December 30, 2011

Osechi Ryori 5: Kuromame (Black Beans)/御節(おせち)料理5:黒豆

I also made kuromame (black beans).

Usually, it takes 2-3 hours to simmer kuromame. I simmered mine in an easy way, using a thermos bottle.

250 g (approx. 2 cups = 400 ml) kuromame
1,200 ml water
300 g sugar
Small amount of salt
2 tbsp soy sauce

Rinse kuromame, put them in a thermos bottle. Boil water and add to the thermos bottle, add sugar, salt, and soy sauce. Let stand for 12 hours. Transfer to a pot and simmer on low heat for 30 min.
黒豆も作りました。

普通、黒豆を煮るには2~3時間かかります。私は簡単な方法で煮ました。魔法瓶を使う方法です。

黒豆 250 g(約2カップ=400 ml)
水 1,200 ml
砂糖 300 g
塩 少量
しょう油 大さじ2

黒豆を洗って、魔法瓶に入れる。お湯を沸かし、魔法瓶に入れ、砂糖、塩、しょう油も入れる。12時間放置する。鍋に移し、30分弱火で煮る。
12 hours later, I checked the beans, and found they were still rather tough. So, I decided to boil the liquid and "simmer" in the thermos bottle for more time.
12時間後、黒豆を調べると、まだ硬めでした。液を沸騰させて、もっと長く魔法瓶で「煮る」ことにしました。
Eight hours later, the beans were still rather tough. I gave up the thermos bottle method, and simmered in a pot for 30 min.
8時間後、黒豆はまだ硬めでした。魔法瓶を使った方法はあきらめ、鍋で30分煮ました。
Much less sweet than the store-bought kind. I personally liked them.
市販のよりずっと甘みは控えめです。私としては好きです。

14 comments:

Sissi said...

I have never heard of kuromame beans! Do you eat kuromame just as they are? Or do you mix it with some other products?
The New Year's dishes you present are extremely exotic for me!

Hiroyuki said...

Sissi: Just as they are, just like other osechi ryori.

Exotic? Just the same old dishes around this time of year in Japan... (laugh)

muskratbyte said...

I agree, these are very exotic dishes to me as well! I've heard of kuromame before, but I've never tried them before... I'll have to see if I can find these.

Sissi said...

I have guessed, but these are not the dishes found in European Japanese restaurants, in most Japanese cookery books and on most blogs! Luckily you are there to show me the traditional Japanese food :-)

Hiroyuki said...

muskratbyte: They are nothing more than just simmered and sweetened beans, but I'd like to have some during New Year's holiday.

Sissi: There should be wonderful books/sites/blogs on osechi ryori somewhere! I can only offer you very, very homey and humble osechi ryori!

Fräulein Trude said...

You worked hard on so many different dishes! Having Osechi ryori is such a nice and very ancient tradition. I like the idea that every dish has a certain meaning and symbolizes a wish for the future. That is what makes the japanese culture so interesting for me (besides other traditions and habits).

Hiroyuki said...

Kiki: Thanks for your compliment!

I'm thinking of making two other osechi dishes, namasu (thinly sliced daikon and carrot in sweetened vinegar) and simmered lotus root, and I'm also thinking of buying kamaboko and datemaki when they are sold at discount prices.

This is really strange. Osechi ryori are more or less preserved foods, meant to be eaten on the first three days of the New Year. Considering the fact that almost every home is equipped with a refrigerator, osechi ryori may well become a thing of the past, but most Japanese feel like having some osechi in the New Year's holiday season. I recently did a quick Google search and found that about 20% of all households in Japan no longer have osechi in the New Year's holiday season.

It's still before midnight, so I will say, Yoi o-toshi o (Good year!) 良いお年を! to you, Kiki!

Fräulein Trude said...

あけましておめでとうございます!
(Here it is still 2 hours away)

Hiroyuki said...

Kikiさん: あけましておめでとうございます。
It's 8:14 on January 1, so I can that!

Ruminating Roy said...

Now that it's a bit after midnight here, Happy New Year Hiroyuki! あけましておめでとうございます!

I'm very jealous of your osechi, this year I didn't budget well enough for after the Christmas holiday was over so we focused mostly on toshikoshi soba and namasu.

okasan said...

新年あけましておめでとうございます。
ひろゆきさんとご家族の皆様にとって素敵な一年でありますように。。。!今年はいろいろありがとうございました。来年もよろしくお願いします。

Hiroyuki said...

Ruminating Roy and okasan: あけましておめでとうございます。

Ruminating Roy, you shouldn't be jealous of my very humble osechi! (laugh)

okasan, thank you very much for your very polite greetings!!!

Sissi said...

Hiroyuki, I follow so many cooking blogs and even though I'm not a Japanese cuisine connoisseur, I cannot imagine how any of your cooking could qualify as humble. (Homey is here a very positive adjective!)
I wish you a very happy, prosperous and healthy New Year!

Hiroyuki said...

Sissi: あけましておめでとうございます, which means, Happy New Year.

Thank you for your kind words about my osechi, but I still think mine are humble because of lack of kazunoko (herring roe), prawn/lobster, grilled fish, etc., etc.

I think I'll post a photo of the osechi my sister-in-law gave me later.