fermented black soybeans. For whatever reason the bottled stuff just doesn't have that same chocolatey depth that the beans themselves have, but I promise you that these guys are pretty much just as available worldwide as that Lee Kum Kee is.
You might find them labelled Yangjiang Preserved Beans or Yangjiang Preserved Beans with Ginger – either variant's totally ok, and is a fantastic ingredient to have around in and of itself.
Second reason, the garlic. One advantage that we have when cooking at home is that we can use fresh garlic straight up, something that can be a bit of a challenge for a shelf stable bottle to keep its fragrance and taste.
So we’ll be making a bigger batch here, something you can use for your stir fries - as intended, or totally go creative with it and enjoy that taste with whatever you want.
Black Bean Garlic Sauce
Dried 'Tangerine' Peel, Chenpi (陈皮), 3g or about three pieces.
Garlic, one head, ~70g.
Salt, 1 tsp.
Fermented black soybeans, Douchi (豆豉), 2 tbsp, ~15g.
Shallots (干葱), 2, ~130g.
Sugar, 3 tbsp, ~40g.
Chicken bouillon powder (鸡粉), 1 tsp or MSG (味精), ½ tsp.
Oyster sauce (蚝油), 2 tbsp.
Soy sauce (生抽), 1 tbsp.
Process:
Soak 3g (about three pieces) of dried 'tangerine' peel for one hour until soft. Scrape off the bitter white pith (thoroughly!), and finely mince.
Pound together the minced tangerine peel, one head of garlic (~70g), 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp (~15g) fermented black soybeans, 2 shallots (~130g), 3 tbsp sugar, and 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder (or 1/2 tsp MSG).
Once the above ingredients are pasty, mix in the sauces of 2 tbsp oyster sauce and 1 tbsp soy sauce.
If using this sauce as a dip or a spread (i.e. not as a base for a stir fry), cook the sauce first. Heat a tablespoon or so of oil over medium flame, cook the sauce until the oil separates, ~2 minutes. Swirl in a tablespoon of liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine, then add in 1/4 cup of water. Swap the flame to high, reduce until the water is mostly gone, ~8 minutes.
Black Bean Garlic Beef
Beef loin, 200g.
Marinade for the beef:
Kansui (枧水) or sodium carbonate (碱面) or baking soda, ¼ tsp
Salt, ½ tsp
Sugar, 1 tsp
Cornstarch (生粉), 1 tsp
Liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), 1 tsp
Soy sauce (生抽), ½ tsp
Dark soy sauce (老抽), ½ tsp
Black pepper powder, ¼ tsp
Oyster sauce (蚝油), 1 tsp
Water, 2 tbsp
Oil, ~1 tsp to coat
Aromatics:
Ginger, ½ inch. Sliced
Scallions, 3 sprigs. White and green parts separated, cut into ~2 inch sections
Green mild chili, half a chili. Cut into diamonds (bell pepper is also ok, or just use all red/green)
Red mild chili, half a chili. Cut into diamonds (bell pepper is also ok, or just use all red/green)
Oil, ~⅓ cup, for frying (you could also get away with ~¼ cup)
Black bean sauce from above, 2.5 tbsp
Liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine, ~1 tbsp. For stir frying
Dark soy sauce (老抽), ~½ tsp. For stir frying
Slurry of 1 tsp cornstarch (生粉) mixed with an equal amount of water
Process:
Thinly slice 200g of beef loin into ~2mm sheets against the grain. Mix with the marinade of 1/4 tsp Kansui (or sodium carbonate/baking soda), 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp cornstarch, 1 tsp liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine, 1/2 tsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce, 1/4 tsp black pepper powder, 1 tsp oyster sauce, 2 tbsp water. Mix well and coat with ~1 tsp oil. Then set aside.
In a wok or pot, heat ~1/3 cup of oil (or ~1/4 cup) until bubbles are rapidly forming around a pair of chopsticks, ~180C, and quickly fry the beef over a high flame. ~45 seconds, until 90% cooked. Remove, pour it into a strainer and let it drain over the aromatics.
Fry 2.5 tbsp of the black pepper sauce in ~2 tbsp oil over a medium low flame, and once the oil's separated, up the flame to high. Swirl in ~1 tbsp of liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine. Add the beef and the aromatics, fry over high for ~30 seconds, then mix in ~1/2 tsp of dark soy sauce. Add the slurry of 1 tsp cornstarch mixed with an equal amount of water. Once thickened, add in the green parts of the 3 scallions.
Other Applications (as dips or top your burger, etc.):