Kintokimame are red kidney beans in sweet syrup. It is a small side dish that is often in the corner of a bento box. Because of its very sweet flavor, Kintokimame is not exactly a dish that goes well with Steamed Rice directly, which almost always comes with Japanese meals; however, it is a great pallet cleanser between rice and salty dishes.
Kintokimame beans are a kind of dried red kidney bean, but the shape of these Japanese kidney beans are shorter and rounder, and also they have thinner skin and are creamier inside. Kintokimame’s glutinous texture goes well with a sweet taste, and when it’s cooked well, it is almost like a dessert. If you can find the Japanese kind to make this dish, that’s the best. But if you can’t, try with better quality kidney beans, not the cheapest kind you find at supermarkets. The success to cook beans is to soak beans for many hours, at least 8 hours. Soaking in room temperature water is ok, but rehydrating with boiling water is better to reach the desirable consistency, soft all the way through. Also, when cooking (step 2 in the recipe), changing to new water after having boiled the first time is another key to be able to evenly cook the beans.
Because of the soaking and cooking time, it takes hours to make, but the ingredients are very simple and so are the steps. If you find good quality dried red kidney beans, try this sweet little side dish!
Kintokimame Recipe
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Instructions
- Put dried beans in a pot with water (about 3-4 times the volume of the beans), and cook just to before boiling. Remove from heat, cover, and leave overnight.
- Put the pot on the stove and start cooking. Cook at medium heat and let boil for a few minutes. Drain the water. Put the beans back in the pot, and add clean water to the pot (2 inches above the beans). Cook at low heat about one hour or so, covered. Check water level from time to time, and add more as needed so the beans are not above the water.
- When the beans become very tender (check by pushing a bean with fingers), drain water but save 1 1/2 cups of liquid. Put beans back into the pot with the reserved liquid and 1/2 of the sugar. Stir to mix, cook for 3-4 minutes at medium heat, then turn off, and cool. Add the rest of the sugar, stir, and cook at medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and cool to room temperature.
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