Help with Black Bean Paste, please

(Nancree) said:

I have an eggplant recipe that calls for "Back Bean PASTE".
All I could find at a local Ralph's (which to be fair, had
about 7 feet of Asian products, 5 shelves high)--but all I
could find was "Black Bean SAUCE" and "Black Bean Garlic
Sauce" . Any opinions on this--Are either of the "sauce"
products equal to the "paste" ?

What are the ingredients?

These probably have sugar and oil in them (and garlic in the
one). They are less intense than a true paste of just
fermented soybeans and salt but should work OK for the dish
(maybe even better).

Black bean sauce is usually for Korean dishes - mostly
noodles.

-sw

Nancree said:

I have an eggplant recipe that calls for "Back Bean
PASTE". All I could find at a local Ralph's (which to
be fair, had about 7 feet of Asian products, 5 shelves
high)--but all I could find was "Black Bean SAUCE" and
"Black Bean Garlic Sauce" . Any opinions on this--Are
either of the "sauce" products equal to the "paste" ?
TIA--------------Nancree

Not really. You would be better off to go to the Asian
shop/grocer and get the real salted black beans. The
supermarket sauces have too many other additives in them and
just don't taste good. The salted/fermented black beans keep
for ages in the fridge or freezer. Take out what you need
and rinse them briefly; although often I don't rinse them at
all. Mash them to a paste and go on with your recipe.

Arri London said:

Nancree said:

I have an eggplant recipe that calls for "Back Bean
PASTE". All I could find at a local Ralph's (which to
be fair, had about 7 feet of Asian products, 5 shelves
high)--but all I could find was "Black Bean SAUCE" and
"Black Bean Garlic Sauce" . Any opinions on this--Are
either of the "sauce" products equal to the "paste" ?
TIA--------------Nancree

Nan... if you haven't found black beans or black bean paste
by now, just decide which sauce would work better for you in
the recipe: garlic or no garlic?

Whenever I've used recipes that call for a black bean paste,
it usually ends up as a sauce anyway, so don't stress. It's
just mashed up fermented beans.

;-)

Practice safe eating - always use condiments

Steve Wertz said:

Black bean sauce is usually for Korean dishes -
mostly noodles.

Gotta correct myself here. Some sauces are made
specifically for the Korean dishes. The LKK brands of Bean
Sauce and Bean+Garlic sauce are certainly Chinese. These
are lumpy sauces, whereas the Korean version is runnier and
has less chunks.

-sw