Black Pepper Sauce – For Multiple Purposes

Black pepper sauce (黑胡椒汁) is one of my favorite sauces. It goes well with steak, stir-fries, chicken wings, or paste. It has been one of the most popular sauces in Chinese cuisine. I will share my way of making an aromatic, authentic black pepper sauce. Then, following this recipe, I will share many fabulous recipes using this sauce.

What’s Black Pepper Sauce

The sauce contains essential aromatics, including onion and garlic, and many basic seasonings like light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sometimes oyster sauce thickened with starch.

However, the version and ratios might be slightly different based on areas.

Black pepper sauce tastes best when hot and can be used on many dishes. The best match for it is black pepper beef stir fry, which is widely loved in Chinese restaurants. Other popular options include black pepper shrimp, black pepper chicken, black pepper tofu, and chicken wings.

How to make black pepper sauce

Making black pepper sauce at home is easy and simple. The whole process includes preparing the minced ingredients and then frying the aromatics. At least pour in black pepper and starch water to give it a thick texture.

Ingredients

1 cup beef broth or water
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 onion, minced
2 tbsp. light soy sauce + 1 tsp dark soy sauce
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tbsps. Cornstarch + 2 tbsps. water
2 tbsp. vegetable cooking oil or butter
1/2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp. freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients Notes

1. Mixing light soy sauce with a small amount of dark soy sauce can give your black pepper sauce a super dark and appealing color.
2. You can try using butter for some of the stew or stir-frying recipes. But if you plan to pour it over, I recommend still using vegetable cooking oil.
3. Do remember to stir the water starch before using so there is no bottom sinked starch.

Step by Step Instructions

• Mince red onion and garlic. Try to cut them into similar pieces.
• Add oil and fry garlic and red onion until slightly soft and aromatic.
• Pour in ground black peppercorn, light and dark soy sauce, sugar, and salt. If you don’t have beef stock or water by hand, add it.

• Mix cornstarch with water. Stir well. Then, slow down the fire and pour the starch water in.
• Simmer for another minute until the sauce is thickened and the aromatics and seasoning flavors combine well.

How to store the sauce

If you made a larger batch, you could store it in the fridge for one week.

My favorite way is to pour it over steak or short ribs.

Homemade Black Pepper Sauce

Homemade Black pepper Sauce. You can use it as a sauce for steak or in classic Chinese stir fry.

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Ingredients

• 1 cup beef broth or water
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 1/4 onion minced
• 2 tbsp. light soy sauce + 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 2 tbsps. Cornstarch + 2 tbsps. water
• 2 tbsp. vegetable cooking oil or butter
• 1/2 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp. freshly ground black pepper or you can reduce to 3/4 tbsp. for a milder taste

Instructions

• Mince red onion and garlic. Try to cut them into similar pieces.
• Add oil and fry garlic and red onion until slightly soft and aromatic.
• Pour in ground black peppercorn, oyster sauce, light and dark soy sauce, sugar, and salt. If you don’t have beef stock or water by hand, add it.
• Mix cornstarch with water. Stir well. Then, slow down the fire and pour the starch water in.
• Simmer for another minute until the sauce is thickened and the aromatics and seasoning flavors combine well.