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Kuromame (Sweet Black Beans)
Makes a batch (serves 6–8) · About 1 day (Overnight of this is just leaving the beans in the liquid, and simmering takes about 5 hr)
An osechi (New Year's) dish: dried black soybeans simmered until soft in a sweet liquid of sugar and soy sauce.
① Wash the beans→② Soak overnight in the liquid→③ Boil and skim off scum→④ Simmer on very low heat→⑤ Cool in the liquid
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Use a deep pot at least 20 cm across. The beans more than double in size when they soak up water.
How to make it
1
Wash the beans
- Put the black beans in a bowl, add water and wash by stirring lightly with your hand
- Remove any dirt that floats up, and any broken beans or small, very wrinkled beans
- Drain in a colander. Repeat this 2 times
How to tell it's doneThe washing water is hardly cloudy.
2
Make the liquid and soak overnight
- Put 1.2 L water, 180 g sugar, 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1/2 tsp salt in a pot, put on medium heat and stir to dissolve the sugar
- When it boils, turn off the heat and add the washed black beans
- Put on the lid and leave it overnight (8 hr or more)
How to tell it's doneThe beans have soaked up water and swelled, and their surface is hardly wrinkled.
3
Boil and skim off scum
- Take off the lid and put the pot on medium heat with the soaking liquid
- When it boils, whitish foam (scum) comes up. Scoop it off with a ladle and throw it away
- Add 100 ml water (this is called 'sashimizu'), bring to a boil again and skim off the scum. Repeat this 2 times
How to tell it's doneAlmost no white foam comes up even when it boils.
Be carefulIt boils over easily. When it is about to boil, stay close and watch.
4
Simmer on very low heat
- Turn the heat to the lowest. The surface of the liquid should only move a little. Do not let it boil hard
- Cut foil into a circle a little smaller than the pot and put it directly on top of the beans (a drop lid)
- Simmer like this for 4–5 hr. Once an hour, lift the foil to check, and if the beans are sticking out of the liquid, add 100 ml water
How to tell it's doneTake out 1 bean and let it cool a little. When you press it between your thumb and little finger, it squashes easily. When you eat it, there is no hard center.
Be carefulIf the beans stick out of the liquid and touch the air, they wrinkle and get hard. Keep them under the liquid at all times.
5
Cool in the liquid
- Turn off the heat and leave the whole pot to cool with the foil still on (the sweetness soaks in as it cools)
- When cool, move to a storage container with the liquid and keep in the fridge. Eat within about 4–5 days
- Serve the beans in a bowl with a little of the liquid
ReadyThe beans are black and shiny, and are under the liquid.
📚 Learn more about this dish
🥬 Ingredient guide
🔪 Cutting & cooking tips
If it didn't work out
The beans got wrinkledThe beans were sticking out of the liquid in step 4, or the heat was too strong. Next time, add water and keep the heat very low.
The beans are hardIt did not simmer long enough. If still hard, add water and simmer more, 1 hr at a time. Old beans take longer.
The skins splitIt boiled hard. Next time, keep the heat so the surface only moves a little. The taste doesn't change, so you can still eat them.
It is not sweet enoughThe cooling time in step 5 was short. Leaving them in the liquid overnight lets the sweetness soak in.
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