Chewy Salty Soy Bean Snack - Looking for Recipe 筍豆

[mudbug]

Thought of a forgotten snack that I've only had once in my life and am on the search for it. It is challenging to find online and I can not find it in any of our three Asian grocery stores.

They are chewy, the skins are wrinkly, and they salty and delicious.

Here is a photo.

I have found a few pages online which refer to it but the translations are loose:

http://bit.ly/1dzrB28

http://bit.ly/1cPV9Zg

Is anyone familiar with this and can anyone help with a good recipe source or post here?

[liuzhou]

The recipes you have found are typical of Chinese recipes, which seldom give quantities of ingredients and/or often give vague instructions. Things like "add enough garlic" are commonplace.

Really all you can do is experiment.

Basically one recipe is telling you to soak the beans overnight, then drain them. Cook till soft, then add soy sauce, sugar, and a little salt. Continue cooking until they look 'transparent'.

The other recipe is more complicated and also has licorice, star anise and black pepper. It gives quantities, but, again, the instructions are useless.

Vague, I know. Sorry. That is the Chinese way.

Edited January 5, 2014 by liuzhou (log)

[jsager01]

Thought of a forgotten snack that I've only had once in my life and am on the search for it. It is challenging to find online and I can not find it in any of our three Asian grocery stores.

They are chewy, the skins are wrinkly, and they salty and delicious.

Here is a photo.

I have found a few pages online which refer to it but the translations are loose:

http://bit.ly/1dzrB28

i do not know how much of the Chinese language you do understand or how good you are at using the online translators.

On the link that you posted above, if you scroll down to the bottom half of the link, you will find that it gives specific quantities in the recipe, and i believe the instructions are explicit enough. (There are many variations on this recipe, some including fresh bamboo shoots, etc)

Here is my translation of what the webpage you linked to says (disclaimer: i am not a professional translator)

the comments in brackets/parenthesis are my own, as an indication of how i would do it.

材料 ingredients

黃豆 600克 Soybeans 600 g

水 600克 Water 600 g

醬油 50cc soya sauce 50cc ( i would use less)

甘草 15克 15 grams of licorice

八角 3-4顆 3-4 pieces of (whole) star anise

糖 1T Sugar 1T (1 tablespoonful, or to ta

鹽及胡椒粉 適量Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

把黃豆以清水洗淨, 將所有調味料

Wash soybeans and all ingredients.

1.及600的水, 倒入黃豆中浸泡3-4個小時,平均每一個小時翻動一次

Wash the soybeans, (pick out those that dont seem too happy),

put all other ingredients into 600 gm water (it becomes the marinade);

pour soy beans in and soak for 3-4 hours, turning once every hour on average (i would soak overnite, and if i remember to do so, change the water once or twice).

2.把黃豆瀝乾水分,倒入炒鍋中以中小火炒約半個小時,炒至黃豆顏色變深且表皮出現裂痕即可起鍋

Drain the beans,

Pour into wok, fry over medium/low heat for about half an hour, or

Saute until beans become darker in color and skin breaks. (stir fry, as often as you have the patience, (until it looks like the pic of the final product on the webpage).

3待黃豆涼後即可裝入罐子內保存,趁新鮮儘快吃完

can be cooled, put into jars for later use, or serve fresh asap. (the flavors seem best if cooled kept in fridge overnite for flavors to blend).

(there are many variations, some use oil in the stir fry, some add fresh bamboo shoots , etc).

[mudbug]

jsager01,

Are the beans fried or simply sauteed and would this be in oil? I see no reference to oil...

[jsager01]

sorry if i did not make myself clear enough. If you follow the recipe in the 2 links you found, the soaked beans are drained and then put into wok over low heat and 'dry fried' until the skin breaks or looks like the pics in the links. i would suggest you try this method first, just dont burn the beans. You can do a taste/chewyness test as you go along. It is a very simple recipe, you cant go much wrong with it.

there are many variants, just like recipes for beer nuts, or the boiled peanuts that some chinese restaurants serve as a free appetizer. Using oil is one of them..but gives different texture.

start off by keeping it simple and experiment, the ingredients are cheap enough that you can throw them out,or feed it to the ducks? if it does not turn out the way you want.

have fun

[judiu]

Couple of questions: is the licorice called for licorice root? Is it shredded or otherwise cut up? Since the flavoured water is the marinade, doesn't changing it thin it down too much or do you change the aromatics as well? TIA!

[Carolyn Phillips]

The recipe above is basically a good one. (And yes, just use sliced licorice root, which can be found in most Chinese grocery stores.)

 

If you like the flavor, a terrific thing to add is dried, salted bamboo shoots, which are called yulanpian 玉蘭片, or "magnolia petals." Soak them until soft, cut off the hard parts and discard, and shred the shoots. Chop them up until they're the same size as the soybeans, and then add them to the braise. They infuse the beans with a lovely fermented flavor. Adjust the salt in the recipe accordingly, of course. Lots of shredded ginger is good, too.

 

As for oil, I wouldn't add any. These are meant to be eaten with the fingers as snacks, rather than as sides for congee and suchlike.