I've always been a big fan of home-made Boston baked beans, so much so that I won't even touch a can of baked beans unless I'm starving and there's nothing else on hand to eat. I picked up a jar of tomato jam one day from a food pantry, and when I put it away I noticed the apricot jam and hoisin sauce ... and the idea struck me: why not try a spicy, East Asian-inspired spin on a beloved American classic?
Today's Specimen
Ingredients
- 5 cups cooked navy beans
- ½ lb bacon, preferably apple wood, cut into 1" pieces
- 1 cup yellow onion, diced
- ½ cup poblano chile, diced
- 11 oz canned mandarins, with juice
- 1 tsp garlic, mashed
- ½ tsp fresh ginger, mashed
- 1 tsp red birdseye chile, diced fine
- 5 oz apricot jam
- ¼ cup tomato jam
- ¼ cup hoisin
- 3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
- ½ tsp molasses
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ⅛ tsp five spice powder
Directions
- Cook the bacon over medium heat in a skillet or sauce pan, adding the poblano and onion after the bacon has started to brown. Lower temperature to medium-low and cover with a lid and steam the bacon and vegetables for 15 minutes.
- Add the canned mandarins (with the juice), apricot jam, tomato jam, hoisin, white wine vinegar, molasses, and brown sugar, and stir together. Once the mixture begins to simmer, drop the temperature to low and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes to thicken. Add the garlic, ginger, birdseye chile, and spices, stir, and let simmer another 5 minutes. Set aside.
- While you were doing all that above jazz, you should have preheated the oven to 325°F. In a large casserole pan, first pour in the cooked navy beans, then the sauce mixture on top of the beans, and cook in the oven on a middle rack, covered in aluminum foil for 30 minutes then uncovered for 15 minutes.
- Let stand for 10 minutes to cool and thicken before serving and (presumably) enjoying.
Next Time in the Lab
My little Moon Goddes put it best: a perfect blend of sweet and heat! Birdseye chiles can be found in most Asian grocery stores: just look in the frozen section for bags of gorgeous red chiles that look like tiny red Thai or Serrano chiles. Honestly, the only change I can think of making is slightly increasing the hoisin flavor somewhat, perhaps by sacrificing some of the tomato jam.
- Reduce the tomato jam to 3 Tbsp.
- Increase the hoisin to 5 oz.
- Increase the five spice powder to ¼ tsp.
