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Red Braised Soybeans

These red braised soybeans are covered in a savory, sweet, and flavorful sauce for a vegetarian twist on traditional Chinese red braised pork belly. This easy dish is best served over warm rice!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Soaking Time6 hours
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: braised soybeans, easy soybean recipe, soybean recipe
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 460kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 cup dried soybeans ~400 grams soaked, *Note 1
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2-3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/2 inch ginger minced
  • 1 1/2 cups stock chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce add more to taste
  • 2 tsp dark soy sauce
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 3/4 tsp five spice
  • 1 tsp cornstarch + 1 tsp water optional

Instructions

  • Soak the dried soybeans in a large bowl of water for at least 6 hours or overnight. *Note 2
  • Heat a pot/wok over medium heat and add the oil. Add the garlic and ginger and fry until fragrant, around 30 seconds to 1 minute.
  • Add soybeans and five spice. Fry until the five spice becomes fragrant.
  • Add all other ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 20-40 minutes depending on how crunchy/tender you would like your soybeans to be. *Note 3
  • Remove the cover. The water should have reduced. Increase the heat to reduce the sauce quicker. This will take a few minutes.
  • You can optionally use the cornstarch slurry to reduce the sauce quicker. To do so: mix the cornstarch and water into a slurry. Then, immediately mix the slurry into the braise. If the sauce becomes too thick, mix in more stock. If it’s too thin, mix in more slurry.
  • Serve warm over a bed of rice.

Notes

  1. Fresh/Dry soybeans: I believe you can make this recipe using dry soybeans or fresh soybeans. If you use fresh soybeans, use around 400 grams (a little under 1 lb) and skip the soaking step.
  2. Soaking: The water should cover the soybeans by about 1 inch because the soybeans will absorb a lot of water and expand to about 3 times in size
  3. Cooking time: The amount of time that the soybeans simmer for is up to personal preference! The soybeans should be fully cooked in 15-20 minutes. However, you can continue simmering the soybeans for longer for a creamier, more tender texture. You may need to add some more stock part of the way through so that the soybeans have enough liquid to cook in.