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Susan Jung

Chinese fermented black beans – known in Cantonese as dou si – are powerful little umami bombs that add an intense, rich savouriness to whatever they are cooked with.
They are made from soybeans, which, when dried, range in colour from ivory to yellow. After being salted and fermented, they turn black and resemble large, dusty rat droppings.
But do not let their appearance fool you – they are delicious, although because their flavour is so strong and pungent, they should be used sparingly.
Fermented black beans come in several forms: in small bags and in jars, either labelled “black bean sauce” or flavoured with garlic and chillies. I buy the bags because they are more versatile and can be stored in a cupboard (I put them in a glass jar), rather than in the fridge.
These beans need to be soaked to soften them; I mostly use warm water, but you can also use rice wine or broth. After soaking them, you can leave them whole, chop them or roughly mash them, depending on what dish they are destined for.
Steamed spare ribs with black beans

The strong flavour of these black beans goes well with onions, garlic and chillies. One of my favourite homestyle dishes is steamed spare ribs with black beans. Soak a teaspoonful of black beans in rice wine for about 15 minutes, then chop them.
Put some pork spare ribs, cut into 2cm pieces, in a bowl and add the black beans and the rice wine in which they were soaked, soy sauce, a bit of salt and sugar, white pepper, and cornflour. Mix thoroughly, then leave at room temperature to marinate for about 15 minutes.
Mix in a little finely sliced red bird’s-eye chilli and a small amount of minced garlic, then put the ingredients in a heatproof dish and steam until the ribs are cooked. Serve with white rice.
Chicken with black bean sauce

For a classic dish of chicken with black bean sauce, soak the black beans in warm water for about 15 minutes, then roughly chop them. Chop half a chicken through the bone into chunks, then marinate for about 30 minutes in a mixture of soy sauce, rice wine, salt, sugar, white pepper and cornflour.
Pour oil to a depth of about 5cm in a wok and heat until very hot. Add the chicken in batches and fry the pieces for about a minute. Drain on paper towels, then pour off almost all the oil from the wok.
Heat the wok again and, when it is very hot, add some onion and red pepper (both cut into chunks), sliced garlic and halved garlic cloves, and stir-fry for about 30 seconds. Add the chicken back into the wok and stir-fry briefly. Add the black beans and the soaking liquid. Reduce the heat, cover the wok with the lid and simmer until the chicken is cooked through.
Mix some water with a little cornflour, add it to the wok and cook until the sauce lightly coats all the ingredients. Taste for seasonings and correct if needed. Serve immediately.
This content first appeared in Post Magazine in 2014.


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Food & Drink

These dried, salted, fermented soybeans add a delicious savouriness to everything from steamed spare ribs to chicken, when used sparingly


These dried, salted, fermented soybeans add a delicious savouriness to everything from steamed spare ribs to chicken, when used sparingly.


Susan Jung's recipes

How Chinese fermented black beans add an umami explosion to any dish, and 2 recipe ideas

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}These dried, salted, fermented soybeans add a delicious savouriness to everything from steamed spare ribs to chicken, when used sparingly

These dried, salted, fermented soybeans add a delicious savouriness to everything from steamed spare ribs to chicken, when used sparingly