Hong Kong Black Pepper Sauce 港式黑椒汁

Hong Kong Black Pepper Sauce 港式黑椒汁 is a classic Hong Kong café steak sauce.  It usually goes with beef but as more people avoid red meat, chicken with black pepper sauce is also very popular.  In the 1950’s, steak on a hot cast iron plate was introduced in Hong Kong.  As the sauce goes onto the steak, the sizzling sounds and the gush of aromatic smoke and steam is not only entertaining and delicious but a natural decongestant!  It’s the sizzling hot plate that catapulted the popularity of this iconic sauce.

It’s likely that this sauce was inspired by the French Steak au Poivre. In Steak au Poivre, there's a pepper crust with a Brandy-infused cream sauce.  But the Hong Kong version definitely has a colonial Hong Kong twist with added ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and Maggie sauce.    The sauce is thick, with bits of garlic, shallots and coarsely ground black peppercorns.  It’s earthy, spicy and tangy which is perfect with red meats.  I think when I make Hong Kong Black Pepper Sauce 港式黑椒汁 again, I’ll try adding some brandy! Just to bring it up a notch!

In my Hong Kong Black Pepper Sauce 港式黑椒汁, I’ll show you how to make this classic sauce to put on your steaks, stir-fries and pasta.  If you have leftover steak and sauce, slice the steak into strips and stir-fry it together with some spaghetti. You’ll get another Hong Kong classic noodle dish.  I also add a little bit of Chinese barbeque sauce (sha cha sauce) in my recipe to give it a bit more depth.  In the photo, I used the sauce on rib eye steak with a side of sautéed mushrooms and a garlic bread panzanella salad with an apple and soy dressing.  It was a very good meal!

You can try using this sauce for your next barbeque too.  Maybe a Hong Kong style barbeque with fish balls, wieners and chicken wings on skewers. You can also use this sauce with my Taiwan Night Market Steak 台灣夜市牛排 recipe.

Hong Kong Black Pepper Sauce 港式黑椒汁

I used this sauce on rib eye steak. You can use it on any meat and stir-fries. Serve with pasta or rice.

You can also use it with stir-fried beef flat rice noodles.

Approximate cost (CAD) $3

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine Chinese, Hong Kong

Servings 4 Servings

Calories 106 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 4 cloves Garlic , minced
• 1 Large shallot , minced
• 80 g Red onion , minced (approx. ¼ of a medium-sized onion)
• 2 tsp Course black pepper
• 1 tsp Chinese barbeque sauce aka sha cha sauce (optional)
• 1 tsp Maggie sauce (optional)
• 2 tsp Ketchup (optional)
• 2 tsp Light soy sauce
• 1 tsp Dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp Sugar
• ½ tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 c Water
• 1 tbsp Cornstarch
• 1 tbsp Water
• 2 tbsp Oil

Instructions

 

• Mince garlic, shallot and red onion. Set aside
• Add 2 tbsp oil into a frying pan using medium heat
• Add minced shallot, garlic and red onions. Fry until soft and aromatic
• Make a well in the centre of the pan and add 2 tsp course black pepper and 1 tsp Chinese barbeque sauce
  
• Stir-fry for one minute and add 1 tsp sugar, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp Maggie Sauce, 2 tsp ketchup, 2 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp dark soy sauce and 1 cup water. Mix well and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes on low heat
  
• Prepare slurry with 1 tbsp cornstarch and 1 tbsp water. Mix well and pour into the sauce. Stir until thickened You may also use a roux instead of cornstarch slurry
• Add 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• Taste test. Add sugar, salt, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce to adjust taste and colour, if needed.
• Ready to use
  

Nutrition

Calories: 106kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 1gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 692mgPotassium: 112mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 20IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 22mgIron: 1mg

Keyword Black Pepper, Garlic, Hong Kong Cafe, Onions, Shallot, Steak

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