Kuromame are Japanese black beans cooked in sweet syrup.  It is a part of Osechi Ryori, the traditional Japanese new year feast.  There are a lot of kinds of dishes for Osechi, but Kuromame is one of the big three celebration dishes, along with Tazukuri (candied dried anchovies) and Kazunoko (herring roe).  Sweet Kuromame is a nice complement to a lot of the other saltier dishes in Osechi.

Shumai originated from Chinese-style dumplings, but changed to match Japanese taste just like Gyoza. Shumai are steamed pork fillings stuffed in Shumai wrappers. They…