Black Bean Soup
Beans, Soup August 21st, 2007
I was at two minds whether to post the picture above. The picture does no justice to the delicious full bodied taste of this Black Bean Soup. Black Bean Soup is highly nutritious as black beans (also called “Black Turtle Beans”) are known to be packed with all sorts of vitamins and minerals. The soup tastes naturally sweet (not like sugar) and is very appetising when combined with a meal of steamed rice and other dishes.
This recipe is pretty much a “cook and leave it” recipe especially if you use a charcoal stove to double boil the soup. I am always partial to double boiling soup on a charcoal stove as the taste is immensely different, not to mention the effect it has on tenderising the meat which is being cooked. If you don’t have a charcoal stove, fret not as a gas or electric stove is fine and direct cooking is possible. For this recipe, direct cooking rather than double boiling is shown as I know not everyone has a double boiler at home.
This is the recipe for Black Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 100 grammes of black bean (rinsed)
- 150 grammes of pork (with bones) or chicken
- 1 litre of water
- 5 red dates / cuttlefish slivers / honey dates (optional)
Method
Bring water to boil in a pot. Add pork / chicken and bring water back to boil. Remove scum from upper layer as water is boiling. Thereafter, add black beans (and the optional ingredients) and allow to boil for 2 minutes before reducing heat to low. Simmer till soup reduced to approximately 1 1/2 soup bowls. The soup will taste great if it is simmered for at least 2 1/2 hours and try not to add water midway through cooking.
If you are double boiling, place beans and pork / chicken (plus optional ingredients) in double boiler and add 2 soup bowls of boiling hot water. Cover lid and double boil for 3 hours.
My Recommended Recipes
- Black Bean Soup
- Hairy Gourd Soup
- Double-Boiled Sweet Herbal Chicken Soup
- Corn Soup
- Lotus Root Soup with Red Dates and Peanuts
August 21st, 2007 at 7:10 pm
I love this soup. Reminds me of when I was a kid. I never thought to double boil. For me, double boiling was used mainly for “nutritious” soups that contain (usually) bitter herbs.
August 21st, 2007 at 10:41 pm
Hahaha, I don’t even know how to start a fire on a charcoal stove. Pressure cooking is more like my style. Love the taste of black beans. My mom dry fried it first before cooking, not sure why. I only dump it in without the frying part.
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:58 am
I love almost all beans, but haven’t acquired the liking for black beans yet…dunno why. But I love sipping black bean soup though.
August 23rd, 2007 at 2:50 pm
I like the “cook and leave it” part
August 24th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
ParisB: Oo…double boiling for any type of soup (not cream of this is that though) works wonders! You should try that out.
Lilian : LOL! I, on the other hand, is no great fan of pressure cooking. Sounds like a shortcut way of cooking. It does shorten the cooking time though
Rasa Malaysia : Yeah, black beans do not agree with everyone. It has a distinct taste to it.
tigerfish : I also like that part
August 24th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
I love black bean soup, especially if the beans cook till so soft. My mom always cook it in stock pot, but I cook it using slow cooker.