Black Bean Sauce for Chicken Breast: Chinese twist to Chicken

The Cantonese style Black Bean Sauce for Chicken Breast makes an amazing sauce, made with Chinese fermented black beans. This provides a nice umami flavour to the overall dish. An easy to make condiment and tasty to accompany the yummy chicken, black bean sauce is said to be versatile for every type of chicken dish. This Chinese sauce that can be made using stir frying, baking, grilling, and steaming, also has the advantage of being additive free. The use of fermented beans imparts strong, distinct flavour to the entire dish.

Also Read: Cantonese Scrambled Eggs: A Creamy Mélange Of Eggs And Shrimp

Origin

Fermentation of salt preserved black soya beans is used majorly for the preparation of Black Bean sauce. Central and South Americans have been using the black beans in their staple diet.

Chicken with black bean sauce is a famous combination eaten in various places and has spread to other countries and continents. The uniqueness of the black beans also lies in the umami flavour it provides to the dish. This is also a reason, it is used more by Chinese people.

Process of Making Black Bean Sauce

Ingredients to make 2 cups Black Bean Sauce

• 1 cup (227 g) of dried fermented black beans
• 1⁄3 cup (79 ml) of vegetable oil
• 4 to 6 dried chilli peppers
• 1/4 white onion
• 1/4 cup (50 g) of granulated or brown sugar
• 1⁄4 cup (59 ml) of Shaoxing wine, dry sherry, or Japanese sake
• 1⁄4 cup (59 ml) of soy or tamari sauce
• 8 to 10 cloves of garlic
• 1 inch (2.5 cm) of peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon (1 g) of orange zest
• 2 teaspoons (6 g) of whole Sichuan peppercorns

Chicken in black bean sauce, Image Source: daringgourmet.com

Instructions to Make Chicken with Black Bean Sauce

1. Add about 200 g black beans in a bowl 
2. Add water above the level of beans let them remain soaked for ten minutes
3. After ten minutes, drain the water by passing through a fine mesh
4. Roughly chop them on a cutting board; for smoother sauce, chop the beans finely
5. Start cooking the sauce by adding one-third cup oil to the pan 
6. Add four to six chopped chilli peppers to the heated oil and let them cook till they darken 
7. Take out chillies with the help of spoon and throw them away; this is to impart its flavour into the oil
8. Along with the black beans, add one fourth of a minced onion and stir the mixture
9. Turn the flame to medium and let the black beans cook for some time
10. Constantly stir the mixture till the beans start to release a fragrance
11. Pour one-fourth cup of shaoxing wine, one-fourth cup of soy or tamari sauce and one-fourth cup of brown sugar
12.  Simmer the flame, stir all ingredients and let the mixture cook till onions soften
13. At this point, half a teaspoon of orange zest may be added
14. Add in eight to ten cloves of garlic along with one-inch minced ginger; let the sauce keep cooking so that ginger and garlic soften
15. After ginger and garlic have cooked, turn off the flame and transfer the black bean sauce into a bowl. Let it cool, serve or store
16. The sauce could be stored in a container with a plastic wrap and can kept in fridge for about four weeks

 A classic Chinese chicken comprises the use of black bean sauce. Chicken smothered in tasteful, intense notes of soybeans, a bit of saltiness accompanied with some tanginess is the impact of the flavour. So, for the craving of something Chinese or chicken with a Chinese twist, choose black bean sauce while cooking chicken.