I love the savoury, rich taste of beef in black bean sauce, Although it takes a little bit more effort to make than other stir fry recipes (especially when you’re making your own black bean sauce), it’s actually very simple. The sauce can be made ahead, or you can make it as part of this recipe (apart from the hour needed to soak the beans, the rest of the sauce comes together in minutes). We’re also going to use a simple hack to tenderise or ‘velvet’ the beef, so it’s lovely and soft – just like you’d get in a Chinese restaurant.
The black bean sauce is made by first soaking fermented black beans (<– affiliate link) in water for an hour. Then we rinse and drain the beans and give them a bit of a mush up with a fork. Next we fry up garlic, ginger and the black beans in a little sesame oil and neutral oil. Add in rice wine, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, pepper and stock and bring to the boil. Simmer the sauce for 5 minutes, before stirring in a little cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce. That sauce is now ready to use.
I’ve written a full post on black bean sauce if you want more info about the sauce and fermented black beans.
For the beef
I use rump steak, sliced thinly, against the grain. We velvetise the beef by mixing it with 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Rinse the beef in cold water to remove the bicarb. Pat dry with paper towels and use as per your recipe.
I’ve written a full post on how to velvet beef if you want more info about the process, how it works and why you should do it.
The rest of the stir-fry ingredients
Now the black bean sauce is made and beef is tenderised, we bring it all together with the rest of the ingredients.
Season the tenderised beef in black pepper and a little pinch of salt (we don’t need much salt as the sauce is salty enough). Fry the beef in a little oil. I like to use a mixture of sesame oil and neutral oil (such as avocado or rapeseed). Add in chunky pieces of onion and peppers and fry for a further couple of minutes. Add in the black bean sauce and heat through for a minute. Serve with rice. I like to sprinkle a few chopped spring onions (scallions) and mixed sesame seeds on top too.
👩🍳PRO TIP When you’re squishing up the fermented beans for the black bean sauce, leave some whole, to you get those nice black-bean speckles in the stir fry. Stay updated with new recipes!Subscribe to the newsletter to hear when I post a new recipe. I’m also on YouTube (new videos every week) and Instagram (behind-the-scenes stories & beautiful food photos).
Quick Chicken Stir Fry
Szechuan Chicken
Easy Beef Chow Fun Recipe
Easy Mongolian Beef Recipe
Kung Pao Chicken
Copycat Firecracker Chicken
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
