Julian Vrieslander > wrote in
news:julianvREMOVE_THIS_PART-
:

> The sauce had a complex flavor, just the right amount of heat, and an
> unusual consistency. In all of the recipes for black bean sauce that I
> have seen, corn starch is used as the thickener. But Hing Loon's sauce
> was more viscous - it was stickier, stretching into tendrils, more like
> the effect you get with gumbo file or okra. Does anyone know how they
> get this texture?
>
> Maybe I should have asked, but I am always a bit shy about asking a
> restaurant to divulge their secrets (and most of the time they don't).
>
>

Perhaps the sauce was made like in the recipe below? In the pan with the
food stuffs, not added from a bottle. I'm not saying the bean sauce below
would taste like what you ate but possibly it was made in a similar method.

Beef and Peppers in Black Bean Sauce

A Cantonese recipe

Ingredients:

4 ounces Sirloin beef sliced thin or thick steaks
3 green peppers (or red and green peppers as desired)
1/2 small onion
2 sticks of celery
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon MSG (if desired)
1 teaspoon Chinese salted black beans
2 cloves garlic
3 slices ginger
1/2 cup stock or hot water
2 tablespoons oil for cooking

Marinade:
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons oil

Directions:
Place the beef in a bowl, and stir in the marinade ingredients. Marinate
beef for approximately thirty minutes.
While beef is marinating, prepare the vegetables. Cut peppers, onion, and
celery into 1/2 inch pieces. Mix the garlic cloves and ginger with the
black beans and chop finely.
Heat wok and add 2 tablespoons oil. When oil is ready, add 1/2 of the
black bean, garlic, and ginger mixture. Mix and add the beef. Stir-fry
until the beef is approximately 60 - 65 percent cooked. Remove the beef and
set aside.
Add the rest of the bean mixture, onions and celery. Stir-fry for 3 - 4
minutes and add the peppers. Stir-fry for a couple of minutes longer and
add 1/2 cup of stock or hot water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for a
couple of minutes. Add MSG if desired.
Mix, taste, and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Add the beef. Mix and
serve immediately.

--
Once during Prohibition I was forced to live for days on nothing but food
and water.
--------
FIELDS, W. C.