I’ve made a lot of things from scratch — pasta, cookies, cakes, pita bread, biscuits, marmalade and preserved lemons.

But one thing I often do NOT make myself is Chinese black bean sauce. Yes, I admit I do use the stuff in the jar.

I make no excuses for using the heady, handy, pungent condiment that’s always at the ready in my fridge. After all, it’s so easy to grab a tablespoon or full when I’m making a fast weeknight dish, such as “Stir-Fried Brussels Sprouts and Pork in Black Bean Sauce.”

When the lovely Bee at the wildly popular Rasa Malaysia blog invited me to do a guest stint, I thought I’d take the opportunity to share this dish that I came up with on a whim one day after coming back from the farmers’ market with arms laden with lovely little winter Brussels sprouts. Enjoy my post and recipe here.

More: Chinese-Style Brussels Sprouts with Hosin Glaze