What to do with black soybeans?

[chromedome]

Throwing this out there for suggestions.

 

My late father had a restless mind, and was prone to sudden enthusiasms. One of those, a year before he died, was growing some backyard soybeans. There was some question for a few months as to whether my mother was lactose-intolerant (turns out she's not) and he thought it might be cool to grow some beans and experiment with making his own soy milk and tofu.

 

He did both, but by that time they knew my mom wasn't intolerant and he quickly discovered that he didn't really care for soy milk and tofu. He used up what he'd made in baking their "special" high-protein, high-fiber bread, but still had several pounds of the beans left over.

 

Those now reside at my house. They're a few years old, and therefore past their youthful prime, but I cooked an experimental batch and they did cook up evenly in a reasonable length of time. So here's my conundrum: I wasn't super-keen on them just as a plain cooked bean. I like me the odd dollop of black-bean sauce at the Chinese restaurant, but a) making it from scratch isn't something I feel inclined to take on right now; and b) I probably wouldn't use it up.

 

I could just discard them of course, and that's their likeliest fate, but I *do* hate to waste food, especially when it's one of the last things my father grew. So I thought I'd call on the collective wisdom here at eG, and see what comes of it. Anyone?

[BeeZee]

Seapoint Farms sells bags of roasted black soybeans as a snack - what about if you cook them and roast until crunchy?

[chromedome]

8 minutes ago, BeeZee said:

Seapoint Farms sells bags of roasted black soybeans as a snack - what about if you cook them and roast until crunchy?

(facepalm) Duh...I've done that with chickpeas, and quite enjoyed the result. Should have thought of that one myself.

 

...which, of course, is exactly why I've started this thread.

[robirdstx]

I hadn’t thought of this recipe in a long time. I made it when I was doing low carb.

 

Beef Chili with Tomatoes and Black Soy Beans

 

Serving Size: 6

 

Ingredients:

 

- 4 dried chiles, such as Ancho (you want relatively mild)

- 1 1/2 cups water

- 2 lbs. beef chuck roast or brisket, cut into large cubes

- 1 teaspoon kosher salt

- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

- 1 1/2 onions, chopped (divided use)

- 2 1/4 teaspoons cumin

- 1 1/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper (or to taste)

- 3 cloves garlic, chopped

- 1 cup beef stock

- 1 can whole tomatoes, chopped with juice

- 1 can black soy beans, drained

- 3 pn xanthan gum

- fresh cilantro, for garnish

 

Directions:

 

1. Remove stems and seeds from chiles, discard, and cut chiles into large chunks.

 

2. Place chile chunks and water into a medium pot, and bring to a boil.

 

3. Remove pot from heat and steep for 30 minutes to soften the chiles.

 

4. Place the chiles and liquid into a blender, and puree until smooth.

 

5. Pass sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a medium bowl to remove any seeds and the tough skins.

 

6. Add this sauce along with next 8 ingredients, with the exception of only 1/3 of the chopped onion, to a crock pot and cook on low for 4 hours.

 

7. After 4 hours, add chopped tomatoes with liquid, beans, and balance of chopped onion. Continue to cook on low for another 3 hours.

 

8. At end of 7 hours, adjust seasonings. While stirring, add 3 good size pinches of xanthan gum and continue to simmer for a few more minutes until thickened.

 

9. Add fresh cilantro as garnish when serving.