Who doesn’t love some greasy Chinese food? How about Shrimp with black bean sauce? Yum! What I bet you do not love is how you feel afterwards. For me, I am guaranteed to feel like junk. After eating Chinese food, I will have a headache, I will feel bloated and most likely, have a stomach ache to boot. What is even worse, for some reason, I am hungry again in an hour. Does this happen to anyone else?
All of those things aside, I love the taste of black bean sauce, so what did I do? I went on a mission to replicate the taste in a healthy, easy, MSG free way.
I am sharing today my homemade Shrimp and Green Beans in a garlic black bean sauce. You can substitute the shrimp with chicken or beef if you like. If you aren’t jazzed on green beans, you can use any veggie that tickles your fancy from asparagus to broccoli. You can easily turn this into chicken and broccoli.
This recipe is very simple, however, it may require a trip to a local asian market or a quick order from amazon to pick up the star key ingredient, fermented black beans.
This is completely guilt free, simple and delicious! It even got the husband approval.
The only thing to note here is the fermented black beans can be hard to find, but you can order here. Thee are from Hoosier Hill Farms. I know you can find at asian markets but be careful of the source. You want to make sure there are no added chemicals or perservatives.
Also, before making this dish, you must soak the black beans for a few hours. I soak for 3 hours.
Ingredients:
- ½ lb. large shrimp
- 1 tbsp. sesame oil
- 1 tsp. garlic
- 1 tsp. ginger
- 2 tbsp. red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp. onion
- 4 tbsp. fermented black beans (soaked for 3 hours before)
- 1 tsp. shaoxing wine (or sherry wine)
- 1 tbsp. rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp. tamari
- Green Beans
Instructions:
- Combine sauce ingredients (black beans, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic and tamari) and set aside.
- Boil your green beans on the side, I like them to retain a crunch so I only boil for a few minutes.
- Heat wok or any old pan over high heat for 30 seconds
- Add sesame oil and coat the wok.
- Add garlic and shrimp
- When the shrimp begin to curl and turn pink, add the green beans.
- Stir in the sauce.
- Mix to combine all ingredients, about 1 1/2 minutes, until sauce begins to thicken and simmers. Season with salt and pepper.
- Let simmer for about 3 minutes.
- Turn off heat, remove to a heated dish, sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional) and scallion greens and serve!
- Feel free to add more sauce if you would like.
Enjoy!
