Homemade Black Bean Sauce in a jar

This is the slow-roasted homestyle Chinese black bean sauce, not the bottled version that sits on the international aisle of the supermarket. The bean starch and the cooked-down onion thicken the sauce on their own, so you can ladle it straight into a stir fry without reaching for a cornstarch slurry. I keep a jar in the fridge alongside my chicken with black bean sauce and rotate it through dinner all month.

I started keeping a jar of this around when I moved to the US and grew tired of buying bottled stir fry sauces with thickeners and additives I could not pronounce. My mother kept a similar jar on the kitchen counter in Beijing, scooped a spoon into eggplant or pork, and called it dinner 10 minutes later. The version I make today leans on her ratio of beans to oil, with a little extra garlic and ginger because that is how my husband likes it.

What I love the most is how easy it is to make, I simply rinse and roughly chop fermented black beans, then bloom dried chilies in oil before scooping them out and roasting the beans, onion, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, and a little sugar. Garlic and ginger go in at the end so they stay fragrant. The whole batch takes me about 30 minutes and yields roughly 2 cups, which keeps the rotation going for a few months of weeknight cooking.

Ingredients

The ingredient list for this black bean sauce is short and pantry-friendly, with one star ingredient. I organized it into 3 working groups so I can prep the slow-roast aromatics first and the finishing aromatics last.

Black Bean Sauce ingredients

The bean and oil base: Fermented black beans are the soul of this sauce. You can find those salty, dry, vacuum-sealed kind from the Chinese grocery and rinse them once to take the salt down before chopping. I also recommend The Mala Market fermented black beans, which are premium, handcrafted douchi that is aged for 3 years. They have a rich and deep flavor and not as salty as some cheaper type. Vegetable oil carries the rest of the flavors and seals the finished sauce so it keeps in the fridge for weeks.

The Mala Market Fermented Black Beans

The slow-roast aromatics: Dried red chilies bloom in the oil first and come out before the rest of the ingredients go in, and minced white onion roasts in after the beans for the long, slow simmer. Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, and a small amount of sugar round out the seasoning and balance the sharp salt of the beans.

The finishing aromatics: Minced garlic and a thumb of fresh ginger, both chopped fine and added at the very end. I use a full head of garlic if I want the sauce on the punchy side, since the long oil cook tames the raw heat by the time the jar reaches the fridge.

How to Make

1. Prep the beans: Rinse the fermented black beans under cool tap water, drain, and coarsely chop them on a cutting board, leaving a few bigger pieces for texture. If you prefer a faster prep, pulse the beans, onion, and garlic together in a food processor until minced but not a smooth paste.

prepping the beans

2. Bloom the chilies in oil: Heat the vegetable oil and the torn dried chilies in a small saucepan over medium heat until the oil is warm. Turn the heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chilies turn dark brown but not black, then scoop them out and discard.

This step adds a smoky taste to the sauce without too much heat. But if you’re concerned about the heat, remove the seeds from the peppers before adding to the pan.

chilies cooking in oil

3. Roast the beans and onion: Add the chopped fermented black beans and minced onion to the infused oil. Cook and stir until the mixture looks a bit dry, since the beans first absorb the oil and then release it back once they are properly cooked.

Roasting the beans and onion

4. Simmer with the seasonings: Add the Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, and sugar to the pan. Simmer and stir, watching the heat carefully, until the onion turns tender and the sauce darkens, about 10 minutes.

simmering the black bean sauce

5. Add the finishing aromatics: Stir in the minced garlic and ginger. Continue to cook and stir until the onion is very tender and you see oil floating back to the top of the sauce.

Adding the finishing aromatics

6. Cool and store: Transfer the sauce to a large heatproof bowl and let it cool completely. Move the cooled sauce to a clean airtight jar and refrigerate, where it will keep for 2 to 3 months.

Black Bean Sauce in a pan

My Cooking Tips

Rinse the beans before chopping: Fermented black beans come heavily salted and a bit hard, so I rinse them in a fine sieve and pat them dry before chopping. This step softens the beans for an easier knife cut and pulls back enough salt that the finished sauce stays balanced. If you are using a premium fermented black beans like those from The Mala Market, you can skip the rinsing step since those beans are tender and not as salty.

Keep the heat low after the chilies come out: Once I scoop the chilies out of the oil, I drop the heat to medium low for the entire bean and onion roast. The beans burn quickly at higher temperatures and turn bitter, which is the most common mistake when home cooks try this for the first time.

Add the garlic and ginger at the end: The garlic and ginger go in only after the onion is already soft, since both turn harsh and lose their fragrance when they cook for too long in hot oil. Adding them last gives the finished sauce a fresh top note over the deep roasted base.

Watch for the oil to surface: I know the sauce is done when a clear layer of oil pulls back to the top. That oil layer is also the seal that lets the sauce keep in the fridge for weeks, so I never strain it off.

Make it once, use it for a month: This recipe yields about 2 cups, which is enough for a dozen weeknight stir fries depending on how heavy a hand I have with it. I label the jar with the date and pull it out for chicken, fish, tofu, or a quick vegetable stir fry whenever I am short on dinner ideas.

How to Serve

At home I treat this jar as a shortcut to a proper Chinese stir fry on a weeknight. I scoop 3 to 4 tablespoons of the sauce and a touch of its surface oil into a hot wok, slide in marinated chicken, pork, or shrimp, and finish with whatever vegetable is in the crisper. The bean starch already in the jar means the sauce coats the protein in one toss without any cornstarch slurry on the side.

For a longer cook, I love using the sauce for steamed fish with black bean sauce on a Sunday with my son and husband, and for steamed ribs in black bean sauce when we have friends over for dim sum at home. It also pulls a small mountain of clams in black bean sauce together in the time it takes to set the table, and turns a humble zucchini stir fry into something nobody pushes around the plate.

Homemade Black Bean Sauce in a jar

Frequently Ask Questions

What is the difference between fermented black beans and the canned beans at the supermarket?

The fermented black beans I use here are dry, salty, and shrunken Chinese soybeans cured with salt and aromatics, sold in plastic bags or jars at Chinese grocers. They are nothing like the canned black beans in the chili aisle, which are softened plain beans with no fermentation, so I never substitute one for the other.

How long does the sauce keep in the fridge?

The sauce keeps for 2 to 3 months in a clean airtight jar in the fridge, since the surface oil acts as a natural seal over the cooked beans and aromatics. I use a clean dry spoon every time I scoop and keep the oil layer intact, since any introduced moisture will shorten the shelf life.

Can I freeze the black bean sauce?

Yes, I freeze it in small portions in ice cube trays and transfer the cubes to a zip-top bag for up to 6 months. The texture stays the same after thawing in the fridge overnight, which makes it a useful prep ahead for the freezer rotation.

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Homemade Black Bean Sauce

By Maggie Zhu
4.98 from 34 votes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 2 cups
Print
This homemade black bean sauce simmers fermented black beans, dried chilies, Shaoxing wine, garlic, and ginger into a thick Chinese pantry sauce that holds for weeks in the fridge. I love that is ready in just 30 minutes and works for stir frying, marinating, steaming, and dipping.

Ingredients 

  • 1 cup fermented black beans
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/4 white onion , minced
  • 4 to 6 dried chili peppers , torn to small pieces (*Footnote 1)
  • 1/4 cup Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry, or Japanese sake) (*Footnote 2)
  • 1/4 cup light soy sauce (or soy sauce, or tamari for gluten-free option)
  • 1/4 cup sugar (or brown sugar)
  • 1 head garlic (8 to 10 big cloves, minced (*Footnote 3)
  • 1 thumb ginger , minced (*Footnote 4)

Instructions

  • Rinse fermented black beans with tap water, drain, and coarsely chop them. I like to leave some bigger pieces of the beans, to give the sauce more texture.
  • (Optional) You can use a food processor to mince all the ingredients. Add black beans, onion, and garlic into a food processor. Blend until both ingredients are minced, but not a fine paste.
  • Heat oil and dried chili peppers in a saucepan over medium heat until warm. Turn to medium low heat. Cook until the chili peppers turn dark, but not black. Stir occasionally. Scoop out the chili peppers and discard them.
  • Add the black beans and onion. Cook and stir, until the sauce looks a bit dry. (The beans will absorb oil at first, but release the oil once they’re cooked.)
  • Add Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, and sugar. Simmer and stir until the onion turns tender. It takes about 10 minutes or so. The sauce can be easily burned, so make sure to keep the heat low and stir the sauce constantly to ensure even cooking.
  • Add garlic and ginger (if you’re using these ingredients). Continue to cook and stir the sauce until the onion turns very tender. You should see oil floating on top of the sauce. Transfer the sauce to a large bowl to cool off completely.
  • Store the sauce in an airtight jar in the fridge for 2 to 3 months.

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Notes

1. Unless you use very powerful chili peppers (such as Thai chili peppers), the sauce won’t become spicy. I only use this step to infuse more aroma to the sauce. I used Chinese dried chili peppers in this recipe, but Korean and Mexican dried chili peppers work too. If you do want a spicy sauce, consider blending in homemade chili oil to the cooked sauce, or add cayenne powder during cooking. If you’re concerned about the heat, remove the seeds before adding to the pan.
2. If you do not want alcohol in the sauce, you can skip this ingredient. I would not recommend using stock here because it shortens the shelf life. However, you can use 2 to 3 teaspoons of chicken bouillon powder if you want to add extra flavor to the sauce.
3. You can use a garlic press to mince garlic faster.
4. Ginger is not a must-have ingredient, but if you happen to have it on hand, definitely use it. It adds nice aroma to the sauce.

Nutrition

Serving: 1tablespoon, Calories: 20kcal, Carbohydrates: 4g, Protein: 1g, Saturated Fat: -5g, Sodium: 800mg

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