• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Recipes
  • Travel
  • About
  • Shop
  • Contact
cook with dana

Cook With Dana

Tofu With Black Bean Sauce

July 22, 2022

Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

eggplant, green beans, tofu sauteed in black bean sauce with white rice to pair

Fried tofu with black bean sauce is one of my favorite vegetarian dishes. The fried tofu is very delicious, but I personally think the eggplant is the star of the show. The eggplant, tofu and green beans are fried in oil before sautéing in the black bean sauce. This makes the vegetables and tofu more fragrant and less mushy when sautéing.

The fermented black beans is the other star of the show as the flavor of the beans bring umami, a little bitterness and saltiness to the dish. The dish goes perfectly with white rice and traditionally served in a clay pot. The fried tofu with black bean sauce is soooo good, you won’t even notice it’s vegetarian.

INGREDIENTS YOU NEED FOR YOUR TOFU WITH BLACK BEAN SAUCE:

Frying:

  • tofu
  • green beans
  • chinese eggplant
  • corn oil (for frying)
  • corn starch

Saute:

  • corn oil
  • small onion
  • garlic cloves
  • fried tofu, green beans, eggplant

Sauce:

  • fermented black beans
  • water
  • salt
  • sugar
  • soy sauce
  • vegetarian oyster sauce
  • corn starch

Want to have a delicious Chinese vegetarian feast?

  • Mapo tofu – super soft tofu with an amazing spicy and fragrant sauce
  • Mushroom one pot rice – delicious mushrooms and bamboo rice cooked in a rice cooker
  • Cabbage stir-fry – cabbage stir-fried with vermicelli and chili oil is a perfect vegetable side dish!
eggplant, green beans, tofu sauteed in black bean sauce with white rice to pair

STEPS TO MAKE THE TOFU WITH BLACK BEAN SAUCE:

  1. Cut the tofu in squares and then cut them in triangles. Trim the ends off of the green beans.
  2. Peel the eggplant skin in stripes. This makes the eggplant less chewy and some of the skin prevents the eggplant from being too mushy. Slice the eggplant diagonally in 2 inch pieces.
  3. Add 1 cup corn starch on the plate. Gently press the eggplant and tofu on the cornstarch. Make sure you get all sides.
  4. Add 2 cups of oil in a large pot. Heat the pot to medium heat. Check if oil is hot enough when you add a chopstick or wooden spoon in the oil and you see bubbles come up. Alternatively, you can wait until oil is at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  5. Fry the tofu for 4-5 minutes or until tofu is golden brown and crispy. Then, fry the eggplant on both sides for 2 minutes. Finally, fry the green beans for 4-5 minutes until they wrinkle. The eggplant, tofu and green beans soak up lots of oil so make sure to dab everything with paper towels.
  6. To make the sauce, you will need 2 tablespoon fermented black beans. Gently wash them with water 1-2 times. In a bowl, mix together fermented black beans, 1 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 2 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce, and 1 teaspoon corn starch. Mix until the corn starch is not clumpy.
  7. Slice onion and mince garlic. Heat pan to medium heat and add 1/2 tablespoon oil. Saute onion and garlic for 2 minutes. Add fried eggplant, green beans and sauce. Cook for 1 minute and add fried tofu. Mix together until sauce has thickened and coated all the ingredients.
  8. This is traditionally cooked or added in a clay pot. You can put it in a clay pot or serve as is with white rice. Hope you enjoy!
tofu with black beans sauce chopstick and spoon
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
No ratings yet

Tofu with Black Bean Sauce

Fried tofu, eggplant and green beans are sautéed with a delicious black bean sauce for a savory bite.
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time45 mins
Course: Main Course
Keyword: fermented black beans, fried tofu, vegetarian

Ingredients

frying:

  • ½ block tofu cut in triangles
  • ½ pack green beans roughly 20
  • 2 chinese eggplant skin half peeled and cut in diagonal slices
  • 2 cup corn oil for frying
  • 1 cup corn starch

saute

  • ½ tablespoon corn oil
  • 1 small onion sliced
  • 9 garlic cloves minced
  • fried tofu, green beans, eggplant

sauce

  • 2 tablespoon fermented black beans
  • 1 cup water
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon sugar
  • 2 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce
  • 1 teaspoon corn starch

Instructions

  • Cut the tofu in squares and then cut them in triangles. Trim the ends off of the green beans.
    ½ pack green beans
  • Peel the eggplant skin in stripes. This makes the eggplant less chewy and some of the skin prevents the eggplant from being too mushy. Slice the eggplant diagonally in 2 inch pieces.
    2 chinese eggplant
  • Add 1 cup corn starch on the plate. Gently press the eggplant and tofu on the cornstarch. Make sure you get all sides.
    1 cup corn starch, 2 chinese eggplant
  • Add 2 cups of oil in a large pot. Heat the pot to medium heat. Check if oil is hot enough when you add a chopstick or wooden spoon in the oil and you see bubbles come up. Alternatively, you can wait until oil is at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
    2 cup corn oil
  • Fry the tofu for 4-5 minutes or until tofu is golden brown and crispy. Fry the eggplant on both sides for 2 minutes. Fry the green beans for 4-5 minutes until they wrinkle. The eggplant, tofu and green beans soak up lots of oil so make sure to dab everything with paper towels to soak up the oil.
    ½ pack green beans, 2 chinese eggplant, 2 cup corn oil
  • To make the sauce, you will need 2 tablespoon fermented black beans. Gently wash them with water 1-2 times. In a bowl, mix together fermented black beans, 1 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 2 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce, and 1 teaspoon corn starch. Mix until the corn starch is not clumpy.
    2 tablespoon fermented black beans, 1 cup water, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon sugar, 2 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon corn starch
  • Slice onion and mince garlic. Heat pan to medium heat and add 1/2 tablespoon oil. Saute onion and garlic for 2 minutes. Add fried eggplant, green beans and sauce. Cook for 1 minute and add fried tofu. Mix together until sauce has thickened and coated all the ingredients.
    ½ tablespoon corn oil, 1 small onion, 9 garlic cloves, fried tofu, green beans, eggplant
  • This is traditionally cooked or added in a clay pot. You can put it in a clay pot or serve as is with white rice. Hope you enjoy!

Video

@cookwithdana

Fried tofu clay pot (without the clay pot) 😅 one of my favorite dishes to order at a Chinese restaurant! #easyrecipe #chinesefood #vegetarian #asmr #tofu

♬ original sound – cookwithdana

Did you make this recipe? 💖

Please give it a 5-star rating or leave a comment below to share your experience! Tag @cookwithdanaa on instagram to show me your beautiful creations😊


Cook With Dana is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. When you purchase something through my amazon affiliate links, I earn a small commission that helps me produce more cooking content at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Cook With Dana!

in Recipes, Main Dishes # black bean, eggplant, tofu, vegetarian

Reader Interactions

you may also like
Soy Cured Egg Yolks
Easy Dan Dan Noodles
Easy Ox Bone Soup (Seolleongtang)
Turnip Cake (Loh Bak Go)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

About Me

Hi there, I'm Dana and I create Asian recipes that are yummy and easy for everyone to make! I hope my food reminds you of a little taste of home.

Sign up & never miss a recipe from cook with dana!

Popular Recipes

Featured

soy cured egg yolks rice, green onions, seaweed

Soy Cured Egg Yolks

white long noodles with sliced cucumber, minced pork and peanuts on top. mix with sesame and chili sauce for fragrant noodles

Easy Dan Dan Noodles

Latest ‘Grams

You gotta do a mushroom dance after a bite☺️🍄 We are making a one pot mushroom rice for our recipes series where we cook delicious food using one pot only (and using as little amount of dishes as possible).

for full recipe - google ‘mushroom rice dana’ or click the photo in my link in bio! 🍄🍚

This is an old recipe/video but it’s one of my favorites mainly because of the texture of this dish. I love the chewy and soft mushrooms with the crispness of the bamboo…chef’s kiss!! Don’t even get me started on the fresh basil garnish…It provides SO MUCH FLAVOR! 

Follow @cookwithdanaa & join the ‘i hate dishes’ club! Don’t miss out on episode 3 coming out next week!
——
#vegetarian #easyrecipes #onepotmeal #ihatedishesclub #mushrooms #asianfood #rice
Come join the ‘i hate dishes’ club! Welcome to Come join the ‘i hate dishes’ club! Welcome to episode 1 of my recipes series where we cook delicious food using one pot only and using as little amount of dishes as possible. This is an easy one pot Chinese chicken and rice dish made in a rice cooker!

Stay tuned and follow @cookwithdanaa for more one pot meals!

I marinated the chicken with this spicy bake mix that’s made of ginger powder, white pepper and a little magic powder of course. MAKES THE RICE SOO GOOOD.

full recipe - [https://cookwithdana.com/one-pot-chinese-chicken-rice/] or click the photo in my link in bio! 🍚
——
#onepotmeal #chickenrecipes #rice #deliciousfood #easyrecipes #ricecooker
authentic chinese food that’s not what you see o authentic chinese food that’s not what you see on mainstream media; i wouldn’t say it’s aesthetic, but i can guarentee you that it’s super delicious, homey and healthy! i would say this is a pretty standard cantonese diet for our family! 😜

  what i ate: 
 - breakfast/lunch: pork and chive dumplings, bok choy, rice noodles with tomato soup
 - snack: chicken nuggets (naturally bare from costco!) with chick fil a sauce & grapes
 - dinner: chinese soup, stuffed jalapenos, spareribs, tomato and egg (leftovers from night before), asparagus, bok choy, and hot white rice
 - dessert: oreo and cookie dough ice cream
——
#whatieatinaday #chinesefood #delicious #vlog #asianfood
When I was little, I would take these family cooki When I was little, I would take these family cooking events for granted. Now that I’m an adult, I keep reminiscing on the times that we would get the family together to wrap dumplings.

 🥟 pork and shrimp wonton recipe on the blog (link in bio or google ‘pork and shrimp wontons dana’)
❤️ best potstickers recipe is in our family cookbook (cookwithdana.com/shop or link in bio to purchase)

I know I’m not the best wrapper lol don’t make fun of me pls. 🤓

Cooking Tip: If you make some modifications to the filling, you can make wontons and potstickers all at once. Although, you will need different types of wrappers: thin egg wrappers for wontons and thick ones for potstickers. There is also a difference in cooking methods as wontons are usually boiled while potstickers are pan-fried for a crispy exterior. 
—
#dumplings #potstickers #chinesefood #wontons #dintaifung #asianfood #deliciousfood
The easiest way to achieve flavor town is to add a The easiest way to achieve flavor town is to add a soy cured egg to your rice, noodles or any carb you wish (porridge and toast too!). The raw egg yolks are marinated in soy sauce, mirin & other goodies (bonito, kombu, garlic and onions) for a few hours or overnight. The textures and flavors vary depending on how long you marinate them for. I preferred marinating the eggs overnight (24 hours) to achieve a jammy and umami flavored egg yolk!

See my blog post (link in bio) to see detailed instructions and tips to make the perfect soy cured egg or google ‘soy eggs dana’ for the recipe!
——
#eggs #japanesefood #marinated #rice #asianfood #cookingvideos #deliciousfood
I love adding this teriyaki glaze on everything! E I love adding this teriyaki glaze on everything! Especially on my katsu and donburi (rice) bowls . The teriyaki tastes slightly sweet, savory, and reminds me of donburi bowls in Japan! To get this authentic taste, I cook @mizkanflavors Mirin Sweet Cooking Seasoning, soy sauce, sugar and sake together. Adding extra slices of ginger helps with the gaminess of pork and balances the sweetness of the teriyaki glaze. The sauce is very versatile and can be used on many Japanese traditional dishes such as pork katsu, fish, chicken or steamed vegetables.

One of my favorite donburi is pork katsu! So, I created a tasty recipe that did not require oil frying. This air-fryer recipe comes very close to the fried version and tastes not as heavy. The exterior is crispy and fragrant! The best part is that I eat it with scrambled eggs, fresh rice and teriyaki. Hope you get to try out this delicious recipe!

Servings:  2 people
Ingredients- 

Air-Fryer Pork Katsu:
- 2 pork cutlets (boneless, ½-pound each)
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 egg, beaten
- ¼ cup panko bread crumbs
- ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil (vegetable or canola)

Teriyaki Glaze:
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup Mizkan® Mirin Sweet Cooking Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 4 slices ginger, ¼ inch thick each approximately x-inch thick
- 1 tablespoon sake

Directions continued in the comments 👇🏻
——
#ad #Mizkan #FlavorofJapan #asianfood #japanesefood #delicious #easymeals
2021 © Cook With Dana
made by soulmuse