I’m trying to incorporate more beans into my diet and am finding it quite difficult to get my beans the way I want them to be. I’m curious to hear your guy’s standard bean recipes. Do you guys use canned or dried beans? Stovetop or microwave? Any secret ingredients?

Here’s what I’d call my standard bean procedure.

  • First, I start with canned beans. Dried beans are a bit firmer it seems, but I don’t feel like dried impacts the flavor enough to be worth the soak time.

  • If I have it, I’ll grate half of an onion into the beans. I don’t like onion crunch.

  • Microplane dried mushroom into it for extra protein and flavor

  • Salt, pepper, granulated garlic, paprika and chili flakes. I don’t really like how garlic powder works with the beans and don’t feel the need for fresh garlic. Fresh ginger is really fire in it though. I add things on top of this usually for more flavor, but this is just my standard bean.

  • Microwave for 3 minutes

I’d do more if it made a difference in flavor, but so far I can’t seem to make anything really make the beans pop. What do y’all do?

  • Tachanka [comrade/them]
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    fedilink
    English
    12 years ago

    I do 2 or 3 soaks. The soak isn’t that much work if I’m already at home. Just keep coming back to it every now and then. I don’t like to grate onions, but chop them. It’s satisfying. I like to learn the proper technique for chopping various vegetables. Sometimes I’ll grate carrots if I’m cooking for my elders without teeth.

    I like to make beans with brown rice. Keeps the bowels moving. I cook the beans with tomatoes, onions, peppers, whatever else in the fridge might be starting to go, etc. Sometimes I’ll add a veggie or mushroom broth if it’s available.