summary: recipes for stir-fried broccoli with black bean sauce, black bean chili sauce, peanut chili sauce; making a knockoff sauce; information about fermented black beans and Weekend Herb Blogging (WHB)

Weekend Herb Blogging (WHB)#133
Black Beans (Glycine max)

One of my favourite Asian dishes is stir-fried broccoli with black beans. Instead of buying jars of black bean sauce, we make the sauce with Chinese dried fermented black beans. Soy beans, that is.

Mmmmm, fermented black beans!! Their pungent, slightly sour saltiness is delicious!

Or we make chili sauces with the black beans and/or peanuts to use as condiments. And what condiments they are! In spite of the heat, I can eat this stuff by the spoonful like jam.

(click on images for larger views and more photos)

We used to buy these in jars from Chinatown. The jars always made me a tiny bit nervous because invariably, the “best before” date was long gone. But the flavour of these condiments was too fabulous to care about the “best before” date for long. And the contents of the jars were always long gone before we could worry too much about the date.

Happily, I am married to the brilliant kind of person who can taste something and then, armed with an ingredient list (or not), waltz into the kitchen and pretty much reproduce it.

Here’s what T does to make these favourites of mine:

broccoli with black bean sauce . black bean chili sauce . peanut chili sauce

Broccoli with Black Beans

• vegetable oil
• chili flakes
• ginger, chopped
• garlic, chopped
• dried salted black beans, roughly chopped
• broccoli, chopped in bite size pieces
• water, optional

preparation

1. Heat oil in wok. (We use safflower or sunflower oil.)
2. Add chilli flakes and cook until slightly dark.
3. Add garlic and ginger and cook until softened.
4. Add the black beans and cook a few minutes.
5. Add broccoli and stir to cover with oil. Add a little water if you want. Turn heat down to low; cover with a lid and allow to simmer til broccoli is a dente (3 to 5 minutes)

Serve immediately with jaggery chicken. Or with chicken (or pork) and peanuts in hoisin sauce. And rice, of course. Broccoli with black beans can also be made by simply steaming broccoli and adding black bean chili sauce:

Black Bean Chili Sauce

• ¼ c vegetable oil
• ¼ c onion, minced
• 1 Tbsp ginger, minced
• 2 tsp chili flakes (more or less)
• ¼ c dried salted black beans, roughly chopped
• seasalt, optional

preparation

1. Heat oil to medium high in a frying pan.
2. Add chilli flakes and cook until slightly dark.
3. Add onion and cook to translucent.
4. Add ginger and cook until softened.
5. Add the black beans and cook a few minutes.
6. Place in a bowl to cool. Test for salt and add more oil to cover if necessary.*

Peanut Chili Sauce

• ¼ c vegetable oil
• ¼ c onion, minced
• 1 Tbsp ginger, minced
• 2 tsp chili flakes (more or less)
• ¼ c roasted, salted peanuts
• seasalt, optional

preparation

1. Heat oil to medium high in a frying pan.
2. Add chilli flakes and cook until slightly dark.
3. Being careful not to burn, add peanuts and cook until they just begin to turn color.
4. Add onion and cook to translucent.
5. Add ginger and cook until softened.
6. Place in a bowl to cool. Test for salt and add more oil to cover if necessary.*

* Remember – these are condiments and should be salty and oily.

Each different chili sauce started out the same way because we wanted to test the difference between one with beans and one with peanuts. More or less chili flakes can be used if desired. Minced garlic might be a good addition.

Serve the chili sauces as condiments. They are wonderful in Asian Noodle Soup as well. Or with fried rice. Or with chicken that has been roasted on a bed of onions or mushrooms in a claypot and then served over rice. Or in a chicken sandwich. Or….

• recipes from OUR kitchen – index