Fermented black bean with peppers is a savory, quick, easy side dish to go with rice or noodles. You can also add a variety of meats or tofu to the dish if you’d like, but we like it plain! Fermented black bean(豆豉) tastes like concentrated soy sauce, it IS soy sauce in a sense. Read on to find out more about this ingredient!
Fermented Black Bean | 豆豉
Here’s how Fermented Black Soy Bean | 豆豉 is made in a nutshell. Black soybean is infused with Koji, salted and leave in a clay jar to ferment. Leaving it dry, it turns into “豆豉” (Dou4Chi3). Let it sit for a week, add water then let it sit for six months, it turns into soy sauce.
Does this make sense? How these little gems of beans taste like soy sauce concentrates? These little beans are so flavorful, it adds a punch to any stir-fry you make. Most dishes made with “豆豉” (dou4chi3) are fairly simple, you really don’t need much when you’re cooking with these magical beans.
You will most likely be able to find these beans in different packaging or sometimes jars at your local Asian food store, but here’s an Amazon link just in case.
Ingredients
- 2 TBsp Vegetable Oil
- 2 TBsp Fermented Black Soy Bean 豆豉
- 4 cloves of Garlic Minced
- 4 Bell Peppers Green works best, shishito peppers are great too. Julienned.
- 2 TBsp Soy Sauce You can also use LeeKumKee Oyster Sauce
- 1/2 tsp Salt or to taste
Instructions
- Heat up 2TBsp vegetable oil in a wok or a pan on high heat, about 1 minute.
- Add 2TBsp fermented black soybeans (豆豉) to the wok, it will bubble and sizzle and start to smell good. The beans will turn a lighter color and start to blister. About 30 seconds – 1 minute.
- Add the minced garlic and stir fry for 2 seconds then toss in the julienned peppers.
- Once the pepper are in, pour the soy sauce around the wok to add a smoky flavor. You can also use LeeKumKee oyster sauce. (Thai oyster sauce tastes very different, thus I label the brand here)
- Stir-fry on high heat until flavors are absorbed and peppers are softened. About 5 – 7 minutes. Salt to taste.