Cantonese Fermented Black Bean Sauce (Batch Stir-Fry Base)

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The savory, faintly funky black bean sauce that coats clams, spareribs and beef at Cantonese seafood houses — built from whole fermented black beans instead of a jar. You rinse and rough-mash the beans, bloom them slowly in oil with garlic, ginger and chile until the kitchen smells like a wok station, then loosen everything with stock, soy and a whisper of sugar. Makes about 1½ cups: enough for four dinners' worth of stir-fries, and it keeps two weeks in the fridge.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup whole fermented black beans (douchi), loosely packed
• 1/4 cup neutral oil, such as peanut or canola
• 8 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 1/2 tbsp fresh ginger, finely minced
• 3 scallions, white parts minced, greens thinly sliced and reserved
• 1 fresh red chile, seeded and minced (or 1 tsp crushed red pepper)

• 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry, or unsalted stock)
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce, for color (optional)
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup unsalted chicken stock or water
• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil

• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp cold water

Instructions

1. Put the fermented black beans in a small bowl, cover with cool water, and swish vigorously for 15 seconds. Drain in a fine-mesh sieve and repeat once more. This washes off surface salt and cellar-y funk; skip it and the sauce will be aggressively salty.
2. Turn the drained beans out onto a cutting board and rough-chop, then press with the flat of the knife until roughly half are mashed to paste and half stay whole. That mix of texture is what makes it read as restaurant black bean sauce rather than a smooth gravy.
3. Combine the oil and the minced garlic, ginger, scallion whites and chile in a cold 10-inch skillet or wok. Set over medium-low heat and cook, stirring often, for 5 to 7 minutes — you want a lazy, steady sizzle and pale gold garlic, never brown. Starting cold keeps the garlic from scorching.
4. Add the chopped black beans and cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly, until the oil turns glossy and dark and smells deeply savory.
5. Pour in the Shaoxing wine and let it bubble hard for 30 seconds, scraping the pan bottom, until the raw alcohol smell is gone.
6. Stir in the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce if using, and sugar. Cook 30 seconds, letting the sugar melt into the oil, then add the stock and white pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook at a gentle bubble for 4 minutes to marry everything.
7. Whisk the cornstarch and cold water together until no lumps remain, then stir it into the simmering sauce in a thin stream. Cook 45 to 60 seconds, stirring, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon and turns glossy. It should be pourable, not gluey — it will thicken slightly as it cools.
8. Off the heat, stir in the sesame oil and half the sliced scallion greens. Taste: add a pinch of sugar if it's sharp, a splash of stock if it's too salty. Cool to room temperature, then transfer to a clean jar. Refrigerate up to 2 weeks.

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Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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