Pon ye gyi

Step 1: Drain the soaked 1 ⅛ lb dried soybeans, cover with fresh 3 litres water in a large pot and simmer over a medium-low heat for 2½–3 hours (or 45 minutes in a pressure cooker) until they crush easily between finger and thumb.

Step 2: Drain the beans, keeping 1 litre of the cooking liquid in the fridge. Spread the hot beans 3 cm deep in a cloth-lined basket or tray and cover with another cloth.

Step 3: Keep at 35–104°F for 2–3 days (an oven with only the light on works) until the beans darken, turn sticky and smell strongly savoury-ammoniac. Throw them away if they grow fuzzy green, black or pink mould or smell putrid.

Step 4: Mash the fermented beans with the 4 oz salt and the saved cooking liquid, cover and leave in the fridge for 2 days so the brine draws out the flavour.

Step 5: Squeeze the mash firmly through muslin into a heavy pan to collect the dark liquid; add a cup of water to the solids, squeeze again and discard them.

Step 6: Boil the liquid over a medium heat, stirring now and then, for about 2 hours, until it has reduced to a quarter and turns dark brown, adding the 1 oz jaggery or palm sugar if using.

Step 7: Lower the heat and keep cooking, stirring often so it does not catch, for 30–40 minutes until it is black, glossy and falls from the spoon in thick ribbons.

Step 8: Spoon into a sterilised jar while hot and let it cool. This is a low-acid paste: keep it in the fridge for up to 3 months or freeze it in portions, never at room temperature, and use a clean, dry spoon. Throw it away if you see mould, if it fizzes, or if it smells rotten.