Beef in black bean sauce is the quiet achiever of the Chinese takeaway menu. It's deeply savoury, a little garlicky, and the fermented black beans give it that unmistakable umami hit you can't get from anything else.
The key to tender beef is velveting — a quick marinade with bicarb soda and cornflour that keeps even budget cuts silky. Fermented black beans are cheap and keep for ages in the pantry, though black bean sauce from a jar works in a pinch.
Once your ingredients are prepped, the whole thing cooks in under ten minutes, making it a genuinely realistic weeknight dinner.
