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Kuromame
Sweet black soybeans
Kuromame (黒豆): glossy black soybeans slow-simmered in syrup for New Year
No osechi box, the lacquered stack of cold dishes Japanese families share over the first three days of January, is complete without kuromame: plump black soybeans simmered so slowly in syrup that they stay whole, wrinkle-free and shining like jet. The word 'mame' also means hard work and good health, so eating them wishes for a diligent year. They are soft, sweet and gently savoury, with a deep bean flavour. The common mistake is letting the beans touch the air while cooking, which wrinkles their skins; keep them submerged under a drop-lid the whole time and top up with water. Chef's tip: soak the dry beans directly in the hot seasoned syrup overnight rather than in plain water, which seasons them from the inside and keeps the skins smooth.
- Total time
- 250 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
- 5 cups waterplus extra to top up
- 5 ½ oz sugar
- 1 tbsp tamarigluten-free; or soy sauce
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda (optional)optional, helps soften the beans
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Rinse 7 oz dried black soybeans (kuromame) and pick out any broken ones.
Step 2: Bring 5 cups water, 5 ½ oz sugar, 1 tbsp tamari, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda to the boil in a large heavy pot, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Take off the heat, add the beans and leave to soak overnight, 8–12 hours. They will roughly double in size.
5 minStep 3: Bring the pot slowly to a simmer over a medium-low heat. Skim off all the grey foam for the first 10 minutes.
15 minStep 4: Lay a drop-lid or a circle of baking paper directly on the surface, so the beans stay under the liquid.
Step 5: Simmer over the lowest heat, with barely a bubble, for 3½–4 hours, until a bean squashes easily between thumb and finger. Check every 30 minutes and add hot water if the beans start to peek out.
225 minStep 6: Turn off the heat and leave the beans to cool completely in the syrup, overnight if possible, so they absorb it and turn glossy.
Step 7: Serve cold in small dishes with a spoonful of syrup. They keep, covered in syrup, for a week in the fridge.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 170 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 28 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kuromame take?
- About 250 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 240 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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