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This easy fish with black bean sauce is bursting with flavors and and easy to love. Whip up this recipe at home with no hassle and just a few simple ingredients. It's as delicious as your favorite Chinese restaurants!
Chinese Black Bean Sauce
This is my fish with black bean sauce recipe, a deliciously savory dish bursting with flavor and perfect for a quick and satisfying meal at home.
What is black bean sauce?
Black bean sauce is a savory and flavorful condiment commonly used in Chinese cuisine. It is made from fermented black soybeans, which are mashed and combined with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and other seasonings to form a savory and pungent sauce.
Black bean sauce is versatile and can be used for a variety of Chinese and Asian recipes, for examples: stir-fries, marinades, steamed dishes, and noodles. It adds depth and a complex nuance to the final dish.
For this recipe, I’ve paired black bean sauce with fish. Fish fillets are readily available at Asian stores in the United States, such as sole fillet or basa fish fillet. Pairing the fish with green bell peppers, onions, dried red chilies, and black bean sauce creates a savory dish that pairs perfectly with steamed rice or noodles.
Why This Recipe Works
Fish in black bean sauce is a popular dish in Chinese cuisine. Here’s why this recipe works so well, especially for busy home cooks:
- Umami Flavor: Fermented black beans is one of the most interesting ingredients in Chinese cooking. This pungent sauce adds delicious flavor and great depth to the fish. It’s a mix of salty black beans with ginger, onion, making the fish more delicious.
- Quick and easy: This is easy recipe for black bean sauce and takes only
- Healthy and nutritous: Fish is healthy and good for you, with lots of protein and low fat contents. Sole fish This recipe is simple to make, perfect for a quick, healthy meal.
What Goes Into This Recipe
- Sole fish fillet – you may use Basa fish fillets, tilapia, swai fish or cat fish.
- Black bean sauce – called “豆豉酱” (dòuchǐ jiàng), in Chinese, fermented black bean sauce is very popular in Chinese and Cantonese cuisines. “豆豉” (dòuchǐ) refers to fermented black beans, which are salted black soybeans. They have a rich, savory flavor, adding depth and umami to a variety of dishes such as black bean sauce chicken and black bean pork spare ribs.
- Dried red chilies – adding heat and spiciness to the dish.
- Sesame oil – enhancing aroma and imparting a distinctive nutty flavor to the dish.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Make Fish In Black Bean Sauce
Step 1. Heat up the wok and add the cooking oil. Toss in sliced ginger, onions, bell peppers, and dried red chilies. Stir-fry until they become aromatic.
Step 2. Add the fish to the wok and give it a quick stir.
Step 3. Add in the black bean sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and sesame oil. Stir-fry everything together until the fish is fully cooked and coated in the black bean sauce.
Step 4. Pour in the cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce, then toss in the chopped scallions. Give it a quick stir to combine everything well. Dish up and serve hot with steamed rice.
Helpful Tips
As a best-selling author of Easy Chinese Recipes cookbook, I would like to share the following pro tips for making black bean sauce fish fillet:
- Choose the right fish: Use flaky white fish like sole or cod for this recipe. They have a mild taste and absorb flavors well. They also pair nicely with black bean sauce.
- Preheat the wok: Ensure your wok or skillet is well preheated before adding ingredients to achieve a crispy exterior on the fish.
- Adjust seasonings to taste: Different brands of black bean sauce differs in its taste and saltiness. Adjust the flavor by adding more sugar, or cut down the quantity of the black bean sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Flaky white fish such as sole, cod, or tilapia are commonly used for this recipe.
You can buy black bean sauce in a bottle from Asian supermarkets in the United States. I recommend Lee Kum Kee Garlic Black Bean Sauce for this recipe.
Yes, you can. Fermented black beans are available for purchase at Asian grocery stores. These black beans are salted and fermented, resulting in a very salty flavor with no additional seasoning. Before using them, be sure to rinse the black beans with water and smash them with the back of your cleaver before cooking.
This fish with black bean sauce recipe is only 148 calories per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Other Recipes You Might Like
Fish with Black Bean Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 5 slices fresh ginger
- 1 small onion, quartered
- 1 small green bell pepper, cut into small pieces
- 5 dried red chilies, seeded
- 1/2 lb (250g) sole fish fillet, cut into pieces, marinated with 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons Lee Kum Kee Garlic Black Bean Sauce
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch, mix with 3 tablespoons water
- 2 stalks scallions, cut into 1.5-inch (3 cm) length
Instructions
- Heat up the wok and add the cooking oil. Toss in sliced ginger, onions, bell peppers, and dried red chilies. Stir-fry until they become aromatic.
- Add the fish to the wok and give it a quick stir.
- Add in the black bean sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and sesame oil. Stir-fry everything together until the fish is fully cooked and coated in the black bean sauce.
- Pour in the cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce, then toss in the chopped scallions. Give it a quick stir to combine everything well. Dish up and serve hot with steamed rice.
Notes
- Use flaky white fish like sole or cod for this recipe. They have a mild taste and absorb flavors well. They also pair nicely with black bean sauce.
- Ensure your wok or skillet is well preheated before adding ingredients to achieve a crispy exterior on the fish.
- Different brands of black bean sauce differs in its taste and saltiness. Adjust the flavor by adding more sugar, or cut down the quantity of the black bean sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Another great recipe, Bee! I love how easy and delicious your recipes are! This will be another one added to the regular rotation. We used Cod instead of Sole and served the Shrimp Fritters with it
Sounds yummy!
My husband says, it tastes better than the restaurant. My only substitution, because I couldn’t find just black bean sauce, was to use black bean garlic sauce.
Hi Debbie. I am very happy that you liked the recipe. Black bean garlic sauce is absolutely fine for this recipe.
I tried this recipe with tilapia fillets. 2 tablespopns of blackbean sauce was very very salty. I can barely taste the fish, I even omitted the fish sauce. I’ll try it again with just one tablespoon.
Thanks.
If you use 1 pound fish instead of 1/2 pound then the proportions are good and it’s not too salty.
Thank you for this easy recipe! Today will be the third time I’m making it and I’ve passed the recipe on to my sister and she also loved it!
Awesome!
Thank you for this easy recipe! Today will be the third time I’m making it and I’ve passed the recipe on to my sister and she also loved it!
I cook this dish for dinner now it taste super good! And I used spicy black bean paste lee Kum kee also. And reduce the dried chilli…. I think it’s good also with the prawns/shrimp…
Awesome.
Can we use different kind of fish like tilapia or is the taste of the fish too strong for this recipe?
You can use any white fish fillet you like.
What can I use in place of fish sauce
You can use oyster sauce or soy sauce.
Taste just like eating it at a restaurant!!
For how long do you marinate the fish in corn starch?
It doesn’t matter, just need to coat the fish fillet with cornstarch.
Your recipes inspire me to cook. Thanks!