Using Your Bean(s)

Jacqueline M. Newman

In Asian restaurants, beans are not lima, kidney or navy. Instead, there is an army of beans to enhance the foods of this region. They love theirs prepared as sauces.

Everyone knows soybeans, and most know soy sauce that can be poured be it called soy, soya or shoyu.  These sauces can be thin, dark, or heavy, also called black. They can be from China, Japan and other countries in the area. For example, in Indonesia, theirs is called kecap manis. One manufacturer there makes three of them, each with different level of sweetness. The ABC brand comes with red, yellow, and green labels.  We recommend the yellow-labeled one for starters; then go for red and green. Like traffic lights, their super taste in dishes make diners stop and wonder what delicious items are calling them to attention.

Bean sauces make foods more appetizing, give them color, and some texture. Hoisin sauce is a thick Chinese one, and like miso and other thick Asian bean sauces, made from fermented soybeans. This sauce, also called a paste, is a touch piquant as it adds body to all cooked dishes that use it. Other than the fermented soybeans, it is made with five-spice powder, vinegar, garlic, sugar, and chili peppers. Other bean sauces have other ingredients that make them special.

Fermented black beans are available as paste or as plain dried fermented beans coated with some salt.  Rinse and mince the dried ones for Chinese and other dishes, use jarred black bean paste with garlic or black bean paste with chili peppers for other Asian dishes.

There are dozens of chili bean pastes, and they come with or without fermented beans. Some are hot, some missing mellowness that chili bean mixtures have. Try variations such as sacha sauce which is made with fermented beans, brill and krill. The ‘b’ and ‘k’ folks are tiny and in the shrimp family. XO sauce also has fish within, it is usually made with soaked dried strips of scallops, and though costly, it has panache and a pretty special taste. Brown bean sauce, like hoisin, is another great all-around bean sauce. So is grinding bean sauce, yellow bean sauce, and the many others on the market. Try them all and see how varied and very good they all are.

Mashed red bean pastes work wonders in sweet dessert-type dishes. Use them in bakery products alone or mixed with any fillings you might be using now.  Begin adding a teaspoon, and in future trials, go for more.

Every Asian bean sauce enhances tofu, which is itself a bland, smooth, creamy carrier of all of them. They all can be used with all meat and fish products, almost all vegetables, of course with tofu, and a teaspoon or more of any one of them can enrich soups and sauces.

Do use your bean. Upgrade and enhance your menu offerings and see how they help you make more money. Make your own and make even more. Here is one basic one, others have appeared in Flavor and Fortune and are on the web; and soon more will be available in both locations. For more information, visit www.flavorandfortune.com.

Homemade basic bean sauce

Ingredients:
1 large coarsely chopped onion
5 sliced shallots
5 cloves of garlic
1 cup of tomato sauce or paste
½ cup of brown or grinding bean sauce or miso
¼ cup of sesame seed paste
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 tablespoons honey

Blend the first three ingredients, then mix in all the others.  Put them in a heavy pot and simmer for half an hour, stirring often. Cool, and get cooking with them.

Note: You’ll be glad you did, and can add a teaspoon of chili paste and a like amount of minced ginger to  add piquancy.