TASK DEFINITION: Given the background description of some cooking related query, summarize the question into a title
PROBLEM: It seems to be a popular ingredient in Asian (esp. Chinese?) food. I encountered them on pork spareribs, and some side dishes. Apparently it turns everything completely black when it is added.I can rule out soy sauce (which is too salty and tastes entirely different) and I realise that this question is rather vague. What additional information could I provide?Edit: I can rule out oyster sauce. I asked in a restaurant what the black stuff was, but either she didn't understand me or she didn't want to (all she told me was that it contained salt). Finally she said she made it herself. Anyway, I bought Hoisin sauce:and I think it's as close as it gets (perhaps the restaurant uses a slightly different version of the one I bought, as mine is a bit saltier and a bit less sweet).Update: I finally discovered the exact sauce I was looking for. It turned out to be Black Bean Garlic Sauce.

SOLUTION: What is the black, slightly sweet, flavour in some Asian food?

PROBLEM: I use a simple fried chicken recipe: wash chicken (I use thighs), dredge in seasoned flour, dip in egg with a bit of milk, re-dredge in flour, shake and fry. The dish comes out great on the day I cook it, but loses its crunch the next day when I want to take it as part of a picnic lunch.Is there a way to avoid the limp-crusted fried chicken on day 2?P.S. I remove skin and all visible fat, and I drain on paper towels both top and bottom sides.

SOLUTION: Crispy fried chicken goes limp: picnic disaster

PROBLEM: I am often making a basic leavened bread for some basic recipes, like naan, burek, focaccia, pizza, etc. However, I find that dry active yeast is prohibitively expensive, considering it is a self-replicating living organism. Is there a way to effectively create and store yeast for a reasonable period of time (~3 months) from a mother spore?

SOLUTION:
How can I cultivate and store yeast?