Sweetened black soybeans (kukromame)

The mix of sweet and savoury flavours in the Kukromame is popular throughout Japanese cuisine. Black soybeans are available from selected health food and Japanese food shops but you can also substitute it with black beans.

• serves

  8

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  4:30 hours

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 200 g (1 cup) black soybeans or black beans
• 2 tbsp salt-reduced soy sauce
• 110 g (½ cup firmly packed) brown sugar
• 150 g (⅓ cup) caster sugar

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a saucepan with 2 litres water. Cover, bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 4 hours or until beans are soft. Remove from heat, drain beans, reserving cooking liquid, and set aside.

Return reserved liquid to pan over high heat and cook for 30 minutes or until starting to thicken and become glossy. Remove from heat and return beans to pan. Cool, then serve.

Photography by John Laurie.

As seen in Feast magazine, December 2011, Issue 4. For more recipes and articles, pick up a copy of this month's Feast magazine or check out our great subscriptions offers here.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.