Sweet Stewed Black Bean 'Kuromame'

Japanese Black Bean 'Kuromame' is one of the most popular super food in Japan. Kuromame has high levels of anthocyanins and high antioxidant activity. If you get Japanese Black Bean at Japanese grocery store, I highly recommend 'Tambamame' （丹波の黒豆）. They are known as “Black Diamonds on a Field”.

Ingredients

Dried Japanese 'Kuromame' Bean 150g

Water 1L

Sugar (I used beet sugar) 170g

Baking Soda 1 tsp

Soy Sauce 2tbsps

Salt 1/2 tsp

1. Rinse the beans with water.

2. In a large cast iron pot, add water, sugar, soy sauce, baking soda and bring them to boil.

3, Turn off the heat and add the beans to the pot.

4, Leave to soak overnight with a lid on.

5, After soaking, bring the pan to a boil and then reduce to low heat.

6, Remove the scum and cook for 8 hours with the lid on. (*The beans need to be submerged all the time.)