Noodles and Rice

Ingredient Spotlight: Fermented Black Beans

by Stef on November 7th, 2005

These beans, like a star waiting behind the wings, is the pungent character in productions such as the one in my previous post. They cast a somewhat winy flavor on a dish and usually make their appearance with garlic in the supporting role. They are used all throughout China but particularly in Southern Chinese cooking. You will find them in Asian supermarkets either canned in brine, or dried, in clear plastic bags. Some preparations will have included ginger and/or other seasonings/spices like orange peel. The beans themselves — the humble yet highly nutritious soya bean (the same bean from which soy sauce is made) contain all the essential amino acids, though you have to be careful about sodium content. Recipes will usually call for you to rinse them before use. After opening, store in a tightly closed opaque jar in a cool dry place, where they will keep indefinitely. If you bought canned soy beans, refrigerate in their own brine in a jar with a lid.

Called shi in early texts, they are partially decomposed by a special mold before drying and salting. They predate soy sauce and perhaps any other soy food, according to Asian Ingredients by Bruce Cost.

A.K.A.
preserved black beans
salted black beans
fermented soya beans
Chinese black beans
in Chinese: dau see
in Filipino: tausi

and FYI — these are not the same black beans as that found in chili and Mexican dishes.

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