I honestly never liked tausi/brine soaked black beans. Tausi, which seems to be the only canned black beans variety they sell here carries a distinctly strong taste I can’t describe. When I was a kid though, I was trained never to complain about food so I just kept quiet when tausi was served.
Now that I’m married, I still secretly don’t like tausi. Jan however, has this unusual talent of making me eat stuff I don’t like. He has succeeded in making me a bitter gourd fan and now he might have just convinced me that black beans are indeed edible. I guess the key is in its moderate application.
Ingredients:
1/4 kilo beef sirloin, cut into strips
2 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp. (canned) black beans
2 tbsps. cooked (canned) corn kernels
2 tsps. cornstartch, dissolved in 2 tsps. water
Cornstartch for coating
1 egg, beaten
Cooking oil
Ginger, minced
1 onion sliced
Green onion, chopped
9 pcs. snow peas
2 tbsps. soy sauce
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. peppermill
Salt
Rice, cooked
Procedure:
1. In a bowl, lightly coat beef strips with cornstartch. Add a pinch of salt and mix egg.
2. Heat oil in pan and fry beef strips. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. In another pan, heat oil. Saute ginger and onion. Add broth and let boil.
4. Add snow peas, corn, black beans, soy, peppermill and sugar and mix until sugar dissolves.
5. Add the cornstarch dissolved in water and mix.
6. Add beef strips and cook for another two minutes.
7. Put toppings on hot rice and serve. Serves 3.
Wife’s Verdict:
I would have wanted to say that the beef was the real star of the dish but what really stood out was the mixture of flavors. The dish still had traces of the uniquely strong taste of tausi but may have been tempered by the sugar and light, sweet flavor of the corn. The snow peas were naturally not the most flavorful but its crunch was most cerainly a welcome element.
Jan’s Quip: “Cooking is all about feeling what ingredients feel when they’re cooked.”
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