Cashew String Bean Chicken (腰果青豆角鷄, Jiu1 Gwo2 Ceng1 Dau6 Gok3 Gai1)

While you could cut the chicken into chunks, as was done in the Cashew Asparagus Chicken (腰果蘆筍鷄, Jiu¹ Gwo² Lou⁴ Seon² Gai¹) recipe, for this dish the chicken is cut to mimic the shape of the string beans. While the shape of the chicken doesn’t affect the taste at all, the aesthetics of the dish are a little more refined. There’s also a range of textures: from the hardness of the cashews, to the crunch of the green beans, to the chewiness of the mushrooms, and finally to the tenderness of the chicken. A prepared black bean garlic sauce makes for easy preparation, but you could always make your own from scratch.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Chili Sauce Beef with Sugar Snap Peas (黑豆辣椒蜜豆牛肉, Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Mat6 Dau6 Ngau4 Juk6)

The crunch of the sugar snap peas contrasts nicely with the tenderness of the beef in this dish. The red bell pepper adds color and the black bean chili sauce adds spiciness. You can of course just make the dish with black bean sauce if you don’t want the dish to be spicy.

Enjoy!

Fried Catfish in Black Bean Sauce (豆豉炸鮎魚, Dau6 Si6 Zaa3 Nim4 Jyu4)

At my local Asian market, fried catfish pieces are occasionally available already cooked and ready to eat. This is a great way to get fried fish since I rarely fry fish myself at home. Catfish and black bean sauce is a classic combination, and I cheated again using a Lee Kum Kee brand prepared sauce. So the only real work in preparing this dish is cutting the bell peppers.

Enjoy!

Steamed Chili Lemongrass Black Bean Chicken (鮮辣椒檸檬葉豆豉蒸鷄, Sin1 Laat6 Ziu1 Ning4 Mung4 Jip6 Dau6 Si6 Zing1 Gai1)

This recipe was updated on 24 May 2015. Some instructions were changed.

Steamed lemon chicken with black bean sauce is a recipe my Mom gave me when I first moved out of the house. I still have the 3x5 card (you remember those!) she gave me with that recipe many years ago. This variation of that quick cooking recipe uses lemongrass in place of lemons, with the addition of chili sauce to give the dish some spice. Since lemongrass is used instead of lemon, the dish has a hint of lemon rather than the stronger flavor a lemon supplies. The zucchini pieces are arranged along the edge of the plate to enhance the dish’s presentation.

Enjoy!

Chili Black Bean Sauce Chicken Wings with Zucchini (黑豆辣椒意大利青瓜鷄翼, Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Ji3 Daai6 Lei6 Ceng1 Gwaa1 Gai1 Jik6)

This recipe was updated on 26 Jun 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

Cooking chicken wings in a wok requires the use of high heat to brown the wings uncovered and then a lower heat to simmer using a cover. The bean curd sticks used in this dish are also cooked in this manner, but not the zucchini. The zucchini is added at the end of cooking to prevent them from being overcooked. A Dutch oven can also be used in place of a wok.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Sauce Chicken with Snow Peas (豆豉荷蘭豆鷄, Dau6 Si6 Ho4 Laan4 Dau6 Gai1)

This recipe was updated on 29 Apr 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

Black bean sauce chicken is a standard recipe, it’s just a question of what else to include in the dish. All you have to do is to look in your pantry and pull out whatever your heart desires to make a tasty dinner. In this case, snow peas and cloud ear fungus were the choice, with red bell pepper to add color to the dish. If you’re feeling lazy, you can use a prepared black bean garlic sauce, my favorite brand is Lee Kum Kee.

Enjoy!

Beef with Black Bean Hong Kong Noodles (豆豉牛肉炒雲吞麵, Dau6 Si6 Ngau4 Juk6 Caau2 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

This recipe was updated on 07 May 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

Here’s another dish using Hong Kong noodles, this one using salted black beans. Chicken and Bell Peppers with Hong Kong Noodles (青椒鷄雲吞麵, Ceng¹ Ziu¹ Gai¹ Wan⁴ Tan¹ Min⁶) and Beef Curry Hong Kong Noodles (咖哩牛肉炒雲吞麵, Gaa³ Lei¹ Ngau⁴ Juk⁶ Caau² Wan⁴ Tan¹ Min⁶) are previous recipes using these noodles. Hong Kong noodles are thin egg noodles and the literal translation in Cantonese is wonton noodles. While there aren’t any wontons in this dish, these noodles are typically used together with wonton in a soup broth, hence their name, and that leads to no end of confusion if you use the literal translation. So you’ll find dishes named in English referring to thin egg noodles, Hong Kong style noodles, and even vermicelli (whose use isn’t quite correct). Needless to say, the noodles are just really thin and are really good in a stir fry.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Fish Balls with Black Bean Chili Sauce (魚蛋黑豆辣椒油鷄, Jyu4 Daan6 Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Jau4 Gai1)

This recipe was updated on 06 May 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

I was actually going to make another dish until I saw the one pound (454 g.) package of frozen fish balls at my local Asian market. Fish balls are made like other meatballs, ground meat (in this case fish) mixed together and formed into balls. Fish balls are most commonly used in soups and are also served deep fried. I guess you could make fish ball spaghetti with them too! Fish isn’t the only flavor available, you can also get prawn and cuttlefish balls at your local Asian market. So I decided to combine the fish balls with chicken and green string beans and used Laoganma brand black bean chili sauce to finish the dish. It turns out that chicken and fish balls makes a tasty combination.

Enjoy!

Salmon in Black Bean Sauce (豆豉鮭魚, Dau6 Si6 Gwai1 Jyu4)

 

This recipe was updated on 20 Jun 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

Salmon and black bean sauce make a great dish with Shiitake mushrooms and long beans. All my favorites in one dish! What more can I say?

Enjoy!

Stuffed Bitter Melon with Turkey and Shiitake Mushrooms (冬菇釀苦瓜, Dung1 Gu1 Joeng6 Fu2 Gwaa1)

 

This recipe was updated on 07 Jul 2014. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added. A similar recipe was also added: Stuffed Bitter Melon with Pork and Chinese Sausage (臘腸豬肉苦瓜, Laap⁶ Coeng⁴ Zyu¹ Juk⁶ Fu² Gwaa¹).

This classic Cantonese dish is usually made with pork and without the addition of the whole Shiitake mushrooms. I had ground turkey, so I used that to stuff the bitter melon cylinders. Bitter melon lends itself to being stuffed, since the inedible pith and seeds in the middle leave so much space after being removed. I added dried shrimp to the tops of the stuffed bitter melon cylinders to add another flavor to the dish. The further addition of whole Shiitake mushrooms makes the dish even tastier.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Sauce Beef Tripe (豆豉牛柏葉, Dau6 Si6 Ngau4 Paak3 Jip6)

This recipe was updated on 16 Jul 2014. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, as well as the addition of metric measurements.

You can never eat too much tripe. For those unfamiliar with tripe, it’s (one of the) cow’s stomach. Here’s another recipe using poached honeycomb tripe, but the poaching liquid does not have any soy sauce. If you want a soy sauce poached tripe recipe, you can look at the Soy Sauce Beef Tripe with Sour Mustard (酸菜豉油牛柏葉, Syun¹ Coi³ Si⁶ Jau⁴ Ngau⁴ Paak³ Jip⁶) recipe. The tripe is poached so that it comes out white in color (close to the original uncooked color) and is then used in a classic black bean sauce stir fry recipe.

The non-classic addition to this recipe is sliced lotus root. Sliced lotus root is crunchy and has the distinctive holes that make this root so appealing. It actually is the root of the lotus flower that you find floating in ponds. You can buy lotus root fresh or pre-sliced in a package at your local Asian market. Fresh lotus root is crunchier than the pre-sliced packaged version, but if fresh lotus root is not available, the packaged version is a good substitute.

Enjoy!

Pork Baby Back Ribs with Black Bean and Garlic (蒜蓉豆豉排骨, Syun3 Jung4 Dau6 Si6 Paai4 Gwat1)

 

This recipe was updated on 08 Nov 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

This recipe is a classic Cantonese-style steamed pork dish using pork ribs and black beans, with a notable twist to the recipe – using the whole pork baby back rib instead of using cut 1- (2.5 cm.) to 2-inch (5 cm.) rib pieces. Marinating the ribs is also not usually done in the classic recipe, so feel free to omit this step if you’re in a hurry to make and eat this dish!

The number of pork ribs used in this recipe is governed by the size of the plate than can be placed into the steamer. You want to have one layer of individual ribs in the plate with the topping. The baby back rib is the right size to fit into the steamer plate for cooking and for eating. You can of course use cut ribs (just pile them in the plate!) in this recipe instead of whole baby back ribs, but normal pork ribs are not recommended since they would be too big to fit into the steaming plate and to eat.

For this recipe, ½ of the baby back pork rib rack was used, about 7 ribs. The whole rack was cut into individual ribs, marinated, and then used in two recipes. The first being this recipe and the other is Pork Baby Back Ribs with Fermented Bean Curd (腐乳排骨, Fu⁶ Jyu⁵ Paai⁴ Gwat¹). Both recipes are classic Cantonese steamed dishes except for the use of the whole baby back rib.

Enjoy!

Chili and Bitter Melon Chicken (辣椒苦瓜鷄, Laat6 Ziu1 Fu2 Gwaa1 Gai1)

This recipe was updated on 08 Sep 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements were added.

Bitter melon and some meat (beef, chicken, pork…) in black bean sauce is a classic Cantonese dish. This recipe adds hot red peppers (e.g. serrano, jalapeño, or Fresno) to give the dish added color and, most importantly, a little heat. I also used a prepared black bean garlic sauce made by Lee Kum Kee. You can of course use salted black beans and garlic to make the sauce, but I wasn’t in the mood and took the easy way out using the prepared sauce.

Salting and then washing the sliced bitter melon turns out to be the easiest and fastest way to remove any excess bitterness. If the bitter melon is slightly wet, the salt does a better job. I just use wet hands to mix the bitter melon slices and salt together, and that seems to do the trick. You only need 5 minutes to reduce the bitterness. The bitterness will diminish further the longer you leave the salt on the bitter melon and after 10 minutes, the bitterness will mostly be removed. Another method to reduce bitterness involves blanching the bitter melon before stir frying, but you need another pot and boiled water. The texture of the bitter melon will also be different if you use the blanching method. You can also choose not to reduce the bitter melon’s bitterness at all, in which case just remove the seed and pith, cut into pieces, and cook. I like to pair bitter melon prepared in this manner with pork spareribs.

Enjoy!

Beef with Sugar Snap Peas (蜜豆牛肉, Mat6 Dau6 Ngau4 Juk6)

 

This recipe was updated on 02 Aug 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

Here’s an easy to make beef dish when you want something spicy using sugar snap peas. The amount of spiciness can be controlled by the amount of the Laoganma brand black bean chili sauce used. If a spicy sauce is not desired, Lee Kum Kee brand black bean garlic sauce can be used in its place.

Enjoy!

Chili Black Bean Sauce Chicken (辣豉汁雞, Laat6 Si6 Zap1 Gai1)

This recipe was updated on 13 Jun 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

This dish is not as hot and spicy as the name implies. It is in fact just slightly spicy due to using both black bean chili sauce and black bean garlic sauce, but the dish can certainly be made spicier by using just black bean chili sauce. The chicken strips are thinly cut so that also makes this a quick cooking dish.

Enjoy!

Asparagus Turkey (蘆筍火雞, Lou4 Seon2 Fo2 Gai1)

 

This recipe was updated on 08 Oct 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

 

Asparagus and ground turkey make a great combination together. The dish is usually prepared with ground pork, but ground turkey makes a good substitute. The black beans in chili oil add spiciness to the dish. A prepared black bean garlic sauce can be substituted if no spiciness is desired.

The root end of the asparagus has a tough skin. The usual advice is to take the root end of the asparagus in one hand and the tip end with the other, snap the asparagus (it breaks at the natural tough-tender skin boundary), and discard the root end and use the tip end. However that results in a lot of waste (in my opinion) since the center of the root end is still tender and edible, it’s just the skin that’s tough. So I’ve found that if you use a vegetable peeler, you can remove the tough outer skin and use the entire asparagus stalk. It takes some practice to just remove the asparagus’ tough skin. My first efforts using a vegetable peeler resulted in breaking the stalks and/or peeling too much of the asparagus at the root end, so I had some odd looking asparagus pieces. I’ve tried using a knife to remove the skin, but I’ve found that with practice the vegetable peeler removes less of the asparagus stalk root end’s tender center.

Enjoy!

Spicy Black Bean Sauce Beef and Green Beans (青豆角牛肉, Ceng1 Dau6 Gok3 Ngau4 Juk6)

This recipe was updated on 01 Jul 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

Here’s another classic Cantonese dish using beef and green beans in a black bean sauce. The change to the classic recipe is to use a prepared spicy black bean sauce, made by Laoganma, rather than just salted black beans. You can, of course, make the dish with salted black beans if you prefer the dish without being spicy, or use a prepared sauce, such as the Lee Kum Kee brand black bean garlic sauce. The beef is tenderized using baking soda, which results in the very tender beef you experience in restaurant dishes.

Enjoy!

Braised Pork Spareribs with Salted Black Beans (豆豉燴排骨, Dau6 Si6 Wui6 Paai4 Gwat1)

 

This recipe was updated on 07 Sep 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

This is another favorite dish of mine. Pork spareribs, black beans, Shiitake mushrooms, and long beans make a great combination when combined into one dish. If cooked correctly, the pork spareribs are tender, the long beans are crunchy, and the Shiitake mushrooms flavorful.

Enjoy!

Bell Pepper Beef (青椒牛肉, Ceng1 Ziu1 Ngau4 Juk6)

 

This recipe was updated on 12 Jun 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

Bell peppers and seem to make the perfect combination in a dish together with a black bean sauce. The crunchiness of the bell peppers contrasts with the softness of the beef, and saltiness of the black beans goes nicely with the bell pepper’s sweetness. The recipe is written using salted black beans, but you can always use a prepared black bean sauce (such as Lee Kum Kee brand black bean garlic sauce) or make a spicier version using Laoganma brand black bean with chili sauce. The picture for this dish is actually for the version using black bean chili sauce.

Enjoy!

Steamed Pork Spareribs with Salted Black Beans (Dau6 Si6 Zing1 Paai4 Gwat1, 豆豉蒸排骨)

 

This recipe was updated on 04 Nov 2013. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

It seems like I’ve been making this dish forever, but I found a good addition to this dish – wet preserved plums (haam⁴ seoi² mui⁴, 鹹水梅) – after looking at the Steamed Pork Ribs with Black Bean Sauce recipe from The Waitakere Redneck’s Kitchen blog. The plums add an additional layer of flavor to the dish. You can easily leave the plums out of the recipe and it will still be tasty.

The pork spareribs needs some preparation time, so you’ll need a minimum of 2 hours for prep and marinating, but marinating overnight is preferable. The baking soda serves to make the finished cooked pork spareribs very tender – just be sure to wash it out before marinating. This step can be omitted, but try tenderizing your pork (or any other meat for that matter) this way and you’re likely to be a believer.

Enjoy!