Black Beans

Black beans are a popular dish for “osechi”, the traditional food for the new year celebration. However, it can be eaten daily as black beans are very nutritious. We cook them sweet but we treat them as a daily dish and not a dessert. Rusted nails are used to cook black beans. It does not have to be nails but something made from iron with rust.

Ingredients
Black beans (dried)　　300g
Sugar　　　　　　　　250g
Salt　　　　　　　　　7g
Soya-bean sauce　　　50㏄
Water　　　　　　　　2,000㏄
Rusted nails

How to cook
1. Wash black beans. Wash rusted nails and put in a tea bag.
2. Boil water in a big pan with a cover. Add black beans, sugar, salt, soya-bean sauce, and rusted nails. Stop heating and cover the pan. Leave them for 10 hours.
3. Heat the pan again to boil. Remove black bubbles. Add 100cc of water and boil again. Remove black bubbles. Repeat until black bubbles are gone.
4. Place kitchen paper like Bounty on the beans. Cover the pan. Cook at low heat for about 10 hours, or, cook for 5 minutes and then stop heating and leave for 30 minutes. Repeat this for 10 hours.
5. Stop cooking when black beans become soft. Leave in a pan to cool. Eat from next day.