Sharwoods Black Bean Stir Fry

I've been enjoying chinese black bean sauce with various meats in Chinatown restaurants for many years - and have more recently been making up my own.

This sauce does not contain the main ingredient, fermented black beans! The ordinary black beans we buy in the supermarket are little more than common beans you find in your baked bean tins.

Fermented beans are strong, salty, and add plenty of deep flavours (Umami, to put it in posh-speak!).

I just feel stupid not to have read the ingredients on the side of the bottle; and then also not to believed the labelling..

This sauce is bland rubbish. But then, given its made largely from water, that's not surprising. Don't buy this product.

Sharwoods Black Bean Stir Fry - Bland, bitter-tasting, I added soy sauce, vinegar, chillis and sugar but still tasted nasty.

I would not reccomend this product to anyone.