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Black Bean Sauce

Chinese sauce of salted fermented black soybeans, garlic and ginger.

Black Bean Sauce — illustrative ingredient image

About Black Bean Sauce

Black bean sauce is a Chinese savoury sauce made with salted fermented black soybeans, commonly combined with garlic, ginger, oil, and other seasonings. It is used to flavour stir-fries, steamed foods, noodles, vegetables, meat, seafood, and rice.

It has a deeply savoury, salty, fermented flavour, with pungent aromatic notes from the black soybeans and any garlic or ginger. The texture may be smooth, thick, or coarse with visible bean pieces, and formulations can vary in sweetness, heat, and saltiness.

It is sold as a prepared sauce or paste, usually dark brown to nearly black. It may be spooned directly into a dish, diluted with stock or other liquids, or cooked with the main ingredients. Heat blends its flavour through the dish and softens coarse pieces.

Ingredient type
sauce

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Where black bean sauce appears

1 linked foods

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Main dishes

Ingredient connections awaiting review · Coverage is still growing, including packaged snacks.

Name examples awaiting language review. Confirm the specific food or product.

Local names for black bean sauce

Names and romanised forms to recognise on menus and labels.

English

black bean sauce

English

Black bean sauce, Powder

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

Black bean sauce, Retort pouched

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

Available names only. Languages may be spoken in other countries; a name alone does not identify every ingredient in a dish.

Black Bean Sauce nutrition & diet

Black Bean Sauce nutritional value

Black bean sauce

Per 100 g of the edible portion in the recorded USDA food form.

Calories
168kcal
Protein
6.3g
Carbs
17.4g
Fat
8.4g

Reference values per 100 g for the displayed USDA form. Varieties, recipes, brands and preparation can differ.

Portions & preparation

Use a reference for the actual sauce formulation, since salted fermented black soybeans, garlic, ginger, oil, sugar, thickeners, and preservatives vary by brand and recipe. Distinguish concentrated paste from diluted cooking sauce, and evaluate the amount used within the finished dish rather than treating it as plain beans.

Compare the right form: Match the specific brand or recipe and distinguish fermented black-soybean paste, concentrated sauce, or diluted cooking sauce, including added ingredients.

Diet considerations

Black bean sauce is plant-derived when based on fermented black soybeans, garlic, and ginger, but the formulation must be checked. Brands or recipes may add animal stock, seafood, meat flavoring, sugar, oil, or cereal-derived thickeners. Compatibility therefore depends on the label, preparation, and amount used.

AI-authored reading notes · Awaiting editorial review. Measured values, where available, have a separate source above.

Dietary compatibility

  • Vegan
    Not established
  • Vegetarian
    Not established
  • Pescatarian
    Not established
  • Keto
    Not established
  • Paleo
    Not established
  • Low-carb
    Not established
  • Halal
    Not established
  • Kosher
    Not established
What these diet assessments mean
Vegan · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Vegetarian · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Pescatarian · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Keto · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Paleo · Not established
The ingredient form and processing have not been assessed against this dietary pattern.
Low-carb · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Halal · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish halal status.
Kosher · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish kosher status.

For the plain ingredient · Awaiting review. Diet compatibility is not allergy suitability or halal/kosher certification. Keto and low-carb depend on the portion.

Reviewed ingredient entryIngredient reference · Preparations vary

AI-generated illustration for visual context. It does not identify a particular product or establish allergen content.

Sources & review

Nutrition reference: USDA FoodData Central — Black bean sauce ↗. Values are scaled from 100 g of the recorded edible form. Individual portions have no assumed fixed weight.

Expanded overview, name examples and nutrition notes are database drafts awaiting editorial review. Numeric nutrition values, where shown, have their own source and food-form reference.

The ingredient description and dish connections come from the draft catalogue and may change after review.

Last recorded verification: .