Yes, you can find black bean sauce at any grocery store with a decent Asian-foods aisle. But make it yourself to get something fresh, suited to your taste, without additives.

That was advice from chef Charles Phan of the Slanted Door, a contemporary Vietnamese restaurant in San Francisco. He was featured in "Fire It Up," a demonstration about chili peppers at the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival Saturday.

Phan cooked his chili-loaded sauce and applied it to a perfectly steamed square of monchong. It was amazing.

This is an express version of "By Request," so that’s all I’m going to say. Here’s the recipe. It’s worth the trouble.

BLACK BEAN SAUCE

1 teaspoon EACH Sichuan pepper and chili flakes
1/4 cup preserved black beans (fermented soybeans)
6 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons EACH minced garlic and ginger
2 teaspoons habanero pepper (with seeds)
4 minced Thai chilies (with seeds)
6 tablespoons EACH rice wine and light soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar

Finely grind Sichuan peppers. Add chili flakes and black beans; grind to make a paste.

Heat oil in a small pan over low heat. Stir in paste; simmer 3 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, habanero and Thai chilies; simmer 30 seconds, until chilies soften.

Add rice wine, soy sauce and sugar, stirring constantly about 2 minutes, until bubbling and fragrant. Be careful not to burn. Makes about 1 cup. For steamed fish, use 1 tablespoon over a 4- or 5-ounce fillet. Refrigerate leftovers.

Nutritional information unavailable.