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Fermented black bean sauce

Fermented black bean sauce is a savory Chinese-style condiment used to season stir-fries, braises, and steamed dishes.

Fermented black bean sauce — illustrative ingredient image

About Fermented black bean sauce

Fermented black bean sauce is a savoury Chinese-style condiment made with fermented black beans, commonly combined with oil, aromatics, seasonings, or liquid. It is used to season stir-fries, braised dishes, steamed fish or meat, vegetables, and noodle or rice preparations.

The sauce has a salty, pungent, deeply savoury flavour and is usually thick and dark. Commercial versions range from coarse and bean-forward to smooth and pourable, with differences in saltiness, sweetness, oil content, and added aromatics; visible bean fragments may remain.

It is sold as a dark sauce or paste, and its appearance and texture change with grinding and added liquid or oil. This identity refers to a sauce base and is distinct from plain fermented black beans sold without a sauce base.

Ingredient type
sauce

Forms & related ingredients

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Where fermented black bean sauce appears

1 linked foods

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Snacks

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 fermented black bean sauce

Names and romanised forms to recognise on menus and labels.

English

Fermented black bean sauce

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

Fermented black bean sauce nutrition & diet

Fermented black bean sauce nutritional value

Reference: Sauce, black bean

Per 100 g of 100 g edible portion in the named official reference form.

Calories
106kcal
Protein
7.1g
Carbs
11.8g
Fat
2.8g

Official national food-composition reference. The displayed food form is part of the estimate; cultivar, recipe, brand, processing and preparation can change values.

Portions & preparation

Use a product-specific reference for fermented black bean sauce, since recipes vary in bean concentration, salt, oil, sugar, starch thickeners, and added aromatics. Evaluate the amount of sauce actually eaten with the dish, not merely the dry beans, and distinguish bottled sauce from a homemade preparation.

Compare the right form: Reference must match the specific fermented black bean sauce recipe or brand, including its edible liquid or paste portion.

Diet considerations

The black beans are plant-derived, but the sauce is a blend whose compatibility depends on the recipe. Products may include cereal-derived thickeners, sugar, animal seasonings, or processing aids. Plain sauce and a stir-fry made with it are different entries, while carbohydrate patterns depend on sauce portion and accompanying foods.

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

Dietary compatibility

  • Vegan
    Depends on the version
  • Vegetarian
    Depends on the version
  • Pescatarian
    Depends on the version
  • Keto
    Not established
  • Paleo
    Depends on the version
  • Low-carb
    Not established
  • Halal
    Not established
  • Kosher
    Not established
What these diet assessments mean
Vegan · Depends on the version
Check the version or source of: Sugar. Check the refining process and processing aids for the particular producer.
Vegetarian · Depends on the version
Check the version or source of: Sugar. Check the refining process and processing aids for the particular producer.
Pescatarian · Depends on the version
Check the version or source of: Sugar. Check the refining process and processing aids for the particular producer.
Keto · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Paleo · Depends on the version
Optional or variable recorded ingredients: Sugar. This profile falls outside the conventional paleo pattern used here (grains and pseudograins, legumes, dairy or refined sugar). Recipes and products can differ.
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: New Zealand FOODfiles 2024 — S43 ↗. 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: .