Asparagus and Tofu With Black Bean Sauce

Name: Asparagus and Tofu With Black Bean Sauce
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1/4 cup fermented black soy beans (see Tip); 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry; 1 garlic clove, finely chopped; 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (to your liking); 1 teaspoon soy sauce; 1 teaspoon sugar; 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil; 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil; 1 pound asparagus, woody ends removed, stalks cut into 2-inch pieces; Salt and pepper; 2 (7- to 8-ounce) packages baked tofu, sliced into 2-inch-long pieces; Toasted white sesame seeds, for serving; 2 scallions, thinly sliced; Cooked rice, to serve

By Hetty Lui McKinnon

Published June 13, 2025

Asparagus and Tofu With Black Bean Sauce — Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Brett Regot.

Total Time: 20 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Rating: 4(52)
Comments: Read comments

While asparagus shines with light spring-like flavors, it also carries bigger and bolder seasonings extremely well. Here, tender asparagus is quickly seared to unlock its juiciness and then tossed with a salty, spicy and funky Chinese black bean sauce. Known as dou si (Cantonese) or dou chi (Mandarin), fermented black soy beans are made by inoculating cooked black soy beans with a mold similar to koji (which is used to make miso paste), followed by salting and drying them. While they look like wrinkled and shriveled watermelon seeds, they are intensely savory, with multidimensional umami that also hints at sweetness and bitterness. While store-bought black bean sauce is an easy convenience, making your own at home using fermented black beans allows more control over salt and spice levels (see Tip). This sauce will quickly become a weeknight workhorse, a quick way to inject a savory kick to vegetable or meat stir-fries, stews like mapo tofu and even salad dressings.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

¼cup fermented black soy beans (see Tip)
1tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
1garlic clove, finely chopped
¼ to ½teaspoon crushed red pepper (to your liking)
1teaspoon soy sauce
1teaspoon sugar
2tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1pound asparagus, woody ends removed, stalks cut into 2-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
2(7- to 8-ounce) packages baked tofu, sliced into 2-inch-long pieces
Toasted white sesame seeds, for serving
2scallions, thinly sliced
Cooked rice, to serve

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Place the black soy beans into a colander and give them a quick rinse. Transfer them to a small bowl and, using the back of a fork, mash them into a rough, chunky paste. Add the Shaoxing wine, garlic, red pepper, soy sauce and sugar; stir to combine.
Step 2
Heat a large skillet over medium-high for 2 minutes. Drizzle with canola oil and add the sesame oil and asparagus. Season lightly with salt and pepper and toss until the asparagus are bright green and crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 3
Add the black bean sauce and tofu and toss until the tofu is warmed through and it smells highly fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed.
Step 4
Transfer to a plate and top with sesame seeds and scallions. Serve with rice.

Tip

Chinese fermented black soy beans look like wrinkled and shriveled watermelon seeds and are sold at Chinese grocery stores or online. They are shelf stable and will last for many years stored in a sealed, airtight jar. To use a store-bought Chinese black bean sauce (often sold as Chinese black bean garlic sauce) instead, skip step 1 and add 2 to 3 tablespoons of the sauce to make this recipe — taste it and add accordingly as commercial sauces will vary in saltiness.

Ratings

4 out of 5

52 user ratings

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Comments

SD5 days ago

So incredibly delicious! I desperately wanted to make this so subbed in the veggies I had on hand. Used red peppers, zucchini, mushrooms and green beans. And I baked the tofu myself. Will definitely be making this again and again to level up from a basic stirfry.

Rosie5 days ago

To the point about mashing the beans: this worked fine for me. They got slightly rehydrated in the rinse in the colander, plus I continued to mash a bit after adding the liquid ingredients to incorporate everything. Great sauce and nice adaptable recipe, very quick and easy. I doubled the sauce, as I had fresh noodles to use up; wanted to serve them with this and have enough sauce for them. It's definitely more of a rice recipe, per the instructions! To adapt for noodles you'd really want more liquid. Nevertheless, even if serving with rice I think I would double the sauce again. I used plain tofu and fried it first - the baked tofu I've seen in stores is seasoned and I wasn't sure what kind would work. Had no asparagus, was great with frozen green beans. I see myself subbing in some of the cabbage I've been getting in my csa box, too (regular green cabbage would work better than softer ones like napa/savoy, I think.)

Laura Hanahan6 days ago

Can you buy baked tofu? Or is it better to just bake your own?

msgg14 hours ago

This is simple and delightful! Used Kristina Felix’s Baked Tofu recipe. Very happy NYT lets you create recipe folders, as this will go into the one labeled “Keep.”

Martha3 days ago

Question: As I was shopping for the fermented black beans, I noticed “salted” black beans. Is salted the same as fermented?

Spidee4 days ago

Can anyone recommend a good brand of Chinese fermented black soy beans?

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