This Chinese Black Pepper Sauce is one of my favorite hacks for preparing stir-fries throughout the week. It only takes 15 minutes to make and you can keep it in your fridge for up to one week. It goes great with meat, fish, vegetables, and rice.
It is the same sauce used in my Black Pepper Fish and Black Pepper Shrimp recipes!
๐ฅ Homemade Vs. Store-bought
In my opinion, homemade black pepper sauce is much better. The black pepper flavor is much more pronounced, it is way less salty, and you can use better-quality ingredients. If you have time, I recommend making your own.
If you do buy your sauce, I recommend Lee Kum Kee's brand of black pepper sauce. It is a bit salty so be careful about adding too much. I usually thin it out with some water or low-sodium chicken stock.
๐ซ How I Use This Sauce
This sauce is the same one I use in my Black Pepper Fish and Black Pepper Shrimp stir-fries. I like to keep this sauce in my fridge and add it to stir-fries throughout the week for easy dinners. It is really easy to incorporate into a stir-fry. You just add it in at the last minute when all the vegetables and meat are almost done cooking.
You can also use it on steak, pork chops, and pan-fried fish; this is how Hong Kong people like to eat it. For this style, I suggest adding some heavy cream, or you can add ketchup and Worcestershire sauce if you like it more sour.
๐ง Ingredients
- Black pepper: As you probably guessed, we will need some black pepper. I highly recommend cracking your own black peppercorns. The taste is much stronger.
- Aromatics: Onion, garlic, and ginger give the sauce tons of flavor. I prefer leaving the onion in small chunks, so you get chunks of onion in each bite. The garlic and ginger should be minced as fine as possible to release more of their flavor.
- Other seasonings: Oyster sauce, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and sugar. I also add chicken stock to thin out the sauce. For the chicken stock, I usually mix chicken bouillon powder with water since it is convenient. I recommend Totole Chicken Flavor Soup Base Mix, which has a small amount of MSG that makes it super tasty.
- Cornstarch: A small amount for thickening.
- Oil: For frying the aromatics.
๐ช Instructions
STEP 1: In a small bowl, mix together the chicken stock, oyster sauce, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, black pepper, sugar, and cornstarch. Set aside.
STEP 2: Heat two tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the onions and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes until they are translucent.
STEP 3: Give the sauce mixture a mix, then stir it into the pan. Once it starts bubbling, turn off the heat and let it sit on the stove for three minutes to let the flavors meld.
At this point, you can use it immediately for stir-fries or drizzle it over steak, pork chops, and chicken. It will last for up to one week in the fridge.
I ate it with chicken schnitzel. As you can tell, the options are endless:
๐ Recipe
Best Chinese Black Pepper Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup chicken stock (or water)
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (or substitute Sherry)
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper (plus more if you like it spicier)
- ยฝ teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic (minced)
- 2 teaspoons ginger (minced)
- 1 small onion (chopped)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the chicken stock, oyster sauce, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, black pepper, sugar, and cornstarch. Set aside.
- Heat two tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the onions and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes until they are translucent.
- Give the sauce mixture a mix, then stir it into the pan. Once it starts bubbling, turn off the heat and let it sit on the stove for three minutes to let the flavors meld. At this point, you can use it immediately for stir-fries or drizzle it over steak, pork chops, and chicken. It will last for up to one week in the fridge.
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