Stir-Fried Chicken with Black Bean Sauce | Wok Wednesdays

This stir-fried chicken with black bean sauce is exceptionally tasty. It's also really easy to prepare.

As a participant in Wok Wednesdays, I'm trying to stir-fry my way though Grace Young's James Beard award winning book, Stir Frying to the Sky's Edge. I can't believe how much I've learned about wok cooking, Asian ingredients, and the Chinese diaspora since embarking on this adventure.

For example, fermented black beans. Even though the name of the recipe includes "black bean sauce," you actually make the sauce yourself with fermented black beans. In this post, I describe how I found the fermented black beans with the help of the Wok Wednesdays community.


Once you get the beans, they last a long time if kept in a jar in the refrigerator. Out of the jar, they are kind of stinky (to me). Don't let this frighten you my friends. It's kind of like fish sauce. The sum is greater than the parts. It's magical.

The only other difficult ingredient you will need to make this stir fry is dark soy sauce. If you have a Chinese market in your area, look for Pearl River Bridge with the pink label. Try not to get too distracted with all of the other Pearl River Bridge soy sauces, or you will need lots of new pantry space. Someday I will learn the differences!

According to Grace, this is a classic Cantonese stir-fry. It also includes carrots, garlic, ginger, red onions, green onions, and red pepper flakes. It was delicious with sticky rice.

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P.S. This recipe is easy and delicious. So easy, that I made this while making two types of bread, including a sourdough, even though I'm not the best multitasker.

P.P.S. Check out my friend Cathy's mise en place for this dish. Talk about organizational skills.

The recipe can be found on page 137 of Grace Young's Stir Frying to the Sky's Edge. You can also find the recipe on Andrea Nguyen's page, Viet World Kitchen, where she did a review of the recipe. I love her take on making your own black bean sauce.