It's a weekend again and A gets to have some home-cooked dinner. Although the takeout food that I brought home from work yesterday wasn't bad at all: Chapchae, Chicken in Green Curry, and Fried Spring Rolls (thanks to Jatujak and whoever runs the Korean kitchen in the cafeteria).
I like to keep a pack of Silver Swan black beans in the kitchen. Those who are familiar with my cooking know that I'm brand-specific on certain ingredients due to my taste preference of their blend. Anyway, black beans have a very strong flavor. I had to rinse them off a number of times before I add them on to food. And it can still affect the overall flavor of the dish despite the repetitive rinsing. Which is a reason why I like to keep them around and use it as a kitchen cheat when I need to whip up a dish, but too lazy to give it too much effort.
For this dish, I just used these ingredients:
- pork, cut into cubes
- freshly minced garlic
- 1 pack Silver Swan black beans (rinse with water about 2-3 times)
- water or stock
- onions
- salt
- pepper
- 2T oil
First, heat pan and add the oil. Towel dry the pork. Season with salt and pepper. Add to the pan and allow it to brown on all sides. Take the meat out of the pan.
Pour water into the pan. Give the pan a good scrape at the bottom so as to infuse the meaty-goodness of the brown bits that were left over from the meat. Return the meat to the pan. Cover with lid and let it boil until the meat is tender.
When the meat is tender, take off the lid of the pan. Let most of the water evaporate. Leave about 1/3 of the original amount. Stir in the garlic, some of the onions, and black beans to make sure it's being distributed on the meat. Give it a few minutes more so the taste of the garlic and black beans will be absorbed by the meat. If the pan is running low on liquid, just add a few tablespoons of stock.
Keep tasting the sauce. As I've said black beans have a strong flavor. So the amount of liquid that you add in would depend on how much of the black bean flavor would be acceptable to your taste.
Garnish the dish with the remaining onions and serve with rice.
It's an inexpensive, quick, and easy dish to make. I look forward to making home-cooked meals for A myself. So what's A having for dinner tonight? See for for yourself =)
