CHINESE BLACK BEAN SAUCE R. Murata

5 oz. dried black Chinese beans
2 oz. garlic, minced
3 oz. fresh ginger root, minced
1 TBSP. vegetable oil
½ cup soy sauce (shoyu) us a low sodium one if available
½ cup sugar
½ cup Oriental oyster sauce
1 16 oz. dried crushed red pepper flakes
16 oz. clam juice
1/4 cup cornstarch
8 oz. Patis (oriental fish sauce) or another 8 oz. of clam juice
1 cup chopped green onions

You will need a scale for this recipe. I have never bothered to convert all the ingredients to volume. This is wonderful when stir frying any seafood or poultry or pork item. It freezes well. Make ½ cup servings, freeze in paper cups, remove from cups and wrap with Saran wrap and return to freezer.

Cover the black beans with hot water and soak for about ½ hour. Drain well. Combine the beans with the garlic and ginger in a bowl and mash together until well blended. You might want to use a big mortar and pestle for this. Heat the oil in a large saute pan and then add the black bean/garlic/ginger mixture. Saute this mixture until well heated. Add the shoyu, sugar, oyster sauce, red chili pepper, and the clam juice. Mix well to blend. Combine the remaining 8 oz. of clam juice (or the Patis if using it) with the cornstarch. Mix until smooth. Add this cornstarch mixture to the black bean mixture a little at time, stirring constantly. Cook until the sauce begins to thicken. Remove from the heat and add in the green onions.