姜辣醋 Spicy Black Vineger Pot

  • 6 粒 栗子 Chestnut
  • ¼ cup 菜豆 Kidney beans
  • ¼ cup 黑豆 Black beans
  • ¼ cup 眉豆 Black-eye beans
  • 6 片 木耳 Black fungus
  • 6 粒 冬菇 Dried mushrooms
  • 6 片 山药 Chinese yam
  • 6 个 豆皮结 腐竹节 Beancurd-knot
  • 6 个 辣椒干 Dried Chilli
  • 1½ cup 老姜 Old ginger
  • 1 tblspn 油 Oil
  • 1 cup 甜醋/黑米醋 Sweet Black Vinegar
  • ¾ cup 黑醋 Black Vinegar
  • 1 tblspn 黑糖 Gula Melaka
  • 4 cups 水 Water
  • 少许盐 Pinch Salt
Black Vinegar Pot

Method:

  1. Soak Kidney Beans and dried Chestnuts in water for 14-18 hours, changing water once.
  2. Soak Black Beans and Black-eye beans for 8-10 hours.
  3. Soak dried Mushroom and dried Black Fungus for 2-3 hours.
  4. Soak dried Chinese Yam and dried Beancurd Knot for 2-3 minutes.
  5. Heat Oil in pan.
  6. Add Ginger and dried Chilli.
  7. Stir fry for 1-2 mins.
  8. Add Fungus and fry.
  9. Remove from heat to cool.
  10. Add Beans and Chestnuts into a pot with 2 cups of water and cook through. [Note]
  11. Place all ingredients into pot.
  12. Add the vinegar, water, sugar and salt.
  13. Add the yam, beancurd and mushrooms. (If use fresh beancurd-knot or mushroom, add after cooking other ingredients and cook for another 10 minutes enough.)
  14. Bring to boil.
  15. Lower heat and boil for 1 hour 45 minutes. I cook until there's little liquid left.
  16. Sprinkle cilantro and serve.

Don't give up! I got this recipe right only on my third attempt.

[Note] Do not use slow cooker or rice cooker, the heat is not enough to cook the dried ingedients. Pressure cooker is ok, it speeds thing up.

[Note] The dried beans and dried chestnut should be cooked before adding vinegar to it. The acidity makes it hard to cook through.

Dried chestnuts can be cooked in any thin, non-acid liquid: water, broth – even milk if they’ve first been soaked overnight in water to cover. Allow 2 cups liquid for each cup of chestnuts if they will be cooked tightly covered, a bit more if some liquid is likely to cook away. Avoid acids like orange and tomato juice unless heavily diluted or you’ll have leather instead of velvet.

-- Leslie Land