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Black Bean Sauce Chicken Recipe
This homemade black bean sauce chicken is a quick stir-fry dish made out of fermented black beans, chicken breast, ginger, garlic, bell peppers, onion, and a handful of seasoning ingredients.
Fermented black beans, also called “Douchi,” are a versatile ingredient commonly used in Chinese cuisine. It brings an earthy aroma and umami flavor to the dish that everyone loves. This flavorful stir-fry chicken dish is best served with a bowl of steamed rice or noodles.
Douchi is one of the best seasoning ingredients for quick stir-fry dishes. It makes many mouthwatering dishes from both proteins and vegetables such as Black Bean Sauce Yong Tow Foo, Squid With Black Bean Sauce and Stir-Fried Fish Fillet With Black Bean Sauce.
Why This Recipe Works?
This easy and quick black bean sauce chicken is perfect for busy moms, young professionals, and anyone who doesn’t have a lot of time to spend cooking.
It requires only a few everyday ingredients from your kitchen pantry and tastes much better than Chinese restaurant takeouts.
Black bean sauce chicken is healthy and nutritious with protein and lots of vegetables. You may also use the alternative proteins, such as beef, pork or shrimp for the chicken.
Recipe Ingredients
Authentic black bean sauce chicken calls for a few simple ingredients:
Main:
- Chicken breast
- Chinese rice wine or sherry
- Cornstarch
- Oil
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Fermented black beans (douchi)
- Green bell pepper
- Red bell pepper
- Dried red chili
- Onion
- Salt
For the black bean sauce:
- Soy sauce
- Sugar
- Sesame oil
- White pepper
- Water
- Cornstarch
Fermented black beans are easy to find in local Asian grocery stores. You may get them in whole beans or the prepared fermented black bean sauce in a jar. Either one will work for this recipe. If using the fermented black bean sauce in a jar, you may omit the salt in the dish.
To make this recipe kid-friendly, omit the dried red chilies.
How To Make Black Bean Sauce Chicken?
This authentic recipe is effortless to prepare, and the final result is always delicious.
First, marinate the chicken breast with Chinese rice wine and cornstarch for 10 minutes.
Next, combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Heat the wok or a skillet with oil over high heat. Add marinated chicken breast and give a quick stir-fry until half cooked. Remove and set aside.
Heat the remaining oil in the wok and add ginger and garlic and sauté until golden brown. Then, add fermented black beans and all vegetables, and stir a few times until aromatic. Return the chicken to the wok and add sauce.
Give a final toss and stir for 2 to 3 minutes to coat the sauce evenly on the meat. Dish out and serve immediately.
Cooking Tips
- Stir-fry the chicken breast until half cooked and the surface turns opaque, then remove immediately. Do not overcook the chicken breast, so the meat remains juicy and tender.
- Making an incredible stir-fry dish is all about the temperature and cooking time. Quickly stir-fry all ingredients over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes and plate immediately. It helps lock all the flavors from the ingredients and makes the dish taste better.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are fermented black beans healthy?
Yes, eating fermented black beans helps lower blood sugar level, which is beneficial for those with diabetes.
What are the fermented black beans made of?
The fermented black beans (Douchi) are made from black soybeans and preserved in salt. It’s salty to eat on its own but is ideally used to enhance the flavor while cooking.
How Many Calories Per Serving?
This recipe has only 134 calories per serving.
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Black Bean Sauce Chicken
Ingredients
- 8 oz (250 grams) skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized cubes
- 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or sherry
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 1/2 tablespoons oil
- 1 inch (2.5 cm) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into thin pieces
- 3 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 2 tablespoons fermented black beans (douchi, rinsed and coarsely chopped)
- 1/2 small green bell pepper (deseeded and cut into pieces)
- 1/2 small red bell pepper (deseeded and cut into pieces)
- 2 dried red chili (deseeded and cut into pieces)
- 1/2 small onion (quartered)
- Salt to taste
Sauce
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
- 3 dashes white pepper
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken breast with Chinese rice wine (or sherry) and cornstarch for 10 minutes. Set aside.
- Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl; mix well and set aside.
- Heat a wok or skillet with 1/2 tablespoon of the oil over high heat. Add chicken breast and stir-fry until half-cooked or the surface turns opaque. Remove and set aside.
- Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of the oil in a wok or skillet over high heat. Add ginger and garlic, stir-fry until golden brown. Stir in the fermented black beans, green and red bell peppers, red chili, and onion. Continually stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes until aromatic.
- Return the chicken to the wok or skillet, stir 1 minute and blend well with all the ingredients. Add sauce and continue stirring until the chicken is cooked through. Add salt to taste. Dish out and serve immediately with steamed rice.
Notes
- Stir-fry the chicken breast until half cooked and the surface turns opaque, then remove immediately. Do not overcook the chicken breast, so the meat remains juicy and tender.
- Making an incredible stir-fry dish is all about the temperature and cooking time. Quickly stir-fry all ingredients over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes until the meat is cooked through and plate immediately. It helps lock all the flavors from the ingredients and makes the dish taste better.
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Hi Bee,
I’m going to be making this dish soon and was wondering about the dried red chilies. Do you fry them first in a hot pan and then re-hydrate them in hot water before adding to the recipe? Or do you deseed and cut them into pieces directly from the package?
Hi Essie. To deseed the dried chilies, you can cut up the dried chilies using kitchen scissors into a colander and shake it so the seeds fall out of the chilies. You don’t need to rehydrate the chilies for this recipe.
Came put excellent. Will make afain. Very sumple
What’s with always breast meat so dry compared to brown
Hi Pierre, you’re welcome to substitute it with dark meat.