Beans with Smoked Pork & Ginger

Photo by:

Melati Citrawireja

While gathering recipes for our cookbook, we discovered and tested more dishes than we could possibly include. These bonus recipes are straight from the home kitchens of our farm partners: seasonal staples, and heirloom favorites you won’t find anywhere else. For more such recipes, order The Diaspora Spice Co. Cookbook here!

After almost three months on the road, we ended our adventures with Leiyolan and Zeinorin of Hillwild—purveyors of our Sirārakhong Hāthei chillies—in the northeastern region of Manipur. While this area is known for its fiery fare, it was a simple pot of beans finished with an epic amount of ginger and garlic that brought us back to life. Serve with rice, burst tomato or fava bean chutney (recipes can be found in the cookbook!), and steamed hearty leafy greens. Adapted by Asha Loupy.

Ingredients

8 ounces dried cranberry beans
One 8- to 12-ounce (227 to 340 grams) pound smoked ham hock
1½ teaspoons Surya Salt or fine sea salt
4 to 5 whole Sirarakhong Hathei chillies
½ pound fingerling or small Yukon gold potatoes, halved lengthwise
1-inch ginger, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Steamed short grain rice, for serving
Burst tomato or fava bean chutney, for serving, optional

Methods

Place beans in a large bowl, cover with cold water, and let soak for at least 6 hours, up to overnight.
Drain the soaked beans and transfer them to a Dutch oven or large, heavy-bottomed pot along with the ham hock, salt, and 6 cups cold water. Remove and discard the stems of the dried chillies, break the chillies into pieces, place in a spice grinder, and pulse into coarse chili flakes, 5 to 10 pulses. Add them to the pot with the beans, and stir to combine.
Bring the beans to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce to medium-low heat, and cook, stirring occasionally until the beans are almost cooked through, 50 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the size of your beans. Stir in the potatoes, partially cover, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are soft yet still retain their shape and the potatoes are cooked through and easily pierced with a knife, 20 to 30 minutes.
To finish, stir in the ginger and garlic, turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt, if needed. Serve with steamed rice and chutney, if desired.