Garlic and fermented black bean paste

Ingredientsserves 4

Equipment

• A small pan
• A glass jar, scalded and dried

How the time splits

1. 10 minRinse the beans, mince the garlichands on
2. 8 minAt the pan, on lowhands on
3. 1 hrCooled right down before it goes in the jarhands off

Method

1. Rinse the surface salt off the beans, drain them and pat them dry.
2. Dry-fry the beans in the pan on low for a minute or two, until you can smell them toasting.
3. Add half the oil and fry another two or three minutes.
4. Add the garlic, salt, sugar and the rest of the oil, and stir on low until the garlic smells fragrant and has only just turned golden — about a minute — then take it off the heat. Garlic turns bitter the moment it darkens, and this minute is the whole jar.
5. For a hot jar, stir the chilli in now and let the residual heat do it.
6. Cool it completely — completely — before it goes into the jar. The oil should sit over the beans. Keep it in the fridge, use a clean dry spoon, and it lasts about a month.

Take care

• Soy (the beans); some brands of 豆豉 contain wheat, so check the packet. It must be completely cold before it goes in the jar, and only a clean dry spoon should go into it — otherwise it spoils inside a week.

The story

The engine of the steaming wall: the layer under the spare ribs, the spoonful over the fish head. A Hong Kong kitchen makes a panful in five minutes; a kitchen that has moved buys the bottle. It is the smallest jar on this wall and the one with the most pages waiting for it — the site already has 豉汁蒸排骨, 豉椒炒蜆, 豆豉鯪魚炒油麥菜 and 蒸釀豆腐, and all four want it. Twenty minutes and a small pan, and a month of dinners has its base.

Same kind

Home-preserved mustard greensXO sauce, the conpoy and ham chilli relishHouse chilli oil, the noodle-shop jar

Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.