It does not matter whether it is black or white. Black Soybean also known as Black Bean or Black Soya Bean will give you a white looking milk just like its cousin, the soya bean. It may not be common for you to find anyone selling this drink out there but you’d be surprise to know that the cooking method is the same. If you know how to make black soybean milk, you will also know how to make soybean milk

The Black Bean Milk tastes quite similar to the common Soy Bean Milk albeit creamier. It is more expensive to purchase compared to the soy bean but once you’ve made a couple of litres of this, you will then realise that the vendors are making hefty profit out of this nutritious drink (hint : a couple of hundred percent profit). The hardest work involved is the milking process – when you have to squeeze out the milk / juice from the blended beans. Ensure that you get a good filter. I used a cotton coffee filter (the ones which Malaysians use to brew coffee in kopitiams).

Do not keep this drink longer than necessary. Overnight at the most, being kept in the refridgerator. Somehow, my gut feeling is that drinks made from beans are not supposed to last long especially if it did not go through any factory process. Anyway, if you are keen to impress your family or your weekend guests, give this drink a try. It’s nutritious and definitely delicious.

This is my wife’s recipe for Black Soy Bean Milk

Ingredients

• 500 grammes black soy bean (soaked overnight)
• a couple of pandan leaves
• 2.5 litres of water
• Sugar to taste

Method

Drain the black soy bean and place them in a blender. Add some water to cover the beans before blending them finely.

Pour blended black soy bean into a large bowl or pot and add remaining water. Strain / Sieve the contents through a fine muslin cloth.

Place sieved black soy bean milk into a pot, add the pandan leaves and bring to boil very slowly. Ensure that you stir the milk regularly to prevent burning. Turn off the heat immediately upon boiling and allow to cool.

You can either choose to add the sugar whilst bringing the black soy bean to boil or prepare syrup separately and add the syrup prior to drinking.

Serve hot or cold.

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Black Soybean Milk

If you live in Malaysia, you know that you are very lucky where FOOD is concerned. Malaysians are known for the special relationship that they have with food which is evident from the variety of savory dishes and sweets that one can easily find at every corner. This is especially so during the many festive seasons, one of which was only recently celebrated – Deepavali.

One of the favorite Indian sweets eaten during Deepavali is Sugared Ghee Balls, which is also popularly known as “Neyyi Urundai” or “Payatham Urundai”. True, compared to the other more gloriously colored sweets found during this festival, Ghee Balls do not get full points for looks. In fact, its unstimulating colour and simple shape may even be a “put off” for some. But, for many who have tried it, this sweet has easily become a favorite.

Making it from scratch is relatively easy. The only tricky part is pouring the hot ghee into the flour mixture and molding the balls into shape. One may find that the first few balls take a longer time to make than first anticipated. Don’t let your spirits down if you find this happening to you. Persistence pays off and it won’t be too long before you start getting the hang of it.

Once cooled, pop a ball into your mouth and enjoy the taste as it slowly crumbles into a wonderful sensory delight. You won’t regret it!

This is my recipe for Sugared Ghee Balls.
Ingredients

• 2 cups roasted mung beans flour
• Additional 1/3 cup roasted moong beans flour for coating
• 1 cup icing sugar
• about 10 roasted cashew nuts
• ghee
• 1/3 teaspoon salt

Method
If you are using unroasted moong beans flour, you must first dry roast it. Do this by heating a large frying pan or wok to low-medium heat. When the pan or wok is hot enough, pour in the flour and dry roast it until fragrant. Remove from heat and let the flour cool.

Mince the roasted cashew nuts into tiny pieces (but not ground) and keep aside.

Once the flour is cooled, pour it (2 cups) into a large dry mixing bowl. Add the icing sugar, minced cashew nuts and salt. Using a wooden spoon, mix all ingredients together.

On a separate large plate, put in the rest of the roasted moong beans flour (1/3 cup) for coating and keep aside.

When ready to make the ghee balls, heat a small quantity of ghee (approximately ½ cup first) in a small pan, on low heat. Don’t overheat the ghee, but it has to be reasonably hot. (As you use up the hot ghee, add more to the pan if required.) As you make the ghee balls, the ghee pan should remain on low heat close by.

Remember to be keeping an eye on it the whole time!

To make the ghee balls, use another wide shallow bowl on which you can comfortably work on. (I like to call this the sand-pit). Pour in half the mixed ingredient and loosely spread it around the bowl with your fingers. When you are ready to make a ball, heap a little of the flour (slightly more than what is needed for one ball) into the middle. With a small spoon, make a small ‘well’ in the middle of the heaped flour. The well should only go about 1/3 down the heap and not all the way! Pour in about 1 tablespoon of hot ghee into the well. You will notice that when the hot ghee is poured, the flour will sizzle a little. Using a spoon, slightly press the heap allowing for the oil to ‘catch’ the flour. Then, carefully, pick the oiled heap into your hands and compact it into a ball shape. You may find this a little difficult at first as the oiled flour can be hot.

Once you have made a ball, roll it around on the flour kept aside earlier, to coat it lightly. Keep the coated ball aside to cool.

As you use up the flour mixture in the ‘sand pit’, add more into it and continue the process till all the flour are used up.

Note: The amount of hot ghee you use to make a ball varies with the size of the ball you want. Adjust this quantity to your own liking.

This recipe is brought to you by our Guest Chef Spillay who blogs over at A Pot of Gold. Spillay is a Malaysian who currently resides in Australia with her husband and two gorgeous boys.

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Sugared Ghee Balls

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.

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Black Bean Soup

Preserved Black Beans, Fermented Black Beans and Salted Black Beans all mean the same thing, namely black beans which have been preserved in a salty solution and are usually sold in glass jars. The taste is naturally salty and usually, only a small portion is used.

This dish was oft cooked by mum for lunch during my schooling days and it tastes delicious with plain white porridge or even sweet potato porridge. Preparation and cooking should be less than 30 minutes as it only involved mincing the pork and cooking it with the preserved black beans. You’ll be amazed how easy it is to whip up a great tasting dish in a jiffy.

This is mum’s recipe for Minced Pork Balls with Preserved Black Beans

Ingredients

• 100 to 150 grammes of minced pork
• 4 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
• 2 teaspoons preserved black beans
• 2 teaspoons dark soya sauce
• A pinch of monosodium glutamate (optional)
• A dash or two of white pepper powder
• 300 ml warm water
• 2 teaspoons palm oil

Method

Mix garlic into minced pork.

Heat oil in wok or suitable pot and saute preserved black beans for 10 to 15 seconds on medium heat. Add water, increase to high heat and bring water to boil.

When water boils, scoop minced pork into balls using a teaspoon and add to boiling water. After finishing all the minced pork, add dark soya sauce, monosodium glutamate (optional) and white pepper powder.

Once minced pork balls are cooked (either they float or have been cooked for at least 3 minutes), dish up and serve. As this dish is a tad salty, it is suitable with plain white porridge as you can pour a bit of the gravy and stir it into the porridge.

technorati tags: food recipe chinese beans pork porridge
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Minced Pork Balls with Preserved Black Beans

Baked Beans is not Asian. I don’t think it is. But I’ve seen some of the rice shops here in Kuala Lumpur which serve baked beans cooked with other ingredients. This is just one of the many variants and it adds a bit of difference to the usual baked beans.

You can eat this with white rice or even fried rice. I suppose you can actually eat it on its own but you may have to adjust the taste (especially the tomato) so that the taste is not too overpowering

This is my recipe for Baked Beans with Minced Pork and Potatoes

Ingredients

• 1 tin of baked beans
• 50 grammes pork mince
• 1 medium sized potato (diced)
• 1 medium sized onion (chopped)
• 1/2 tin of water (use baked beans tin to measure)
• 2 tablespoons Cooking oil (palm oil)

Seasoning

• 2 teaspoons tomato ketchup
• a pinch of salt

Method

Heat oil in wok and fry potatoes till golden brown. Remove fried potatoes and set aside. Remove oil and leave just about 1 teaspoon of oil in the wok.

Fry the onions till aromatic. Add minced pork and stir fry till cooked. Add baked beans and return the fried potatoes into the wok. Stir well.

Add water and seasoning and bring to boil prior to serving.

Technorati Tags: Recipe, Pork, Baked Beans, Malaysia

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Baked Beans with Minced Pork and Potatoes