We have published hundreds of recipes on this blog, but can you believe that so far…there are only three recipes made with fermented black beans?! Okay, maybe it's not that shocking for you, but I find it hard to believe. So, today, I want to add a brilliantly easy dish of Chicken with Black Beans to build out this small but valuable collection!
This no-brainer, everyday stir fry is elevated with the addition of black beans, and the always necessary duo of ginger and garlic–ingredients that are pretty easy to get and pretty cheap to stock your pantry with. Which brings me to my next point…and we probably sound like broken records at this point, but stir-fries are awesome.
They're quick, they preserve the fresh flavors of the ingredients, and, with the proper BTUs, they can make any mundane ingredients taste alluring. Plus, the combinations of ingredients you can use is pretty vast. Don't eat beef? Sub in chicken. Hate bell peppers? Carrots and celery are also good pairing. No alcohol allowed? Omit it, and problem solved. You can make lots of substitutions, and the end result will still be fantastically delicious.
Of course, the key to a good stir fry is knowing the cooking times for each ingredient. The secret to Chinese restaurant-quality dishes is that restaurant chefs usually blanch all the vegetables (shrimp as well), but pork and beef (and usually eggplant) are fried first to shorten the cooking time. Then, with the help of aromatics and sauce, a tasty dish magically appears in no time!
Also, you may have noticed that most of my recipes lack sauce pooling at the bottom of the plate (unlike the majority of Bill's dishes, which always have plenty of sauce to spoon over bowls of rice.) That's because I actually don't like it! I prefer to use high heat to cook off most of the liquid, and let the remaining sauce coat the food so it can glisten with its own "essence." But if you like extra sauce, feel free to whip up a cornstarch slurry (1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water or chicken stock) and add it at the last minute to achieve your preferred consistency!
Going back to the recipe, the main ingredient for this dish is the black beans–they come dry and fermented, and as a jarred "black bean sauce." If you choose to use black bean sauce, you should reduce or eliminate the salt in this dish, as the sauce is quite salty out of the jar.
So…are you ready to try out a new flavor? Choose the protein of your choice, the vegetables that you need to use up in the refrigerator, and make this dish your own. Enjoy!
You'll need:
For the chicken marinade:
- 2 chicken breasts (about 12 ounces), cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
- 3 tablespoons water
- 3 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
For the rest of the dish:
- 3 tablespoons oil, divided
- 3 slices ginger, julienned
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
- 3 scallions, chopped and separated into white and green parts
- 3 tablespoons fermented black beans, washed and drained
- 1 green bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- ¼ teaspoon salt, or to tastse
- 2 tablespoons water
Combine the chicken and the marinade ingredients in a bowl, and mix until all the liquid is absorbed. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes.
Pre-heat your wok over high heat, until it starts to smoke. This step is essential, as it prevents the chicken from sticking to the wok. With your spatula, spread 2 tablespoons of oil over the bottom of the wok. Add the chicken, and quickly spread the pieces into a single layer.
Let the chicken cook for about 30 seconds, flip, and cook the other side for another 30 seconds.
The chicken is done once it turns opaque––be careful not to overcook it. Turn off the heat, transfer the chicken to a dish, and set aside.
Next, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the wok over medium heat. Add the ginger, and let it cook for 15 seconds. Next, add the garlic…
The white parts of the scallions, and the fermented black beans. Stir for another 30 seconds. Now turn up the heat to high. Add the green and red peppers, and stir fry for about a minute.
Add the sugar, Shaoxing wine, salt, the chicken, 2 tablespoons of water, and the green parts of the scallion.
Quickly stir-fry everything well to coat in the sauce, and serve!
4.0 from 1 reviews
Chicken with Black Beans
Prep time
35 mins
Cook time
5 mins
Total time
40 mins
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
For the chicken marinade:
- 2 chicken breasts (about 12 ounces), cut into ⅛-inch thick slices
- 3 tablespoons water
- 3 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
For the rest of the dish:
- 3 tablespoons oil, divided
- 3 slices ginger, julienned
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
- 3 scallions, chopped and separated into white and green parts
- 3 tablespoons fermented black beans, washed and drained
- 1 green bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- ¼ teaspoon salt, or to tastse
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Combine the chicken and the marinade ingredients in a bowl, and mix until all the liquid is absorbed. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes.
- Pre-heat your wok over high heat, until it starts to smoke. This step is essential, as it prevents the chicken from sticking to the wok. With your spatula, spread 2 tablespoons of oil over the bottom of the wok. Add the chicken, and quickly spread the pieces into a single layer. Let the chicken cook for about 30 seconds, flip, and cook the other side for another 30 seconds. The chicken is done once it turns opaque––be careful not to overcook it. Turn off the heat, transfer the chicken to a dish, and set aside.
- Next, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the wok over medium heat. Add the ginger, and let it cook for 15 seconds. Next, add the garlic, the white parts of the scallions, and the black beans. Stir for another 30 seconds. Now turn up the heat to high. Add the green and red peppers, and stir fry for about a minute. Add the sugar, Shaoxing wine, salt, the chicken, 2 tablespoons of water, and the green parts of the scallion. Quickly stir-fry everything well to coat in the sauce, and serve!
3.5.3208
