From not@valid.invalid Wed May 5 12:57:20 2004 Date: Sun, 02 May 2004 11:12:45 GMT From: hahabogus Newsgroups: seattle.eats, rec.food.cooking, alt.food.asian Subject: Re: The perfect black bean sauce Julian Vrieslander wrote in news:julianvREMOVE_THIS_PART- F6F980.20024401052004@news4.west.earthlink.net: > The sauce had a complex flavor, just the right amount of heat, and an > unusual consistency. In all of the recipes for black bean sauce that I > have seen, corn starch is used as the thickener. But Hing Loon's sauce > was more viscous - it was stickier, stretching into tendrils, more like > the effect you get with gumbo file or okra. Does anyone know how they > get this texture? > > Maybe I should have asked, but I am always a bit shy about asking a > restaurant to divulge their secrets (and most of the time they don't). > > Perhaps the sauce was made like in the recipe below? In the pan with the food stuffs, not added from a bottle. I'm not saying the bean sauce below would taste like what you ate but possibly it was made in a similar method. Beef and Peppers in Black Bean Sauce A Cantonese recipe Ingredients: 4 ounces Sirloin beef sliced thin or thick steaks 3 green peppers (or red and green peppers as desired) 1/2 small onion 2 sticks of celery 1/2 teaspoon of salt 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce 1/2 teaspoon MSG (if desired) 1 teaspoon Chinese salted black beans 2 cloves garlic 3 slices ginger 1/2 cup stock or hot water 2 tablespoons oil for cooking Marinade: 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce 2 tablespoons oil Directions: Place the beef in a bowl, and stir in the marinade ingredients. Marinate beef for approximately thirty minutes. While beef is marinating, prepare the vegetables. Cut peppers, onion, and celery into 1/2 inch pieces. Mix the garlic cloves and ginger with the black beans and chop finely. Heat wok and add 2 tablespoons oil. When oil is ready, add 1/2 of the black bean, garlic, and ginger mixture. Mix and add the beef. Stir-fry until the beef is approximately 60 - 65 percent cooked. Remove the beef and set aside. Add the rest of the bean mixture, onions and celery. Stir-fry for 3 - 4 minutes and add the peppers. Stir-fry for a couple of minutes longer and add 1/2 cup of stock or hot water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for a couple of minutes. Add MSG if desired. Mix, taste, and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Add the beef. Mix and serve immediately. -- Once during Prohibition I was forced to live for days on nothing but food and water. -------- FIELDS, W. C.