Black bean garlic sauce, unlike many of the soybean pastes and sauces we’ve discussed in this dictionary, is truly created from a fermented product––fermented black beans.

We’ll cover the basics of this item and how it’s utilized in Chinese cooking in this short essay.

WHAT IS BLACK BEAN GARLIC SAUCE?

Salted or fermented black soybeans are ground with garlic and other seasonings to make black bean garlic sauce (suàn róng duch jiàng, 蒜蓉豆豉酱). This ready-to-use sauce is made from fermented black beans and minced garlic rather than whole beans and hands-on chopping of garlic.

HOW IS IT USED?

Stir-fries, steamed meals, and seafood dishes can all benefit from black bean garlic sauce. Whole fermented black beans are commonly used while preparing dishes with black beans. So this prepackaged black bean garlic sauce is a quick way to boost the flavor of a dish on the go.

We prefer to use entire fermented black beans for the dim sum specialty of steamed spare ribs with black bean sauce because it looks cleaner and keeps the pork and fermented black bean flavors separate. This black bean garlic sauce is great for dishes like Periwinkle snails in black bean sauce or Stir-fried clams in black bean sauce.

Purchasing & STORING

In Chinese supermarkets and online, black bean garlic sauce can be obtained. Scoop out a bit of the food with a clean spoon, and keep the container in the refrigerator. Adding a little stir before using it also helps.

Use by the expiration date printed on the package. With that in mind, the best-by date on our purchase in September 2019 is April 2022.

alternative FOR BLACK BEAN SAUCE

Garlic black bean sauce can be made from fermented beans and fresh garlic if you can’t locate it (or don’t want to clutter up your fridge with yet another jar).