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Savoy Cabbage & Fermented Black Bean Pasta with roasted sweet potatoes and hazelnuts.
This Fermented Black Bean Pasta recipe is an absolute umami bomb! It’s full of incredible textures and flavors: salty little fermented beans, earthy cabbage, slightly caramelized sweet potato cubes, crunchy hazelnuts, creamy tahini dressing, and perfectly al dente pasta. It’s a great recipe for weeknights when you want something exciting without a lots of work in the kitchen.
This recipe is so simple to make, yet it tastes really outstanding and special. The combination of the ingredients is probably my favorite of all time.
Fermented Black Bean Pasta is packed with seasonal veggies and flavors, but it’s also very customizable, so feel free to play around with different ingredients here. Serve this pasta fresh and warm for a quick dinner, or the next day chilled as a pasta salad. It’s good both ways!
Cabbage & Fermented Black Bean Pasta is….
- The ultimate umami bomb
- Savory and hearty
- Extremely flavorful
- Satisfying
- Full of surprising ingredients
- Packed with veggies
- Vegan and vegetarian
- Optionally gluten-free
- Customizable
- Easy to make
- Delicious both cold and warm
What are Fermented Black Beans?
Fermented black beans, or Douchi (豆豉), are black soybeans fermented with salt. These little beans are a popular Chinese ingredient, mostly used for making black bean sauce for various savory dishes.
They taste salty and umami-rich, and are soft and dry in texture. You can use them dry, or you can soak them a little first.
You can buy fermented black beans in most Asian supermarkets, larger health stores, or online. They will last a very long time, so don’t hesitate to buy a larger bag.
How to make Fermented Black Bean Pasta
This recipe is very easy to make, and most steps can be done at the same time.
You start by roasting some sweet potato cubes. I drizzle mine with oil and soy sauce, but your can get more creative with the seasoning here, if you like.
While sweet potato is in the oven, you cook your pasta.
And while pasta is cooking, you can prepare the rest of this dish.
For the sauce whisk together the soaking water of the fermented black beans, tahini, lemon juice, maple syrup, and some chili flakes. You can also add extra olive oil, more tahini, or garlic and onion powder, depending on what you like.
Now melt some vegan butter (or olive oil, or canola oil), and fry your cabbage and garlic. Then add the rest of the ingredients, mix everything to combine, and serve immediately.
If serving it the next day, and the pasta seems a little dry, add a bit of extra tahini, a drizzle of lemon juice, or olive oil to it. Or simply double the sauce by default to make sure the pasta stays nice and juicy.
CUSTOMIZE IT THE WAY YOU LIKE IT!
This recipe is extremely adaptable based on what you like or have at home, so feel free to experiment with it!
- Flavor your sweet potato cubes with extra chili, green herbs, garlic, turmeric, or cinnamon. Or use something completely different instead of sweet potatoes. Beetroot, butternut squash, or any of your favorite winter squash will work well here.
- Play around with the shape of your pasta. Also, try using legume based pasta for extra protein.
- You can make this dish completely oil-free, if you prefer. Simply omit oil when roasting the sweet potato cubes, and fry the cabbage dry in a good non-stick skillet, without any oil.
- Adjust the ratio of ingredients to your liking. Use more fermented black beans, less lemon juice, or whatever you fancy.
- Instead of tahini, try peanut butter or cashew butter.
- If savoy cabbage is hard to find where you live, use white cabbage or kale instead.
- Chopped hazelnut has a lovely earthy flavor that goes well with this dish. But walnuts, sunflower seeds, almonds, or macadamia are tasty toppings here as well.
More awesome pasta recipes to try:
- Vegan Lemon Miso Pasta
- Sauerkraut Pasta w/ Smoked Tofu
- Hummus Pasta w/ Asparagus
- Vegan Baked Feta Pasta
- Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta w/ Roasted Zucchini
- Hungarian Potato Pasta
- Pasta w/ Kidney Bean Sauce
- Vegan Penne alla Vodka
Savoy Cabbage & Fermented Black Bean Pasta
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 10 oz/300 g sweet potatoes, diced
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 2 tsp soy sauce (or tamari for GF)
- 7 oz/200 g pasta of your choice, use GF if needed
- 6 tbsp/50 g fermented black beans, soaked
- 1.5 tbsp tahini
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes
- 1.5 tbsp vegan butter
- 3–4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2.5 oz/75 g savoy cabbage, thinly sliced
- 4 tbsp chopped hazelnuts, toasted
- salt, pepper
Instructions
- Place sweet potatoes on a baking tray. Drizzle with canola oil and soy sauce, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 350°F/180°C for 20-30 minutes, or until golden and crispy.
- Meanwhile prepare pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
- Drain fermented black beans, reserving 3-4 tablespoons of the soaking water.
- In a small bowl whisk together reserved soaking water, tahini, lemon juice, maple syrup, and chili flakes.
- In a large pan melt vegan butter. Add garlic and savoy cabbage, and fry for 5-8 minutes, over medium high heat, until cabbage is tender, but still crisp and vibrant green. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
- Add baked sweet potato cubes, pasta, the sauce, and fermented black beans to savoy cabbage, and toss to mix well. Season with salt and pepper, if needed.
- Serve pasta immediately topped with hazelnuts and extra chili flakes. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
Love fermented black beans! Nice that you have used it in the pasta…very different from what we did with fermented black beans.
I’m also totally obsessed with them, I put them in so many random dishes 😅
I made this using blanched green cabbage leftover from making cabbage rolls and it was amazing! I also didn’t have rice wine or sherry so I substituted rice vinegar with a dash of sugar. Absolutely delicious!
I’m glad you liked this, Kenny 🙂
It sounds delicious, and a very unusual combination too, but one I would like to try.
I hope you will try it, Anca 😉
The brilliant colours and flavours make it so tempting…its a beautiful dish
Thank you 🙂
I’ve never heard of fermented black beans- interesting. I am a fan of pasta and this recipe looks delicious
Thanks, Judee! You should try fermented black beans, they taste incredible 🙂
I have tried this and it was easy to make! The saltiness of the fermented black beans and the sweetness of the sweet potato balances out the dish well. I have always loved fried cabbage with pasta (Hungarian dish my mom used to make). Now I have realised how much I have missed it! Great recipe and blog as well!
I’m so glad you liked the recipe 🙂