Luoding Black Bean Sauce

Luoding Black Bean Sauce

Luoding Black Bean Sauce is a protected geographical indication product.

　　Luoding Black Bean Sauce is made from black beans, though soybeans can also be used. The version without extracted soy sauce, retaining the original flavor, is called "original bean sauce" and is considered the finest among black bean sauces. When original bean sauce is seasoned with five-spice powder or soaked with fresh ginger, it becomes "five-spice bean sauce" or "ginger bean sauce," each with its unique characteristics.

　　Luoding Black Bean Sauce is celebrated worldwide for its soft texture, rich aroma, appetizing taste, and high nutritional value. It is widely used as an ingredient in dishes or as a side dish at banquets. Many hotels and restaurants in Guangdong and Guangxi regions serve famous dishes such as Luoding Black Bean Sauce Chicken, Soy Sauce Duck, and Soy Sauce Pork Chops, which are highly popular with customers. Within the county, both in urban and rural areas, black bean sauce is also a common household dish.

　　Traditional Luoding Black Bean Sauce is made from pure black beans, through processes of steaming, fermenting, rinsing, sun-drying, and seasoning. According to some food experts, the secret behind the high quality and delicious taste of Luoding Black Bean Sauce lies in the excellent local water quality, as well as the unique techniques used in fermentation, rinsing, and ingredient mixing.

　　Historical records show that Luoding Black Bean Sauce has been famous for over a hundred years. Its popularity peaked during the Republican era. The product was sold in more than twenty counties and cities across Guangdong and Guangxi, with significant exports as well.

　　After the founding of the People’s Republic, black bean sauce production experienced ups and downs. Starting in the 1980s, production gradually resumed and expanded. In January 1982, the Luoding County Seasoning Food Factory was established, introducing mechanized operations. The flavor of the bean sauce was restored to its historical peak. Multiple inspections by the provincial food quality inspection department confirmed that the quality met national standards. In 1985, the export of original bean sauce resumed. On January 2, 1986, the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee visited Luoding for work. After tasting Luoding Black Bean Sauce, he praised it highly.

　　“Luoding Black Bean Sauce” has long enjoyed a renowned reputation, being highly esteemed as early as the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, becoming one of Luoding’s famous local specialties. It has over 300 years of production history. Luoding Black Bean Sauce uses premium ingredients and is washed and produced with the clear and sweet mineral water of the Longjiang River, formed by mountain streams, giving the product a delicious taste, rich bean aroma, soft texture upon eating, and a smooth mouthfeel with no residue. Because Luoding Black Bean Sauce is softer and more aromatic compared to bean sauces produced elsewhere, dishes made with it—such as “Bean Sauce Chicken,” “Bean Sauce Fish,” “Soy Sauce Spare Ribs,” “Chili Bean Sauce,” and others—are renowned and leave a lasting impression on diners, making them deeply loved by people. Luoding Black Bean Sauce is an excellent condiment for families, hotels, and restaurants. The famous anti-Japanese general Cai Tingkai used to purchase hundreds of pounds of Luoding Black Bean Sauce annually to give as gifts to relatives and friends across the country (excerpted from Volume 4, Page 330 of the Guangdong Commercial and Industrial Historical Materials Compilation). Comrade [Name redacted], the former General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, during his inspection of western Guangdong mountainous areas, tasted “Luoding Black Bean Sauce” at dinner in Luoding County on January 2, 1986, found it fragrant and delicious, and instructed his guards to buy 10 pounds to take back to Beijing (excerpted from the report on the General Secretary’s inspection of Luoding County in western Guangdong). Mr. Feng Qiang and Mr. Joe Robert, correspondents of the Asian edition of the Wall Street Journal based in Hong Kong, after tasting “Luoding Black Bean Sauce,” praised it as truly a rare and excellent condiment. Due to its high quality and delicious taste, Luoding Black Bean Sauce has long enjoyed a prestigious reputation and was widely known both domestically and internationally in the early 1940s, with annual sales reaching over 400,000 dan. In recent years, the Luoding City Seasoning Food Factory has invested heavily in renovating factory facilities, training technical personnel, and consolidating and developing this traditional high-quality bean sauce specialty, further elevating product quality. Currently, the product is exported to the United States, Australia, and countries and regions in Southeast Asia.