Homemade easy Chinese stir-fried chicken in black bean sauce recipe made with juicy tender chicken slices, peppers, onions, and savoury stir-fry sauce. Perfect with a bowl of plain rice. You can create a restaurant-quality classic Chinese chicken dish at home in 30 minutes!
Chinese chicken stir fry dishes are very fast and easy to prepare for busy days and they are always on our family meal rotations. If you love quick one-pan stir fry dishes like us, you don't want to miss our Chicken Rice Noodle Stir Fry, Black Pepper Chicken and Chicken & Mushroom Stir Fry recipes.
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What is Chicken with Black Bean Sauce?
This dish is a perfect combination of stir-fried chicken, tender-crisp vegetables, and umami black bean sauce. Fermented salted black bean is the key ingredient in making black bean chicken and it makes this dish very unique and flavourful.
Although black bean chicken is assumed as a well-known Chinese favourite dish that originated in China, it's now widely available at almost every Chinese restaurant in the UK, the US, Australia, and many counties around the world.
Depending on the region, restaurants, and takeaways cooking methods and recipes can be different. In this recipe, I am sharing our homemade version of chicken in black bean sauce recipe with simple, quick cooking instructions.
Ingredients you need
Following is a quick guide with photo instructions and detailed measurements on the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
Fermented black bean seeds: It is called Douchi ( 豆豉 ) in Chinese and you cannot avoid or replace these black bean seeds or black bean sauce to create this dish. It has a savoury, salty, umami taste and is slightly bitter. Perfect for adding stir-fries, soups, stews, and sauces.
Protein: Add your choice of boneless chicken breast or thigh meats. Cut it into thin slices. You can substitute with beef, lamb, fish fillets, prawns or a choice of seafood. Tougher meat will take more time to marinate and seafood does not need marinating process.
Vegetables: I love adding onions, bell peppers, and spring onions ( green onions ). You will also need freshly chopped garlic and ginger for the best garlicky flavour sauce.
Stir Fry Sauce: You can make a homemade quick stir fry sauce with only 3 simple ingredients, soy sauce, sugar, and oyster sauce. To thicken the gravy add a bit of cornstarch and water.
How to Make Chicken in Black Bean Sauce
- Roughly chop the black bean seeds and prepare the vegetables. Set them aside.
- Cut chicken into thin slices and mix it well with soy sauce, sesame oil, baking soda, Shao Xing wine, and cornstarch. Set it aside and marinate for 15 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine all the stir fry sauce ingredients, mix it well, and set it aside.
- Heat the large wok or pan over medium-high heat, drizzle 2 tbsp of oil and add the marinated chicken slices. Flatten and sear the chicken for 2 minutes then flip and continue stir fry for 1-2 minutes.
Add onions and bell peppers and cook for another 1 minute. Remove everything from the pan and set them aside.
- In the remaining pan, drizzle 1 tbsp of oil, and saute the garlic and ginger for a few seconds until fragrant. Add fermented black beans and stir fry for a few seconds.
- Pour the sauce mixture in and stir it well until the sauce is slightly thickened.
- Add the cooked chicken and vegetables back into the pan and combine well with the sauce and stir fry until the sauce is thick and glossy.
- Finish with spring onions and toss it well with the rest of the ingredients.
Variations & Cooking Tips
Black bean garlic sauce: If you cannot get fermented black beans you can use Chinese black bean garlic sauce, available in the Lee Kum Kee brand.
Extra vegetables: Snow peas, green beans, carrots, and mushrooms, can be also added. Feel free to swap with your choice of vegetables. If you love a kick of heat, add fresh chilli slices or chilli oil and create a ''Spicy Chicken in Black Bean Sauce''.
FAQ
You can buy fermented black soybeans Douchi ( 豆豉 ) in most Oriental/Chinese supermarkets or on Amazon online. Make sure not to be mistaken it for La Doubanjiang ( 辣豆瓣酱, Chilli broad bean sauce ) which is used to make Sichuan Mapo Tofu.
Perfectly match with a simple bowl of steamed rice, fried rice or Plain Chow Mein. Or it can be accompanied by Chinese Salt and Pepper Squid, Hot and Sour Soup, Beef Chow Fun, or other various Chinese or Asian cuisines you love.
Do not recommend freezing black bean chicken but you can keep it in the fridge for a couple of days in the fridge in an air-tight container.
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📖 Recipe
Chicken with Black Bean Sauce
Equipment
- 1 Large wok/pan
Ingredients
Chicken & Marinade
- 300 g Boneless chicken thigh/breast About 10.5 oz, Cut thin slices
- 1 tsp Light soy sauce Or all-purpose soy sauce
- 1 tsp Sesame oil Or cooking oil
- 1 tsp Corn starch Or potato starch
- 1 tsp Shao Xing wine Chinese cooking rice wine, see details in note
- ½ tsp Baking soda
Stir Fry Ingredients
- ½ Onion Cut thin slices
- 2-3 cloves Garlic Finely chopped/minced
- 1 tsp Ginger Finely chopped/minced
- ½ Red bell pepper Cut small squares
- ½ Green bell pepper Cut small squares
- 1 tbsp Fermented black beans Roughly chopped (see recipe note for details)
- 2-3 Spring onions Cut 2" pieces
- 2-3 tbsp Cooking oil Or sunflower, canola, vegetable, peanut oil, etc
Sauce
- 1 tbsp Soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Oyster sauce
- 3 tbsp Water
- 2 tsp Sugar
- ½ tsp Corn starch or potato starch
Instructions
- Cut chicken into thin slices and mix it well with soy sauce, sesame oil, baking soda, Shao Xing wine, and corn starch. Set it aside and marinate for 15 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine all the stir fry sauce ingredients, mix it well, and set it aside.
- Heat the large wok or pan over medium-high heat, drizzle 2 tbsp of oil and add the marinated chicken slices. Flatten and sear the chicken for 2 minutes then flip and continue stir fry for 1-2 minutes.
- Add onions and bell peppers and cook for another 1 minute. Remove everything from the pan and set them aside.
- In the remaining pan, drizzle 1 tbsp of oil, saute the garlic and ginger for a few seconds until fragrant. Add fermented black beans and stir fry for a few seconds.
- Pour the sauce mixture in and stir it well until the sauce is slightly thickened.
- Add the cooked chicken and vegetables back in the pan and combine well with the sauce and stir fry until the sauce is thick and glossy.
- Finish with spring onions and toss it well with the rest of the ingredients.
- Transfer to serving plate. Serve with plain rice or noodles.
J says
awesome
Ruth Tredinnick says
Smashing! Made it with beef too. on the family favourites list.
Khin says
This black bean sauce goes well with beef too. So glad that you enjoyed it, Ruth!
Anne day says
do you need to soak the black beans b4 cooking Khin
Khin says
Hi Anne, it's Chinese fermented black beans and you don't need to soak in water. You can add them in whole or roughly chop them before stir fry them.
Donna says
This has become a regular in my household i had add some chopped green chillies to it and my family love it!! tastes better than our local takeaway.
thanks for the great recipe.
Assunta says
You mention that the marinating step can be skipped if using seafood but the ingredients like the sesame oil and the Chinese wine which give extra flavours would be missed out. Can they be added at any point? Thank you
H. Tommy says
Taste just like my local Chinese!
Khin says
Glad that you enjoyed it, H. Tommy!
Sharclay says
I made this tonight, I did not have oyster sauce so used fish sauce, I should have cut the quantity way down, but I saved it by adding sesame oil, soya sauce and brown sugar! It was very good! Thank you for the recipe! I will make this again, but I will definitely buy some oyster sauce for next time!
Khin says
Hi Sharclay, fish sauce is saltier than oyster sauce. Instead of oyster sauce, you can use hoisin sauce or just a dash of chicken bouillon powder for a bit of extra umami taste. Happy that you enjoyed it and trying it out again with oyster sauce. Thanks for sharing feedback.
Kayune says
Made this tonight for dinner and it was very good and easy to make! Thank you for the recipe. 🙂
Khin says
So pleased that you enjoyed it, Kayune! Thanks for trying out and sharing feedback with us.
Graham Ritchie says
If I choose to use the Lee Kum Kee black bean sauce, how much should i use with regards to the same quantities you have used in your recipe
Khin says
Hi Graham, you can add half a tablespoon of Lee Kum Kee black bean sauce for this recipe.
Karen Wells says
Thank YOU! This was 😋. Honestly I had my doubts I could pull this off BUT WOW!
Khin says
You are most welcome Karen. Thank you.
Mark T says
We tried it. It was lush. Better than our local Chinese takeaway black bean chicken. Can you post beef with black bean sauce recipe too? Thank you!
Khin says
Thank you Mark! So glad that you enjoyed our recipe! Will definitely share beef in black bean sauce recipe too.
Mohit bhatt says
Can we cook oyster sauce in our home or and other sauce which taste like same as oyster sauce.
Diane kutschman says
I am not a big seafood person. Is it necessary to add oyster sauce?
Khin says
Hi Diane
If you do not like oyster sauce you could substitute with vegetarian oyster sauce, sweet soy sauce or mushrooms vegetarian stir fry sauce.
Thanks.